1) Experiential cognition refers to activities we are skilled at which we can do without having to think, given our innate experience with them. Reflective cognition takes time and effort, as people have to actively think about their actions in order to accomplish them. This latter one is better for good academic performance, as reflective cognition can deal with more complicated problems, and is essentially the process by which we learn new things. 2) The two criteria for critical thinking are 1) the existing skills to generate and process beliefs and information, and
2) the ability to use those skills in order to inform one’s behavior. I would argue that the latter criteria is more important, as whatever skills you have are useless without the ability to use them properly. 3) A sample population of two classrooms learning the same curricula will be recorded over the course of two months. The control group will be given no extra intervention for preparing for their exam; the experimental group, however, will be allotted an extra half hour of study time in class per week directly related to said exam. The operational definition of ‘studying time’ will be specified to involve in-class study time.
4) Base rate fallacy – people unduly focus on descriptive information over statistical info (e.g. being more likely to perceive people as having different incomes based on descriptive information about them, instead of the empirical stats data they were given)
- Conjunction fallacy – incorrectly combining two sets of assumptions about individuals (e.g. not believing that someone could be both poor and smart).
- Disjunction fallacy – assuming that someone who is good at math ematics is a math major, for example.
5) Mankind developed different sections of the brain over time because of evolution. The reptilian complex (based around the basal ganglia) involves aggression and dominance
- the paleomammalian complex involves the septum, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and amygdale, and focuses on reproductive, childraising and feeding behaviors.
- The neomammalian complex is the cerebral neocortex, and is responsible for abstract thought.
6) This involves different parts of the brain having different functions that they are responsible for. PET scans can be used to scan the brain while showing the patient different works of art to see changes in the occipital lobe.7) Sensation and perception are the overall goals of the distal/proximal stimulus and the percept, allowing us to experience things. The distal stimulus is the object we are looking at or feeling; the proximal stimulus is the image that we see of the object, which the eye records. The percept is the impression these stimuli create. 8) Naïve realism: we see reality the way it truly is, and all facts are plainly visible
- Constructivism: things are given meaning by us constructing meaning around them in the mind
- Illusions would be interpreted as truth by naïve realism, while constructivism builds a meaning around said illusion.
9) The Muller-Lyer arrow shows how we perceive things both in bottom-up and top-down fashions; bottom-up perception of the arrow relies on the visual stimulus of the arrows, while top-down processing involves understanding the goal of the exercise to find which lines are longer. 10) Motion parallax –mountains in the distance pass slower than streetlights when driving
- Depth from motion – a passing car looks bigger as it gets closer
- Kinetic depth effect – cars passing under streetlights at night show the whole depth of the car
- Perspective – Two sides of a road in front of you meeting at the horizon
- Relative size – Taking a picture of a deck of cards next to a penny to show how big the deck is compared to the penny
11) Similarity – objects look like one another (the FedEx arrow matches similar shapes in the font)
- Continuation – Eyes follow one object into another (the crossbones in a pirate flag)
- Closure – Filling in the blanks to complete shapes (the incomplete ‘A’s in the old NASA logo)
- Proximity – objects put close together grouped in the mind (the Olympic rings)
- Common Fate – multiple objects moving at same rate in same direction equated (a flock of birds)
12) Homeostatic process: body maintaining itself with pH, body fluids and temperature
- Circadian process: keeps us asleep, maintains homeostatic process.
13) Drug addiction happens when drugs become habit-forming; drugs grow to fulfill a need in one’s life, as the body and mind become dependent on the good feelings taken from the drug. Once addicted, other habits can be used to replace those habits, as well as becoming cognizant of the effects drugs have on your daily life.
14) Cognitive learning: when things are learned through experimentation and measurement (seeing for yourself whether or not rocks float by throwing one in a lake). ‘Cool’ cognition.
- associative learning occurs when associations between stimuli and behavior are made (hot cognition)
- Operant conditioning: you are rewarded for your behavior (getting a bonus for hard work)
- Classical conditioning: training one stimulus to result in another (associating a dinner bell with food)
15) Reinforcement: positive (pressing a button gives you food) and negative (pressing a button shocks you)
- Punishment: positive (getting hit for misbehaving) and negative (having television taken away for misbehaving)
16) Put out two bird feeders –one green and one blue – and put food in only the blue container. After a few days, switch the location of the feeders to see if the pigeons flock to the blue container regardless of it changing location.
17) Fixed-ratio schedules – reinforcement only after a certain number of responses (dog gets a treat after sitting five times)
* Variable-ratio schedules – reinforcement happens unpredictably (dog gets a treat at random times when they sit)
* Fixed-interval schedules – reinforcement happens after a fixed amount of time (dog gets a treat five minutes after sitting)
* Variable-interval schedules – reinforcement happens unpredictably after response (dog gets a treat at any random point after sitting)
* Continuous reinforcement – desired behavior reinforced each time it happens (dog always gets a treat for sitting)18) In this model, there is a sensory register (where sensory information goes into memory), a short-term memory (processes information from sensory register) and long-term memory (indefinitely holds memory from short-term memory). 19) Encoding – something experienced is formed into memory that can be stored
* Storage – encoded information is stored in the brain
* Retrieval – stored information retrieved for immediate perception
All three processes vital for the entire experience of memory to occur (acknowleding, storing, and retrieving).
- Encoding failures – memory is not stored in long-term memory
- Failure of availability – when a memory has disappeared and is forgotten
- Failure of accessibility – a memory exists in long-term memory, but cannot be accessed
20) Free recall offers a limitless order in recollecting memory, while recognition involves bringing up specific past memories of something currently experienced; recognition may work better as a direct example of operational definitions of memory. With multiple-choice questions, people can recognize the right answer as they see it rather than having to remember it from free recall. Names are not visual, but faces are, and so it is easier to recognize a face in visual memory than be asked to remember a name from free recall.
21) A counterfactual world is basically an alternate reality in which ‘what if’ questions are asked about events which did not occur.
* Propositional mental representation: looking at E=mc2 and thinking it has no meaning without having the context
* Mental models: Thinking someone else would have killed Lincoln if John Wilkes Booth hadn’t.
* Mental images: Imagining a world in which your boss falls down a well22) Phonetics/phonology: the sounds recognized by speakers of a language (recognizing what someone is saying as English)
* Morphology: the construction of words from syllables (putting together syllables to form a word)
* Syntax: putting words into sentences based on grammar (recognizing words in order to hear a sentence)
* Discourse Analysis: communication based on means of communication (reacting to an email differently than a conversation)* Semantics: discussing or considering definitions of words and phrases (recognizing through context what a person is conveying through their language)23) The Flynn effect: incredible and steady increase in intelligence scores in the past century or so. This supports the environmental impact of intelligence, as the more complex and sophisticated environment we live in theoretically is allowing us to become smarter.24) Theory X: authoritative management needed to keep lazy workers in line (agentic, often found with male leaders)
* Theory Y: management works collaboratively with workers and places more trust in them (communal; women leaders more likely to be these)25) Tragedy of the commons refers to the self-interest of the individual meaning they take up more resources for themselves without thinking of the common good. Environmentalists must find a way to get people to get over their selfishness in order to not hog all the resources for themselves. As a world leader, I would work to increase government regulations to limit people’s ability to exert self-interest, barring a greater sense of egalitarianism being cultivated in society.
