Behavioral Chapter 4 (Cognition, Consciousness, and Language)

cognition, problem solving, sleep, drugs, attention, language

information processing model

the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information much like a computer

Piaget's stages of cognitive development

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, formal operational

sensorimotor stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities, circular reactions, ends with development of object permanence

primary circular reactions

repetitions of body movements that originally occur by chance, repeated because child finds behavior soothing

secondary circular reactions

manipulation focused on something outside of the body, repeated because child gets response from environment

object permanence

understanding that objects continue to exist even when out of view, milestone that ends sensorimotor stage

preoperational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic, symbolic thinking and egocentrism, inability to grasp the idea of conservation

symbolic thinking

ability to pretend, have an imagination, and play make-believe

egocentrism

inability to imagine what another person may think or feel

concrete operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 7 to 11 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete objects and information, unable to think abstractly

conservation

understanding that a physical amount remains the same, even if there is a change in shape or appearance

formal operational stage

in Piaget's theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 11) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts and problem solving

hypothetical reasoning

ability to manipulate variables in a number of ways, generally within the scope of scientific experiments

time based prospective memory

the ability to remember to perform a task at a specific time, declines with age

fluid intelligence

solving new or novel problems, using creative methods, peaks in early adulthood and declines

crystallized intelligence

solving problems using acquired knowledge, often procedural, peaks in middle adulthood and remains stable

delirium

rapid decline and fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and medically caused (not psychological)

mental set

a pattern of potential solutions for a given problem, approach similar problems in the same way

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

algorithm

formula or procedure for solving a certain type of problem

trial and error

various solutions for problem are tired until one is found that seems to work

deductive reasoning

the process of applying a general statement to specific facts or situations (top down)

inductive reasoning

start with specific instances and draw conclusions from them, specific to genera, logically true but not definitely true (bottom up)

heuristics

Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always)

availability heuristics

base the likelihood of an event happening on how easily examples of that event come to mind

biases

opinions or beliefs that affect a person's ability to make fair, unclouded judgments or decisions

disconfirmation principle

evidence obtain from testing possible solution demonstrates that the solution does not work, solution discarded

intuition

A "gut feeling" that is not necessarily based on logic or evidence, often developed through experience

emotion

subjective experience of a person in a certain situation

multiple intelligences

proposes seven areas of intelligence including: linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, visual-spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal

interpersonal intelligence

ability to detect and navigate the moods and motivations of others

creative intelligence

the ability to solve problems using novel methods

consciousness

level of awareness of both the world and one’s own existence within that world

alertness

state of being awake and able to think, perceive, process, and express information, beta and alpha waves predominate on EEG

stage 1 sleep

entered as soon as you doze off, appearance of theta waves

stage 2 sleep

A sleep deeper than that of stage 1, characterized by a slower, more regular wave pattern of theta waves, along with momentary interruptions of "sleep spindles." and k complexes

stages 3 and 4 sleep

slow wave sleep, delta wave predominate, non-rapid eye movement, associated with cognitive recovery and declarative memory consolidation, slower EEG activity

rapid eye movement sleep

sometimes called paradoxical sleep, arousal levels reach wakefulness but muscles are paralyzed, heart rate breathing patterns and EEG mimic wakefulness, dreaming most likely to occur and procedural memory consolidation

sleep cycle

single complete progression through the sleep stages, 90 minutes in adults, SWS in predominates in early nights sleep, REM predominates in late night

melatonin

released by the pineal gland, mellows you before sleep, changes in light trigger release

cortisol

levels increase in the early morning and help promote wakefulness, sol

dreaming

mostly occurs in REM sleep, many models attempt to account for content and purpose

Dysomnias

disorders of the amount, quality, or timing sleep

Parasomnias

Abnormal behaviors such as nightmares or sleepwalking that occur during sleep.

hypnosis

state of consciousness in which the person is especially susceptible to suggestion

meditation

involved that quieting of the mind and is often used for relief of anxiety

depressants

drugs (such as alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines) that reduce neural activity and slow body functions, promote or mimic GABA activity in the brain

stimulants

include amphetamines, cocaine, and ecstasy, increase dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin concentration at the synaptic cleft

opiates and opioids

heroin, morphine, opium, pain pills, decrease reaction to pain, euphoria, endorphin agonist, can cause death by respiratory depression

hallucinogens

psychedelic drugs, such as LSD, that distort perceptions and evoke sensory images in the absence of sensory input

marijuana

depressant, stimulant and hallucinogenic effect, active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol

mesolimbic pathway

involved in motivation and emotional response, activation accounts for positive reinforcement of drug use, includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area

selective attention

allows one to pat attention to a particular stimulus while determining if additional stimuli in the background require attention

divided attention

uses automatic processing to pay attention to multiple activities at one time

phonology

refers to the actual sound of speech

morphology

refers to the building blocks of words such as rules for pluralization (-s in english)

semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

syntax

refers to the rules dictating word order

pragmatics

refers to the changes in language delivery depending on context

prosody

the rhythm, cadence, and inflection of our voices

nativist (biological) theory of language

explains language acquisition as being innate and controlled by the language acquisition device (LAD)

learning (behaviorist) theory of language

explains language acquisition as being controlled by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers

social interactionist theory of language

explains language acquisition as being caused by a motivation to communicate and interact with others

Whorfian hypothesis/Linguistic relativity hypothesis

states that the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language

Broca's aphasia

condition resulting from damage to Broca's area, causing the affected person to be unable to speak fluently, to mispronounce words, and to speak haltingly

cognition

acquiring new knowledge and understanding through thought, experiences, and senses

Wernicke's aphasia

condition resulting from damage to Wernicke's area, causing the affected person to be unable to understand or produce meaningful language

abstract thought

the ability to think about things that are not physically present