Chapter 10 Flashcards
what is cognition
“to think”
allowing us to manipulate info internally to construct models of the world
addresses thinking, language and intelligence
what is knowledge
entire body of info acquired through study, investigation, observation and experience
using symbols, mental representations
what is symbolic representation
language is an example of symbolic representation
- no resemblence to the actual object
what are analogical representation
a representation that maintains some of the characteristics of the real object
- such as maps
what is it meant by mental image
referring to a representation of any sensory experience that is stored in memory and can be retrieved for use later
to supply the organization in our minds, we use organizing ideas such as concepts from specific instances and occurrences we experience
what is a prototype
a representation of a category formed by averaging all members in that category
when thinking about a category, you might retrieve a specific instance of a concept or an exemplar
t/f concept formation can be a type of theory building
true
how does problem solving help us solve a problem
problem solving = defined as the use of information to meet a specific goal
recognizing the problem
developing strategies
evaluating the success of the strategies
what are the 4 steps to problem solving
- understand the problem
- make a plan
- carry out the plan
- look back
what is a mental set
barrier to forming useful representation of a problem
- getting stuck on the wrong mental set or framework for thinking about a problem
a type of mental set = functional fixedness = a persons tendency to think about an object in the most typical form and no others (solving problems by using objects creatively)
what are algorithms
a precise step-by-step set of rules that will reliably generate a solution to a problem
explain heuristics
algorithms take time to make and we often substitute rules of thumb or create shortcuts to problem solving
they are faster since they do not go thru all the evaluation
explain the 4 types of heuristics
- availability heuristics
- it is used when people predict that events are easy to think about will be more frequent - seeing news reports talking about shark attacks and now you think shark attacks are more common then they are. - representativeness heuristic
- leads people to estimate that stimuli similar to a prototype are more likely to fit the category than are stimuli different from the prototype
- a person looks more like a truck driver than a prof so you wouldnt think they were a prof based on the persons mental prototype - recognition heuristic
- a rule of thumb in which a higher value is placed on the more easily recognized alterative
- when asked which 2 cities are bigger, they will pick the one they are more familiar with - affect heuristic
- relevant in the way people make important choices - we use our emotional responses to each choice to guide out decisions
based on our past experiences with similar choices we develop a gut reaction to our options, which push us toward alternatives we expect to produce
t/f solutions require time to work
true
failure to make immediate progress should not be the basis for discarding a promising solution
what are some individual differences in decision making
- maximizers
- people who strive to reach the best outcomes
- related to increase feelings of regret and reduced self-esteem - satisficers
willing to choose outcomes that are merely acceptable
- related to more happiness and well-being + adaptive decision making
what is language
a system for communicating thoughts and feelings using signals, voice, gestures, symbols
- lots of languages are lost or will be lost soon
what are phonemes and morphemes
ph = a speech sound
c in cat
mor = smallest component of speech that carried meaning
(pre)school, (sur)urban
they are combined into phrases and sentences according to rules of grammar
what is aphasia
the loss of the ability to speak or understand language
reading and written are often but not always impacted
what are the major areas of the brain that control language
left side of the brain
motor cortex, primary auditory cortex
Broca’s area
Wernicke’s Area
explain Broca’s area
Located in the left frontal lobe, Broca’s area is responsible for speech production and articulation. Damage to this area can lead to
Broca’s aphasia, characterized by difficulty in forming grammatically correct speech while comprehension remains intact.
explain wernickes area
Wernicke’s Area: Found in the left temporal lobe, Wernicke’s area is crucial for language comprehension. Damage to this area results in
Wernicke’s aphasia, where individuals produce fluent but nonsensical speech and struggle to understand language.
what are the 3 major patterns for animal communication
signaling danger and identifying territories
signals that communicate magnitude
communicating thru sequence of behavior
- most likely to look for language between chimps, gorillas
what is the fastest way to learn a language
two-way interactive in the form of conversation
learning, reinforcing the social nature of this behaviour
more language learning occurs when a real person is speaking with the child face to face than when a child is listening to the same speaker on television
explain dyslexia
difficulty in learning to read
genetic factors
results in differences in the symmetry of the cerebral hemispheres
when reading they show less activity in the pathway connecting visual cortex in the occipital lobe to the Wernicke’s area in the the temporal lobe
showed greater activiation of brocas area when participating in speech production
