Week 13 - Cognitive Perspective

web of decisions

flow of life

Schema

mental organization of information (knowledge structures)

exemplars

specific cases, concrete example pulled from memory

prototype

sense of a category as a whole categorized in best member category (idealized), pulled from expectations

fuzzy set

scheme defined vaguely by relevant but unnecessary criteria

semantic memory

organized by meaning, concepts, categories. memory for general knowledge not learned by experience

episodic memory

events of episodes (strung together), memory learned by experience

script

prototype of event category (ex. knowing what to expect when going out to eat)

procedural knowledge

knowledge how to do something usually unconsciously, engaging in overt behaviors (and mental manipulations)

self-schema

thoughts that you form about yourself

self-complexity

all the self-aspects/roles/goals/activities that impact self-image

entity

something you have more/less of that doesn't change, abilities and traits are fixed

attribution

inferring/explaining the cause of the event (spontaneous)

nodes

areas linked of storage through logical connection

Priming

Activating a node by a task that precedes the task of interest.

Subliminal primes

Primes working outside of awareness, which can be linked to particular relationships.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A psychological condition characterized by a disregard for others, often exemplified by a case of an 18-year-old male from a poor neighborhood with a troubled background.

Self-verification goals

Goals that influence people's actions, such as interpreting kindness as flirting after watching a romance movie.

Readiness to use particular schemas

The tendency to use the most accessible categories more frequently.

Case example

An example involving an 18-year-old male with BPD, who drinks alcohol and is encouraged to be in a gang.

The unconscious

Part of the mind we don't have ready access, still influences thoughts/feelings/behavior.

Connectionism/parallel distributed processing

Neuronal/cognitive process, how we process information all at once (priming happening concurrently).

Processing

Passing activations from one unit to another.

Activation

Goes from a later unit to an earlier one.

Related concepts to a node

Are more likely to be activated after.

Learning

Achieved by strengthening/weakening existing node connections.

Parallel constraint satisfaction process

Creates organization/coherence across the network (given the constraints) leading to social perception and decision making.

Decision making

Made from fitting bits of evidence together (can emerge as irrational).

Dual Process models

Cognition requires two kinds of thought: 1) fast, automatic, unconscious 2) slow, deliberate, conscious.

Intuitive reasoning

Managing problem solving, skilled activities.

Conscious processing

Effortful reasoning (following instructions), using both types of thought, but usually more so controlled processing.

Controlled processing

Apply a rule to situations and make decisions.

Cognitive-Experiential Self-Theory

We experience reality through two systems.

Rational system

Slow, conscious, operates through logical rules.

Cool system

Strategic, slow, unemotional.

Experiential system

Intuitive, dominates when speed is needed.

Hot system

Emotional, impulsive.

Explicit knowledge

Info accessible on demand, verbal, conceptual learning.

Implicit knowledge

Automatic mental associations we aren't aware of, simple association (classical/instrumental conditioning).

Cognitive-Social Learning (Mischel)

1) competence: skills you develop 2) personal constructs/strategies: reacting to a situation differently because you experience it differently 3) expectancies: anticipation that one event leads to another 4) subjective values: knowing the desired outcomes 5) self-regulatory system/plan: setting goals and carrying out plans.

Emotions in cognitive process

Play a key role in cognitive process.

Individuality in cognition

1) different schema evoked from same situation 2) person acts in ways that fit an active schema.

Schematic knowledge

Of people important to us developed early in life.

Assessment methods

Think-aloud approaches, event recording/self-monitoring.

Informational-processing deficits

Schizophrenic individuals: takes longer to recognize stimuli; anxiety: attention less effective; aggression/violence: don't attend to cues of others' intentions.

Depressive self-schemas

Using faulty schemas to interpret events, rely on negative preconceptions and ignore available information.

Cognitive triad

Negative thinking about self, world, future.

Cognitive therapy

Recognize self-defeating thoughts, substitute with self-talk.