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MCAT Psychology > Concept 6B > Flashcards

Concept 6B Flashcards

(77 cards)

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1
Q

Attention

A

State of focused awareness on a subset of the available perceptual information

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2
Q

Selective attention

A

The process by which one focuses on one stimulus while tuning out another. Donald Broadbent Filter Model. Cocktail party effect (Anne Tresiman’s Attenuation Model - turning down volume than filter).

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3
Q

Divided attention

A

The ability to pay attention to two or more stimuli at the same time

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4
Q

Cognition

A

How our brains process and react to the incredible information overload presented to us by the world

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5
Q

Information Processing Model

A

Our mind like computers: first take in information from the environment using their sensory memory, some of which is then stored in short-term or working memory, and some fraction of this working memory is also stored in long-term memory.

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6
Q

Alan Baddley’s model

A

Defined working memory that has

1) phonological loop (repeat verbal information),
2) visuospatial sketchpad (mental images),
3) episodic buffer (interact with long-term memory),
4) central executive (overseer of entire process).

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7
Q

Cognitive Development: Piaget

A

1) Sensorimotor stage: 0-2 years. Circular reactions (primary and secondary). By end, learn object permanence.
2) Preoperational stage: 2-7 years. Symbolic thinking (make-believe), egocentrism, centration. Inability to understand conservation (same volume despite container difference)
3. Concrete operational stage: 7-11 years. Understand conservation and others’ POV. Logical thought, but not abstract.
4. Formal operational stage: 12 on. Can understand abstract reasoning and moral reasoning.

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8
Q

Cognitive Changes in Late Adulthood

A

Elderly are:

1) Some memory decline in recall, not necesssarily recognition
2) Time-based tasks challenging
3) Slower information-processing abilities
4) Same implicit memory
5) Improvements (until 60) of semantic memory
6) Better crystallized intelligence and emotional reasoning
7) Fluid intelligence peaks in adulthood

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9
Q

Role of Culture in Cognitive Development

A

Lev Vygosky - child’s cognitive development is driven by child’s internalization of his/her culture, including interpersonal/societal rules, symbols, language

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10
Q

Barriers to Effective Problem-Solving

A

1) Mental set: tendency to respond to a new problem in the manner used to respond to a previous problem
2) Functional fixedness: inability to consider how to use an object in a nontraditional manner (Dunker’s candle problem)
3) Bias
4) Anchoring bias: over-reliance on a single piece of a priori information or experience
5) Confirmation bias: selective search for evidence
6) Hindsight bias: belief that an experienced event was predictable, even though it really wasn’t.
7) Representative bias: unintentionally stereotype someone or something
8) Heuristic (representative & availability)
9) Belief bias: tendency to judge arguments based on what one believes
10) Overconfidence

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11
Q

Problem Solving Approaches

A

1) Trial and Error
2) Algorithm
3) Heuristic (or, in Kaplan, deductive/top-down & inductive/bottom-up reasoning)

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12
Q

Intelligence Theories

A

1) Spearman’s General Intelligence
2) Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence (7 of them)
3) Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory

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13
Q

Intelligence Quotient

A

Alfred Binet, IQ= 100* (mental age/chronological age). Expected to be at 100, std dev 15

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14
Q

Consciousness

A

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

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15
Q

States of Consciousness

A

1) Alertness
2) Sleep
3) Dreaming
4) Altered state of consciousness

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16
Q

Alertness: which part of brain communicates with what, what waves predominate

A

Fibers from prefrontal cortex communicate with reticular formation to keep cortex awake and alert.
a waves - relaxed. b waves - alert & attending, mental task for concentration.

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17
Q

Stages of Sleep

A
  1. Stage 1: Theta waves. Irregular waveforms, slow f & high V.
  2. Stage 2: Theta waves, w/ sleep spindles and K complexes
  3. Stage 3 & 4: slow-wave sleep. d waves: low-f & high V. Associated with cognitive recovery, memory consolidation, increased GH release
  4. REM Sleep. Dreaming most likely. Associated w/ procedural memory consolidation.
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18
Q

Melatonin

A

Serotonin-derived hormone from the pineal gland. Attribute to sleepiness.

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19
Q

Cortisol

A

steroid hormone produced in adrenal cortex. Increase in response to light, help with wakefulness.

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20
Q

Dreaming theories

A

1) Activation-synthesis theory
2) Problem-solving dream theory
3) Cognitive process dream theory
4) Neurocognitive models of dreaming
5) Freud: manifest & latent content

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21
Q

Sleep Disorders

A
  1. Dyssomnias: disorders that make it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, or avoid sleep. (Insomnia, narcolepsy, sleep apnea)
  2. Parasomnia: abnormal movements or behaviors during sleep. (Night terrors, sleepwalking/somnabulism)
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22
Q

Narcolepsy symptoms

A

1) Cataplexy: loss of muscle control, sudden intrusion of REM sleep during waking hours
2) Sleep paralysis: sensation of being unable to move despite being awake
3) Hypnagogic & hypnopompic hallucinations: hallucinations when going to sleep or awakening, respectively.

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23
Q

Hypnosis

A

State in which a person appears to be in control of his or her normal functions, but is in a highly suggestible state

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24
Q

Meditation

A

Quieting of the mind for some purpose, resemble stage 1 sleep

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25
Consciousness-altering drugs
1) Depresants: alcohol, barbiturates, benzodiazepans. 2) Stimulants: amphetamines, cocaine, ecstasy 3) Opiates: opium, heroin 4) Hallucinogens: LSD
26
Alcohol
Increase GABA receptor. Stimulate GABA and dopamine system. GABA = inhibitory neurotransmitter (Note barbiturates and benzodiazepans also increase GABA)
27
Amphephetamines
Release Dopamine, NE, Serotonin & Decrease reuptake. Increase HR, BP.
28
Cocaine
Decreases reuptake of dopamine, NE, serotonin. Vasoconstrictive.
29
Ecstasy
amphetamine + hallucinogen. Increase HR, BP, blurry vision, sweating, nausea, hyperthermia.
30
Heroine
Once injected, body metabolizes heroin to morphine. Methadone as treatment.
31
Marijuana
Active chemical: tetrahyrocannabinol (THC) that acts at cannaboid, glycine, opioid receptors. Increases GABA activity, dopamine activity. Increased HR and appetite, decreased BP Stimulant, hallucinogen, depressant
32
Drug Addiction
Related to mesolimbic reward pathway 1) Nucleus accumbens (NAc) 2) Ventral tegemental area (VTA) 3) Medial forebrain bundle (MFB) Dopamine primarily involved
33
Memory
ability to take in information, encode it, store it, and retrieve it at a later time
34
Encoding
1) Visual encoding (weakest) 2) Acoustic encoding 3) Semantic encoding (strongest) - strategies include chunking & mnemonics
35
Process of Encoding
After perception, travel to Thalamus, which consolidates & presents to hippocampus for long-term storage 1) Stimulus causes neuron activation, releasing neurotransmitters 2) Neural activity forms a memory trace (short-term memory) 3) If stimulus repeated, receptor density increases, cause long-term memory
36
Processes that aid in encoding memories
1) Mnemonics 2) Chunking 3) State-Dependent Learning 4) Self-reference effect 5) Maintenance rehearsal: repetition of a piece of information either to keep it within working memory or to store it in short-term memory 6) Method of loci: associating each item in the list with a location along a route through a building that has already been memorized 7) Peg-word: associate numbers with items that rhyme with numbers or look like them 8) Hierarchies 9) Depth of processing 10) acronym
37
Memory storage types
1) Sensory 2) Short-term 3) Working 4) Long-term
38
Sensory memory
Iconic (visual) & echoic (auditory). Very precise, fleeting (~1s). Occipital & temporal lobe.
39
Short-term memory
~30s. 7 items. In hippocampus
40
Working memory
Hippocampus, frontal and parietal cortex involved. Integrate short term memory, attention, and executive function.
41
Long-term memory
Elaborative rehearsal important. 2 types: 1) implicit ( (nondeclarative/procedural) memory, and 2) explicit (declarative) memory. Explicit memory is comprised of semantic & episodic memory.
42
Retrieval
process of demonstrating that something has been learned has been retained
43
Recall
retrieval and statement of previously learned information
44
Recognition
identifying a piece of information that was previously learned
45
Relearning
memorization a lot faster the second time learning the material. Spacing effect.
46
Semantic network
concepts linked together based on similar meaning
47
Priming
recall aided by first being presented with a word or phrase that is close to the desired semantic memory
48
Serial position effect
retrieval cue when memorizing lists - primacy & recency effect
49
Transience
General deterioration of a specific memory over time
50
Aging & memory
20s = peak period for encoding. Aging: 1) Not so much degeneration in recognition or skill-based memory as they age 2) Prospective memory declines 3) Event-based (primed by trigger event): mostly intact. Time-base: decline with age
51
Emotion in retrieving memories
Amygdala involvement: particularly in negative memories
52
Memory dysfunctions
1) Alzheimer's 2) Korsakoff's syndrome 3) Agnosia
53
Alzheimer's Disease
Linked to loss of Ach in neurons that link to hippocampus. Retrograde amnesia. Neurofibrillary tangles, b-amyloid plaques.
54
Korsakoff's syndrome
Memory loss by thiamine deficiency in the brain. Both retrograde & anterograde amnesia. Confabulation (create vivid but fabricated memories)
55
Agnosia
Loss of ability to recognize objects, people, or sounds. Often caused by physical damage to brain.
56
Decay
Trace Decay Theory, curve of forgetting
57
Interference
Retrieval error caused by existence of other information. 1) Proactive: old information interfering with new learning 2) Retroactive: new information cause forgetting of the old information
58
Memory construction
``` Misinformation effect (elizabeth loftus study), can be seen at the point of recall. Cofabulation. ```
59
Source-monitoring error
confusion between semantic and episodic memory. Forgetting the information's source
60
Neural plasticity
neural connections forming rapidly in response to stimuli as our brains develops
61
Synaptic pruning
weak neural connections broken, strong ones bolstered
62
Memory & learning
Learning is the acquisition of skill or knowledge, while memory is the expression of what you’ve acquired. Learning slow, memory faster
63
Long-term potentiation
If stimulus repeated, stimulated neurons become more efficient at releasing neurotransmitters, receptor density increases. Cause long-term memory.
64
Components of Language
1. Phonology: actual sound of language 2. Morphology: structure of words 3. Semantics: association of meaning with a word 4. Syntax: how words are put together to form sentences 5. Pragmatics: dependence of language on context and preexisting knowledge
65
Language theories
1. Nativist theory (Chomsky) 2. Learning theory (Skinner) 3. Social interaction theory (Vygotsky)
66
Transformational grammar
Focused on syntactic transformations, or changes in word order that retain the same meaning
67
Nativist theory
Innate capacity for language. Critical & sensitive periods. Language acquisition device (LAD). Universal grammar.
68
Learning (behaviorist) theory
Language obtained by operant conditioning, by reinforcement.
69
Social interaction theory
Interplay between biological and social processes. Language acquisition driven by child's desire to communicate and behave in a social manner. Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): level of development obtained when children engage in social interactions with others
70
Influence of language on cognition
- Whorfian hypothesis (Linguistic relativity hypothesis) - Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: the way one thinks has a huge impact on what he or she says and does - Linguistic determinism
71
Hemispheres & language
Left hemisphere: fns of speech, language processing and comprehension, and logical reasoning. Right hemisphere: interprets emotional tone of speech, but is unable to process words and meaning independently.
72
Brain lobes and language
Frontal lobe: attention, speech, and problem solving. Has Bronca's area Parietal lobe: speech and reading Temporal lobe: language comprehension, semantics of speech. Has Wernicke's area. Occipital lobe: reading & writing.
73
Bronca's area
Located in inferior frontal gyrus of the frontal lobe. Controls motor function of speech via connections w/ motor cortex (speech production)
74
Wernicke's area
In superior temporal gyrus of temporal lobe. Responsible for language comprehension.
75
Arcuate fasciculus
Bundle of axons that enable association between language comprehension and speech production (between Bronca's and Wernicke's areas)
76
Aphasia
deficit of language production or comprehension 1. Bronca's aphasia: peech comprehension is intact, but reduced or absent ability to produce speech language 2. Wernicke's aphasia: fluency of speech retained, but comprehension of speech lost 3. Conduction aphasia: patient unable to repeat something that has been said
77
Galton’s idea of hereditary genius
Human ability is hereditary

MCAT Psychology (8 decks)

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