Ch 4 - Cognition, Consciousness, and Language

Question 1

How is thought more than just that of which we are conscious?

Answer 1

the brain processes and makes decisions about the importance of various stimuli below the level of conscious awareness

Question 2

What is information processing model?

Answer 2

states that the brain encodes, stores, and retrieves information more like a computer

Question 3

How does abstract thinking develop?

Answer 3

the ability to think abstractly develops over the life span

Question 4

What limits and influences cognitive development?

Answer 4

• early cognitive development is limited by brain maturation
• culture, genes, and environment also influence cognitive development

Question 5

What is Piaget’s stages of cognitive development?

Answer 5

• sensorimotor: focuses on manipulating the environment to meet physical needs through circular reactions (object permanence ends this stage)
• preoperational: focuses on symbolic thinking, egocentrism, and centration
• concrete operational: focuses on understanding the feelings of others and manipulating physical (concrete) objects
• formal operational: focuses on abstract thought and problem solving

Question 6

What is considered normal with declining cognitive?

Answer 6

• mid level decline while aging is normal

- significant changes may signify an underlying disorder

Question 7

What biological factors affect cognition?

Answer 7

organic brain disorders
genetic and chromosomal conditions
metabolic derangement
drug use

Question 8

What does problem solving require?

Answer 8

identification and understanding of the problem, generation of potential solutions, testing potential solutions, and evaluation of results

Question 9

What is mental set?

Answer 9

a pattern of approach for a given problem (an inappropriate mental set may negatively impact problem solving)

Question 10

What is a functional fixedness?

Answer 10

the tendency to use objects only in the way they are normally utilized, which may create barrier to problem solving

Question 11

What are different types of problem solving?

Answer 11

trial and error, algorithms, deductive reasoning (deriving conclusions from general rules), and inductive reasoning (deriving generalizations from evidence)

Question 12

How do Heuristics, biases, intuition, and emotions help in decision making but may also lead to erroneous or problematic decisions?

Answer 12

• heuristics: shortcuts or rules of thumb used to make decisions ( available - how easily similar instances can be imagined; representative - how a particular item or situation fits a given proto/stereotype)
• biases: exist when an experimenter or decision maker is unable to objectively evaluate information
• intuition: a “gut feeling” regarding a particular decisions (however, intuition can often be attributed to experience with similar situations)
• emotional state often plays a role in decision making

Question 13

What does Gardener’s theory of multiple intelligences propose?

Answer 13

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

Question 14

What are the different states of consciousness?

Answer 14

alertness, sleep, dreaming, and altered states of consciousness

Question 15

What is alertness?

Answer 15

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

Question 16

What are the stages of sleep?

Answer 16

• 1: light sleep and is dominated by theta waves on EEG
• 2: slightly deeper and includes theta waves, sleep spindles, and K complexes
• 3 & 4: deep (slow wave) sleep where delta waves predominate on EEG (located of most sleep-wake disorders with non rapid eye movement NREM) - dreaming focuses on consolidating declarative memories

Question 17

What is rapid eye movement (REM) sleep?

Answer 17

• sometimes called paradoxical sleep
• the mind appears close to awake on EEG, but the person is asleep
• eye movements and body paralysis occur
• dreaming focuses on consolidating procedural memories

Question 18

What is the sleep cycle?

Answer 18

• approximately 90 minutes for adults

- normal cycle is stage 1-2-3-4-3-2-REM or just 1-2-3-4-REM although REM becomes more frequent toward the morning

Question 19

Which 2 hormones are most associated with maintaining sleep?

Answer 19

• changes in light in the evening trigger release of melatonin by the pineal gland resulting in sleep (melatonin mellows you out)
• cortisol levels increase in the early morning and help promote wakefulness (cortisol helps get you up)
• circadian rhythms normally trend around a 24 hour day

Question 20

When does dreaming occur and what affects the content?

Answer 20

• most dreaming occurs during REM, but some dreaming occurs during other sleep stages
• there are many different models that attempt to account for the content and purpose of dreaming

Question 21

What is dyssominas and parasomnias?

Answer 21

sleep wake disorders

• dyssomnias: duration/timing of sleep disturbed (insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea/deprivation)
• parasomnias: abnormal behavior during sleep (night terrors and sleep walking)

Question 22

What is hypnosis?

Answer 22

• a state of consciousness in which individuals appear to be in control of their normal faculties but are in a highly suggestible state
• often used for pain control, psychological therapy, memory enhancement, weight loss, and smoking cessation

Question 23

What is meditation?

Answer 23

• involves a quieting of the mind and is often used for relief of anxiety
• played a role in many of the world’s religions

Question 24

What are depressants?

Answer 24

• include alcohol, barbiturates, and benzodiazepines

- promote and mimic GABA activity in the brain (increase)

Question 25

What are stimulants?

Answer 25

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

Question 26

What are opiates and opioids?

Answer 26

- include heroin, morphine, opium, and prescription pain medications such as oxycodone and hydrocodone - can cause death by respiratory depression

Question 27

What are hallucinogens?

Answer 27

- include LSD, peyote, mescaline, ketamine, and psilocybin-containing mushrooms

Question 28

What effects does marijuana have?

Answer 28

- has depressant, stimulant, and hallucinogenic effects | - its active ingredient is tetrahydrocannabinol

Question 29

What is drug addiction meditated by?

Answer 29

- by the mesolimbic pathway, which includes the nucleus accumbens, medial forebrain bundle, and ventral tegmental area - dopamine is the main neurotransmitter in this pathway

Question 30

What does selected attention allow?

Answer 30

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

Question 31

How does divided attention work?

Answer 31

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

Question 32

What are the sections of languages?

Answer 32

- phonology: actual sound of speech - morphology: building blocks of words, such as rules for pluralization, past tense, etc. - semantics: meaning of words - syntax: rules dictating word order - pragmatics: the changes in language delivery depending on context

Question 33

What are the different theories of language development?

Answer 33

- nativist (biological) theory: innate ability to pick up language via the language acquisition device (LAD) - learning (behavorist) theory: by operant conditioning and reinforcement by parents and caregivers - social interactionist theory: motivation to communicate and interact with others

Question 34

What is Whorfin hypothesis?

Answer 34

- linguistic relativity | - states that the lens through which we view and interpret the world is created by language

Question 35

Where are speech areas found in brain?

Answer 35

the dominant hemisphere, usually left

Question 36

What is Broca's area?

Answer 36

- controls the motor functions of speech | - damage results in Broca's aphasia, a non fluent aphasia in which generating each word requires great effort

Question 37

What is Wernicke's area?

Answer 37

- controls language comprehension | - damage results in Wernicke aphasia, a fluent, nonsensical aphasia with lack of comprehension

Question 38

What connects Wernicke and Broca's area and what happens if it is damaged?

Answer 38

- connected by arcuate fasciculus - damage results in conduction aphasia, marked by the inability to repeat words heard despite intact speech generation and comprehension

Question 39

What is the difference between dementia and delirium?

Answer 39

- dementia: often begins with impaired memory, but later progresses to impaired judgement and confusion - delirium: rapid fluctuation in cognitive function that is reversible and caused by medical causes

Question 40

What is the intelligence quotient (IQ)?

Answer 40

mental age/chronological age x 100%

Question 41

What is the difference between controlled processing and automatic processing?

Answer 41

- control: maintain undivided attention on task, used for new/complex tasks - automatic: used for less critical stimuli in divided attention, familiar/repetitive function

Question 42

What is the function of the filter in selective attention?

Answer 42

allows us to focus on one set of stimuli while scanning others in background for important information

Question 43

What are the language milestones for the following ages: - 9-12 months - 12-18 months - 18-20 months - 2-3 years - 5 years

Answer 43

- 9-12 mo: babbling - 12-18 mo: increase by about 1 word/month - 18-20 mo: explosion of language and combining words (2 word sentences) - 2-3 years: longer sentences with 3+ words - 5 years: language rules largely mastered

Question 44

What is the difference between deductive reasoning, representative heuristic, base rate fallacy, and confirmation bias?

Answer 44

- deduction: refers to drawing a conclusion by integrating different pieces of evidence - representative: involves categorization and classification based on how well an individual example fits its category - confirmation: occurs when a person only seeks information that reinforces his/her opinion - base: occurs when proto-stereotypical factors are used for analyses rather than actual data

Question 45

What is the difference between activation-synthesis theory, problem solving theory, cognitive process theory, and neurocognitive theory?

Answer 45

- activation: dreams are caused by widespread, random activation of neural circuity - problem: dreams are used to solve problems while sleeping due to untethering of dreams from obstacles perceived while awake - cognitive: wakeful and dreaming states use the same mental systems within the brain, particularly stream of consciousness - neuro: seek to unify cognitive and biological perspectives by correlating the subjective dream experience with psychological experience of dreaming

Question 46

What is cataplexy?

Answer 46

- sudden loss of muscle tone and intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours, usually in response to a startling or emotional trigger - narcolepsy with sleep paralysis