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Cognitive Psychology
Test 3
91
Psychology
Undergraduate 3
11/11/2008
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Term
Psycholinguistics
 Definition
An interdisciplinary field that examines how people use language to communicate ideas.
Term
Phoneme
 Definition
The basic unit of spoken language, such as sounds a,k, and th.
Term
Morpheme
 Definition
The basic unit of meaning. For example, the word reactivated actually contains 4 morphemes: re-, active, -ate, and –ed.
Term
Semantics
 Definition
The area of psycholinguistics that examines the meanings of words and sentences.
Term
Semantic Memory
 Definition
Our organized knowledge about the world.
Term
Syntax
 Definition
Refers to the grammatical rules that govern how we organize words into sentences.
Term
Pragmatics
 Definition
Our knowledge of the social rules that underlie language use.
Term
Phrase Structure
 Definition
Emphasizes that we construct a sentence by using a hierarchal structure based on constituents.
Term
Modular
 Definition
Means that people have a set of specific linguistic abilities that do not follow the principles of other cognitive processes, such as memory and decision making.
Term
Constituents
 Definition
Grammatical building blocks.
Term
Transformational grammar
 Definition
Devised to convert underlying, deep structure into the surface structure of a sentence.
Term
Surface Structure
 Definition
Represented by the words that are actually spoken or written.
Term
Deep Structure
 Definition
Also known as underlying structure it is the more abstract meaning of a sentence.
Term
Ambiguous Sentences
 Definition
Two sentences that have identical surface structures but very different deep structures.
Term
Kernal
 Definition
A basic deep structure.
Term
Transformational rules
 Definition
Used to convert surface structure to deep structure during understanding.
Term
Cognitive-functional approach
 Definition
This emphasizes that the function of human language is to communicate meaning to other individuals.
Term
Aphasia
 Definition
A person who has difficulty communicating, caused by damage to the speech areas of the brain.
Term
Broca's area
 Definition
damage to this typically produces speech that is hesitant, effortful, and grammatically simple.
Term
Wernicke's Area
 Definition
Damage to this causes serious difficulties in understanding speech, as well as language production that is too wordy and confused.
Term
Lateralization
 Definition
Means that each hemisphere of the brain has somewhat different functions.
Term
Positron emission tomography (PET scan)
 Definition
Measures the changes in blood flow within regions of the brain in order to understand the pattern of brain activity.
Term
Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
 Definition
Based on the principle that oxygen rich blood is an index of brain activity.
Term
Problem Solving
 Definition
Use this when you want to reach a certain goal, but the solution is not immediately obvious because obstacles are blocking your path.
Term
Problem Solving
 Definition
Use this when you want to reach a certain goal, but the solution is not immediately obvious because obstacles are blocking your path.
Term
Initial State
 Definition
Describes the situation at the begging of the problem.
Term
Goal State
 Definition
This is reached when you solve the problem.
Term
Obstacles
 Definition
Describes the restrictions that make it difficult to proceed from initial state to the goal state.
Term
Thinking
 Definition
Requires you to go beyond the information you were given, thinking also has a goal such as a solution, a decision, or a belief.
Term
Understanding
 Definition
Mean you have constructed a mental representation of the problem based on the information provided to the problem and your own previous experience.
Term
Matrix
 Definition
A chart that shows all the possible combinations of items.
Term
Hierarchical tree Diagram
 Definition
A figure that uses a tree-like structure to specify various possible options in a problem.
Term
Situated-cognition approach
 Definition
This argues that our ability to solve a problem is tied into the specific context in which we learned to solve the problem.
Term
Ecological Validity
 Definition
When the conditions in which the research is conducted are similar to the natural setting in which the results will be applied.
Term
Algorithm
 Definition
A method that will always produce a solution to the problem.
Term
Exhaustive Search
 Definition
A method in which you try out all possible answers using a specified system.
Term
Heuristic
 Definition
a general rules that is usually correct.
Term
Hill-Climbing Heuristic
 Definition
When you reach a certain point using this you simple select the alternative that seems to lead more directly toward your goal state.
Term
Means-end heuristic
 Definition
Has 2 important components: first you divide the problem into a number of subproblems or smaller problems then you try to reduce the difference between the initial state and the goal state for each of the subproblems.
Term
Sub Problems
 Definition
Smaller problems.
Term
Computer Simulation
 Definition
When researcher write a computer program that will performa task the same way that a human would.
Term
General Problem Solver (GPS)
 Definition
A program whose basic strategy is means-end analysis.
Term
Ill-defined Problem
 Definition
Problems where the goal is not obvious, means-ends analysis is therefore not useful.
Term
Analogy Approach
 Definition
An approach were we use a solution to a similar, earlier problem to help solve a new one.
Term
Problem Isomorphs
 Definition
Used to refer to a set of problems that have the same underlying structures and solutions, but different specific details.
Term
Surface Features
 Definition
The specific objects and terms used in the question.
Term
Structural Features
 Definition
The underlying core that must be understood in order to solve the problem correctly.
Term
Bottom-ups Processing
 Definition
Emphasizes the information about the stimulus, as registered on our sensory receptors.
Term
Top-down Processing
 Definition
Emphasizes our concepts, expectations, and memory, which we have acquired from past experiences.
Term
Expertise
 Definition
Demonstrates consistently exceptional performance on representative tasks for a particular area.
Term
Parallel Processing
 Definition
handles 2 or more items at the same time
Term
Serial Processing
 Definition
Handles’ only one item at a time.
Term
Mental Set
 Definition
When you keep trying the same solution you have used in previous problems, even though the problem could be solved by a different, easier method.
Term
Mindlessness
 Definition
Refers to a kind of automatic thinking in which we are entrapped in old categories, without being aware of new information available in the environment.
Term
Mindfulness
 Definition
We create new categories, we are eager to learn new information, and we are willing to look at the world from a different point of view.
Term
Functional Fixedness
 Definition
Means that the functions or uses we assign to objects tend to remain fixed or stable.
Term
Gender Stereotypes
 Definition
Organized, widely shared sets of beliefs about the characteristics of females and males.
Term
Insight Problem
 Definition
A problem that seems impossible to solve, but an alternative approach suddenly enters a person’s mind, the problem solver immediately realizes that the solution is correct.
Term
Non insight Problem
 Definition
A problem that is solved gradually, using memory, reasoning skills, and a routine set of procedures.
Term
Divergent Production
 Definition
A measurement of creativity in terms of the number of varied responses made to each test item.
Term
Intrinsic Motivation
 Definition
The motivation to work on a task for its own sake, because it is interesting, exciting, or personally challenging.
Term
Affirming the Antecedent
 Definition
In conditional reasoning, this phrase means that one is saying that the “If..” part of the sentence is true. This kind of reasoning leads to an correct conclusion.
Term
Affirming the Consequent
 Definition
In conditional reasoning, this phrase means that one is saying that the “then..” part of the sentence is true. This kind of reasoning leads to an incorrect conclusion.
Term
Anchor
 Definition
In decision making, the first approximation in the anchoring and adjustment heuristic.
Term
Anchoring-Adjustment Heuristic
 Definition
A decision-making heuristic in which people begin with a first approximation (an anchor) and then make adjustments to that number on the basis of additional information. Typically, people rely too heavily on the anchor, and their adjustments are too small.
Term
Antecedent
 Definition
In conditional reasoning, the proposition or statement that comes first; the antecedent is contained in the “if…” part of the sentence.
Term
Availability Heuristic
 Definition
A decision-making heuristic in which frequency or probability is estimated in terms of how easy it is to think of examples of something.
Term
Base Rate Fallacy
 Definition
in decision making, an error in which people underemphasize important information about base rate.
Term
Base Rate
 Definition
The frequency of occurrence of an item in the population.
Term
Bayes Theorom
 Definition
The rule that judgment should be influenced by two factors: base rate and the likelihood ration. In decision making, people tend to overemphasize the likelihood ratio and underemphasize the base rate.
Term
Belief-Biased Effect
 Definition
A situation in reasoning when people make judgments based on prior beliefs and general knowledge, rather than on the rules of logic.
Term
Conditional Reasoning
 Definition
A kind of deductive reasoning that concerns the relationship between conditions, using an “if…then..” format. Also known as propositional reasoning.
Term
Confirmation Bias
 Definition
In reasoning, the phenomenon that people would rather rey to confirm a hypothesis then try to disprove it.
Term
Consequent
 Definition
In conditional reasoning, the proposition that follows the antecedent; it is the consequence.
Term
Creativity
 Definition
In problem solving, the process of finding a solution that is novel, high quality, and useful.
Term
Decision Making
 Definition
The thought process for assessing and choosing among several alternatives.
Term
Deductive Reasoning
 Definition
The reasoning process in which specific premises are given, and a person decides whether those premises allow a particular logical conclusion to be drawn. In reasoning, the premises are either true or false, and formal logic specifies the rules for drawing conclusions.
Term
Denying the Antecedent
 Definition
In conditional reasoning, this phrase means tha tone is saying that the “if..” part of the sentence is false. Denying the antecedent leads to an incorrect conclusion.
Term
Denying the Consequent
 Definition
In conditional reasoning, this phrase means tha tone is saying that the “then..” part of the sentence is false. Denying the antecedent leads to an correct conclusion.
Term
Extrinsic Motivatoin
 Definition
The motivation to work on a task in order to earn a promised reward or to win a competition.
Term
Framing Effect
 Definition
A phenomenon in which the outcome of a decision is influenced by either of the two factors: (1) the background context of the choice or (2) the way in which a question is worded.
Term
Illusory Correlation
 Definition
A situation in which people believe that two variables are statistically related, even thought there is no real evidence for this relationship.
Term
Incubation
 Definition
A situation in which a person is initially unsuccessful in solving a problem, but he or she becomes more likely to solve the problem after taking a break, rather than continuing to work on the problem without interruption.
Term
Investment Theory of Creativity
 Definition
A theory, proposed by Robert Sternberg and T.I. Lubart, in which the essential attributes of creativity are intelligence, knowledge, motivation, an encouraging environment, an appropriate thinking style, and an appropriate personality.
Term
Law of Large Numbers
 Definition
In decision making, the proposition that large samples will be representative of the population from which they are selected.
Term
Likelihood ratio
 Definition
in decision making, the assessment of whether a description is more likely to apply to population A or population B.
Term
Representative
 Definition
In decision making, a type of sample that is similar in important characteristics to the population from which it was selected, for example, if one tosses a coin six times, the outcome THHTHT seems representative.
Term
Representative Heuristic
 Definition
A decision-making heuristic by which a sample is judged likely if it is similar to the population from which it was selected.
Term
Small Sample Fallacy
 Definition
The incorrect assumption that small samples will be representative of the population from which they were selected.
Term
Social Cognition Approach
 Definition
The perspective that stereotypes are formed by means of normal cognitive process, which rely on strategies such as the availability heuristic.
Syllogism:
Term
Propositional Calculus
 Definition
In logical reasoning, a system for categorizing the kinds of reasoning used in analyzing propositions or statements.
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