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Psych 240-Spring 09 Exam 3
exam 3
110
Psychology
Undergraduate 4
06/14/2009

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

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Term
what properties characterize language?
Definition

 

  • communicative
  • arbitrary symbolic
  • regularly structured
  • structured at multiple levels
  • productive/generative/creative
  • dynamic (new words added to dictionary)

 

Term
2 basic tasks of language
Definition

-production

-comprehension

 

-complicated sentences can be comprehensible

-simple sentences can be incomprehensible

Term
language structure (hierarchy)
Definition

sentence

phrase

word

morpheme

phoneme 

Term
phonemes
Definition

-smallest unit of speech sound

-diff languages use diff phonemes

-each language has rules of order ("Fp" not okay)

Term
Tonal language and pitch 
Definition

-native speakers of a tonal language (Mandarin) are more likely to have perfect pitch

 

-maybe evidence that there is a critical period to learning perfect pitch like there is for learning language

Term
The McGurk effect 
Definition

-phoneme perception

-language perception is visual in addition to auditory 

-(top down processing)

Term
Phonemes: categorical perception
Definition
-stimulus appearing along a continuum is in fact percieved in one category of another
Term
categorical perception and language
Definition

-various amounts of "voicing" of a phoneme

-"ba" or "pa": percieve phoneme as being one or the other 

-location in the moutn and vowel height/location

 

-purpose: makes perceiving language possible across speakers and accents

Term
morphemes
Definition

-smallest unit that signals meaning

-prefixes, suffixes, roots

-can be entire words

-may not stand alone

-rules of a language say how they can be combined

Term
words
Definition

-combinations of one or more morphemes

-a single word can have multiple meaning

Term
syntax
Definition

-rules for word order 

-different languages have diff word order

Term
meaning
Definition

-related to concepts and categories (LTM)

-words represent or symbolize concepts

 

-meanings of sentences: words must be grouped into phrases, relationship between words

Term
phase (sentence) structure
Definition

-noun phrase and verb phrase

-ambiguous: results when the same surface structure can correspond to 1+ deep structures

Term
lexical ambiguity
Definition

-word has two different meanings

-"He was bothered by the cold"

Term
syntactic ambiguity
Definition

-words can be grouped together into more than one phrase structure

 

"I saw the gorilla in my pajamas

 

-two different phrase structures

"they are (cooking apples)"

"they (are cooking) apples"

Term
Referential ambiguity 
Definition

-the same word/phrase can refer to different objects

"John grabbed his lunch, sat on a rock, and ate it"

Term
Lexical access
Definition

-When does CONTEXT have its effect?

 

1. "dumb retrieval": get all possible word meanings from lexicon, context then guides selection of correct meaning

 

2. "smart retrieval": context guides access to the lexicon, so only retrieve ONE meaning for a word

 

-"dumb retrieval" proved by Swinney Experiment

Term
Context effects in lexical access (Swinney Experiment)
Definition

-condition 1: lexical decision immediately after ambiguous word (bug)

-results: initially get priming of both meanings

(ant, spy < sew)

 

-condition 2: lexical decision delayed from time of ambiguous word

-results: after time passes, "bug" primes only the relevant meaning

(ant<spy=sew)

Term
Wernicke's area
Definition
-important for language comprehension
Term
Broca's area
Definition

-motor planning area (part of premotor cortex)

-contains the motor programs for words

-programs actually executed by primary motor cortex

Term
Broca's aphasia 
Definition

-nonfluent, expressive, or motor aphasia

-difficulty in the PRODUCTION of language

-speech is non-fluent, slow, labored

-"telegraphic" speech: only use content words

-word finding difficulty

-comprehension intact

-abnormal intonation

-aware of problem 

 

Term
Wernicke's aphasia 
Definition

aka. sensory or receptive aphasia 

 

-impairement in the COMPREHENSION of language produced by oneself or others

-speech is fluent but nonsensical (word salad)

-speech is syntactically and intonation correct

-speech full of phonemic and semantic errors

-neoligisms: made up words

-lack of awareness of language impairment 

Term
language is complex
Definition

-comprehend and generate millions of sentences

-know > 100,000 words

-no other species does this

Term
process of language acquisition
Definition

-first job in language acquisition: distinguish language sounds from other sounds 

 

-then need to parse it into phonemes

-parse phonemes into words 

 

-once have words, need to assign meanings

-Problems: 

-same sound can refer to diff. things

-diff sounds can refer to same thing

Term
grammatical feedback
Definition

-adults usually do not correct childrens grammar

-correcting grammar does not even help

-kids correct themselves despite little negative feedback

Term
Linguistic universals
Definition

-acquistion task is not well constrained

-irregular mappings from sounds to meanings

-little negative feedback

-all normal humans aquire language

 

-suggests linguistic universals: general language principals, embodied in every language

Term
Development: phonemes
Definition

-in 1st year, infants can discriminate all phonemes from all languages

-gradually lose discrimination that are not important to own language

Term
Motherese
Definition

-adults help kids by speaking "motherese"

-high pitch, slow rate, exaggerated intonations

-falling pitch and pausing signals phrase boundaries

Term
major stages
Definition

-holophrastic (one word) stage

-telegraphic (two-word) stage

-learning syntax/rules (syntactic overgeneralization)

Term
holophrastic stage 
Definition

-one word utterances

-no syntax, need context to disambiguate

-do understand some phrases

Term
telegraphic stage
Definition

-two word utterances

-correct use of word order:

-subject-action

-action-object

 

-can convey a lot of info briefly and clearly

Term
learning rules: past tense
Definition

-U-shaped curve for irregular past (went)

-initially use appropriate form (went)

-learn rule and overgeneralize (go-ed)

-relearn correct past tense (went)

Term
learning rules: nonsense words
Definition

-learn general rules that apply to new cases

-4-5 yr olds know plural of wug is wugs

-implies language learning is generative, not just imitation

Term
learning word meaning
Definition

-by 5, kids know 10,000 to 15,000 words

-input gives clues about parts/wholes

-inherent bias that new words refer to shape

Term
critical period effects
Definition
-people who learn language after age 10 never acquire native ability
Term
deductive reasoning
Definition

-deterministic

-based on rules of logic, conclusions that must be true given the facts

 

Term
inductive reasoning
Definition

-probabilistic

-conclusions that are possible, but not necessarily true

Term
Two theories of reasoning
Definition

-normative: how one ought to reason (optimal based on logic or math)

-descriptive: how one actually reasons (describes what people really do)

Term
3 types of deductive reasoning
Definition

-linear syllogism

-conditional (if, then)

 

Term
linear syllogisms 
Definition

-reasoning by lining up the facts, checking conclusion

-deduction by comparing how items relate 

(ex: X is taller than Y, Y is taller than Z...)

 

-normative theory: solve a longer problem by breaking it into smaller pieces

-prediction: longer the syllogism, longer the solution time (RT)

Term
Potts Experiment 
Definition

-teach subjects pairs of facts

-subjects respond T/F

-result: further apart the pair, faster reaction time 

-"distance effect"

-subjects dont reason normatively 

Term
conditional reasoning
Definition

-based on if/then conditions

 

Ex: IF it is raining (the premise, antecedent)...

then the game is cancelled (conclusion, consequent)

Term
4 reasoning rules
Definition

Ex: The game is cancelled...what can we conclude?

-2 of 4 rules are VALID

-follow logic, always word

 

-2 of 4 are NOT VALID

-not based on logic, dont always lead to correct reasoning 

Term
modus ponens
Definition

if P, then Q

P

Therefore, Q

 

(only 5% error rate)

Term
modus tollens
Definition

If P, then Q

NOT Q

Therefore, NOT P

 

(40% error rate)

Term
Denying the antecedent 
Definition

(conclusion does not follow logically)

 

If P, then Q

NOT P

therefore, NOT Q

 

(20% error rate, cant conclude anything)

Term
affirming the consequent
Definition

(conclusion does not follow logically)

 

If P, then Q

Q

Therefore, P

Term
Bar task/Postal task 
Definition

-concrete condition (bar): 22/24 performed correctly

-abstract condition (postal): 2/24 subjects performed correctly

 

-possibly the rule needs to be familiar too...

 

-so concreteness and familiarity are not the whole story 

Term
Pragmatic reasoning schema 
Definition

-we reason based on practical experience

-Ex: Permission Schema

-If a certain action is taken, THEN a certain condition must be met 

(if you are going to drink, you must be 21)

 

-Ex: Obligation schema

(if its Tuesday afternoon, then you have to come to class)

Term
Evolutionary approach: social contract schemas
Definition

-standard social contracts

-if you take the benefit, you must may the cost

(cheaters take the benefit without paying cost)

-if you do that, i will kill you

(a threat)

 

-natural selection made our brains look for cheaters and threats 

Term
Social contract theory Evidence
Definition

-Grover high school problem experiment

-Result: people do better when looking for cheaters 

Term
cheater detection and emotion
Definition

-in some conditions people do better if theyre mad

-males do better after playing soccer

Term
encapsulated reasoning
Definition
-reasoning according to one schema does not transfer well to other situations
Term
context bound reasoning
Definition
-success at the problem will depend on how well the problem evokes or matches the schema
Term
summary of theories
Definition

-theories about why people do better on the real-world versions of the Wason task than abstract

-concreteness

-familiarity

-pragmatic reasoning schemas (permission/obligation)

-social contract schemas (cheaters/threats)

Term
Mammogram example 
Definition
Term
Bayes Theorum
Definition

-using Bayes theorum is normative behavior

 

-Take 3 things into account:

1. the base rate: probability of hypothesis independent of evidence

2. The hit rate: probability of evidence if hypothesis is true

3. the false alarm rate: probability of evidence if hypothesis is not true

Term
Base rate neglect
Definition

-descriptive reasoning

-we often ignore base rates (the overall prevalence of cancer)

Term
descriptive theory: heuristics and biases
Definition

-people do well in real world

-Theory: people rely on heuristics in judgements under uncertainty

-rules of thumb are good enough for everyday reasoning

-lab studies exploit weaknesses of heuristics 

Term
Representativeness heuristic 
Definition

-judge whether A has some characteristic by relying on the similarity of A to other things

 

-problem: focuses too much on current evidence and thus ignores base rates

Term
Gambler's fallacy
Definition

-recent occurrence of an event reduces the perceived probability of that event 

-betting: wont bet on the lottery number that won in the last drawing

Term
The monty hall problem 
Definition
-prize behind the door problem 
Term
Availability heuristic 
Definition

-things that are easily remembered/brought to mind are judged to be more prevalent than events that are less easily brought to mind

 

-When availability works:

-Subjects given category (Russian novelists vs. flowers)

-Result: correlation between estimate and actual retrieval nearly perfect 

Term
Famous names experiment 
Definition
-using availability as a stand-in for frequency doesnt always give us the right answer. This is because availability can be affected by things other than frequency 
Term
the problem with availability 
Definition

-in general, frequent events are easier to recall or imagine than infrequent ones

 

But...

 

-availability is affected by various factors which are unrelated to actual frequency 

-media exposure

-stereotypes and their perpetuation 

Term
Perspective and availability 
Definition

-perspective can influence the availability of certain events: we remember what WE do more easily than we remember what OTHERS do

 

-Ex: Study of married couples

Term
availability bias and ease of retrieval
Definition
-things that are easier to retrieve are judged to be more frequent 
Term
Simulation Heuristic 
Definition

-highly related to availability heuristic

 

-base judgements on how easily you can imagine how things will turn out in the future, and how things would have turned out under diff. circumstances 

 

-Ex: Mr. Tees and Mr. Crane airport scenario

-easier to imagine ways to be 5 minutes earlier so Mr. Tees would be more upset

Term
Types of simulation heuristics 
Definition

-the ease of imagining cause and effect

-mother/daughter eye color ex. 

 

-causal link between action and actor

-Helen car accident ex. 

 

Term
Heuristics and stereotypes 
Definition

-availability: who gets in more car accidents

 

-representativeness: in selecting job candidates, maintain the good-old-boys club

 

-simulation: which suspect can you simulate more easily having committed the crime

Term
conjunction fallacy 
Definition
occurs when people mistakenly believe that the probability of a conjunction of two events is greater than the probability of one of the events 
Term
conjunction fallacy due to simulation
Definition
-Ex: Mr. F and heart attacks
Term
Unusual Disease Experiment and framing effect
Definition

-when a choice is framed in terms of gains, people use risk-aversion strategy

 

-when a choice is framed in terms of losses, people use a risk-taking strategy 

 

-Framing effect: the same info presented in diff forms can lead to diff decisions

-decision influenced by how the problem is stated

 

-Ex: makes 75% of free throws > misses 25% of free throws 

Term
Anchoring and Adjustment Heuristic 
Definition

-when making estimations, people start from a reference point (anchor) and make adjustments from that anchor

 

-effect doesnt disappear even with extreme anchors

-influences real-life decisions (jury decisions)

Term
Fallacy of the Sunk cost
Definition

-once you've invested in something, you can't back out even if it's costing you more money

 

-ex: car/house requires extensive repairs--keep repairing instead of buying a new one

Term
Humans vs. Computers 
Definition

Humans: judgement based on informal contemplation and discussion with others

 

computers: automated, algorithmic procedures, statistics

 

-Conclusion: greater accuracy relying on computers rather than on humans 

Term
power law of practice 
Definition

-speedup with practice 

-rate of improvement diminishes with time

-it takes a VERY long time to achieve the small amount of improvement that separates really good from great

Term
Cognitive stage of skill aquisition 
Definition

-learner aquires skill by following verbal instruction

-relies on declarative knowledge

-commit instructions to memory 

-often rehearse instructions as you try to perform

-controlled process, requires attention

Term
associative stage of skill acquisition 
Definition

-strengthen connections that lead to desired result

-get rid of actions that lead to errors

-feedback is very important at this stage

-movements start to transition from declarative knowledge to procedural knowledge 

Term
automatic stage of skill acquisition 
Definition

-movements become part of procedural knowledge

-declarative knowledge about the task is less available

-movements automatic, dont require attention

-speed/accuracy improve

-feedback is less important

-consistent practice is needed to maintain automaticity 

Term
Response chaining 
Definition

-feedback from one movement triggers the next one

 

-evidence against:

-speed (movement sequences occur too quickly)

-anticipation movements in typing (keystrokes overlap in time)

Term
motor program
Definition

-representation of the plan for movement and movement sequences

 

-fast, doesnt require feedback

-abstract

-hierarchical (abstract high level, specific low level)

-composed of subprograms (less abstract rep. of movement sub-parts)

Term
Motor program experiment: Henry and Rogers
Definition

-Task: learn movement sequences that vary in complexity

 

-Results: time to release kay increased with the complexity of the movement sequence

 

-conclusion: we retrieve a seq. of movements (motor program) all at once and then execute them

 

**response chaining not supported 

Term
Hierarchical motor programs and subprograms
Definition

-Rosenbaum experiment 

-Evidence for subprograms:

-for longer sequences, more subprograms must be retrieved before being sent to the muscles

Term
Tap Dancing 
Definition

-sub programs are not reusable

-to perform, person needs to acquire higher order abstract program ABAA

Term
Fitt's Law
Definition

-describes a specific type of speed-accuracy trade-off that occurs when people make aimed movements

-describes many types of AIMED movements

 

-RT depends on 2 things

1. size of target

2. current distance from target

 

 

Term
Problem
Definition

-consists of initial state in which a person begins and a goal state that is to be attained

-plus a non-obvious way of getting from one to the other

Term
Well-structured Problems
Definition

-completely specified starting conditions, goal state, and methods for achieving goal

-ex: hobbits and orcs

Term
Ill-structured problem
Definition

-some aspects of the initial state, goal state, or methods are not completely specified

-ex: finding the perfect mate

Term
problem space
Definition
the universe of all possible actions that can be applied to solving a problem, given any constraints that apply to the situation
Term
The importance of problem representation
Definition

-how a problem is initially represented impacts the likelihood of reaching a successful solution

 

-restructuring of the given info can aid in finding solution

 

-experts in a given problem solving domain spend MORE time than novices on development of a good problem representaion 

Term
Picking out relevant information
Definition

-our initial rep. of a problem may contain both relevant and irrelevant info

-irrelevant info may distract us from attaining a solution

-one aspect of expertise is the ability to pick out relevant info and ignore irrelevant 

Term
analogy 
Definition
-a correspondence between two situations, problems or concepts
Term
analogical problem solving
Definition

-retrieve a rep. of an old problem from memory that is similar to the problem you currently face

-solve current problem using solution from the old problem 

Term
Gick and Holyoak
Definition

-if subjects know of an analogy, they will be better able to come to the correct solution to a problem

-Duncker's Ray problem

-Military story problem

 

-can apply the military story analogy to the Duncker Ray probelm and more people can come up with a solution

Term
Positive transfer
Definition

-Knowledge carryover enhances performance

-ex: knowledge of military story carries over to aid with solution to the Ray problem

Term
failure to notice analogies
Definition
-people sometimes fail to notice analogies between problems because they focus on surface similarities and ignore deep similarities 
Term
Mental set
Definition

-also called entrenchment 

-getting stuck in the rut of using a particular type of problem rep. can hinder you from switching to using a different, more effective type of rep. 

 

-Ex: Luchins' Water Jar problem

(stuck using equation B-A-2C)

Term
Constraining the problem space
Definition

-unnecessarily following rules that are NOT stated in the problem

 

-ex: nine dot problem, water glass problem, planting 4 trees problem

Term
functional fixedness
Definition

-seeing an object as having only a fixed, familiar function

-ex: Duncker's Candle problem (subjects were fixed on the function of the box as holder of tacks)

-Maier's two-rope problem (functional fixedness of the wrench)

Term
Hindrances in forming a representation
Definition

-failure to notice analogies

-mental set

-imposing unnecessary constraints on problem space

-functional fixedness

Term
Negative transfer
Definition

-knowledge carry over hinders performance

Ex: mental set, unnecessary constraints, and functional fixedness

Term
Algorithms
Definition

-a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem (like a recipe)

-following an algorithm guarantees a successful solution

Term
Heuristics 
Definition

-short cut/ "rule of thumb"

-not guaranteed to lead to a solution

Term
Problem solving heuristics 
Definition

-difference reduction

-means-end analysis

-working backward

Term
Difference reduction heuristic 
Definition

-At any point, select an operator that moves you closer to the goal state

-ex: do not go from ann arbor to chicago to get to paris

 

-However, sometimes solving a problem requires you to temporarily move away from the goal state

(Hobbits and orcs problem)

Term
Means-ends analysis
Definition

(difference reduction PLUS subgoaling)

 

1. identify the largest difference between current state and goal state

2. set a subgoal to reduce that difference

3. find and apply an operator to reduce the difference

4. if operator can't be applied, new subgoal = remove obstacle that prevents applying the operator

Term
Working backward
Definition

-transform the goal state so it is more similar to initial state

-useful if there are too many paths leading from initial state

-ex: water lily problem

Term
Experts vs. novices
Definition

1. Experts develop better problem representations

(spend more time setting up the problem)

 

2. Experts use analogies

 

3. Experts knowledge is better organized and elaborated

 

4. Automatization 

(practice converts controlled processes-> automatic processes)

Term
Chess study 
Definition

-experts memory for RANDOM board configurations no better than that of novies

(don't just have greater memory capacity)

 

-experts memory for ACTUAL board config. much better than that of novices 

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