Unit 4 test

• Cognition involves thinking, perception, learning, problem-solving, judgment, and memory.
• Cognitive psychology studies every aspect of how people think.

Concepts and Prototypes

• Concepts are categories or groupings of linguistic information, objects, ideas, or life experiences.
• A prototype is the best example or representation of a concept.

Natural and Artificial Concepts

• Natural concepts are mental groupings created "naturally" through experience.
• Artificial concepts are defined by a very specific set of characteristics.

Schema

• Schemas are mental constructs consisting of related concepts; they are mental blueprints for thoughts, behaviors, and beliefs.

Language

• Language is a communication system using words to transmit information.
• Language can be verbal or nonverbal (e.g., body language).

Components of Language

• Phonology: the sounds of language
• Semantics: the meaning of language
• Syntax: the structure of language
• Pragmatics: the use of language

Problem-Solving Strategies

• Trial and error: multiple solutions attempted until the correct one is found
• Algorithms: a problem-solving strategy using a specific set of instructions
• Heuristics: a mental shortcut that saves time when solving a problem

Types of Heuristics

• Availability heuristic: decisions based on easily recalled information, leading to overestimation of rare events
• Representativeness heuristic: categorizing based on similarity to a prototype or stereotype
• Anchoring heuristic: over-relying on the first piece of information received
• Familiarity heuristic: decisions based on the most familiar or comfortable option
• Scarcity heuristic: perceiving things as more valuable when scarce or limited
• Affect heuristic: decisions based on emotional state rather than objective evaluation
• Satisficing: choosing the first option that meets a minimum threshold of acceptability

Confirmation Bias

• Confirmation bias involves seeking out and favoring information that confirms existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory information.

Mental Set

• Mental sets are the continual use of old solutions to a problem without results.

Bias

• Bias involves how feelings and view of the world distort memory of past events

Definitions of Bias

• Actor-observer bias: explains other's behaviors are due to internal factors, while our own behaviors are due to situational forces
• Anchoring bias: faulty heuristic in which you fixate on a single aspect of a problem to find a solution
• Confirmation bias: the tendency to ignore evidence that disproves ideas or beliefs, focuses on information that confirms one's beliefs

Other Types of Bias

• Halo effect: overall impression influenced by a single positive trait
• Horns effect: overall impression influenced by a single negative trait
• Attribution bias: attributing success to internal factors and failure to external factors
• Perception bias: beliefs and expectations influence how people perceive information
• Conformity bias: aligning beliefs and behaviors with a group
• Affinity bias: favoring people who are similar
• Age bias: assumptions or judgments based on someone's age
• Framing effect: the way information is presented influences decisions
• Hindsight bias: believing one would have predicted an event after it has occurred

Learned Helplessness

• Learned helplessness is a psychological state where a person believes they have no control over a situation.

Locus of Control

• Internal locus of control: belief that we control our own outcomes
• External locus of control: the belief that our outcomes are outside of our control

Optimism and Pessimism

• Optimism: tendency toward a positive outlook
• Pessimism: a tendency to expect the worst outcomes

Social Support

• Social support is soothing and beneficial support from others.

Open-Heart Therapy

• "Open heart" refers to a state of emotional openness, empathy, and compassion.

Ways to Manage Stress

• Practicing mindfulness, regular exercise, cultivating social connections, developing healthy coping mechanisms, or seeking professional help.

Faith Factor

• Faith factor includes the ways religious or spiritual beliefs and practices influence an individual's mental and emotional well-being.

Resilience

• Resilience is the capacity to adapt to stress and adversity, bouncing back from difficult experiences and maintaining well-being.

Personality

• Personality consists of long-standing traits and patterns that propel individuals to consistently think, feel, and behave in specific ways.

Psychodynamic Theory

• Psychodynamic theory emphasizes unconscious psychological processes, early childhood experiences, and internal conflicts in shaping personality and behavior.

Personality - Id, Ego, & Superego

• Id: aspect of personality with primitive drives
• Ego: aspect of personality that represents self
• Superego: aspect of personality that serves as one's moral compass

Neo-Freudian Theory

• A school of psychoanalysis which builds upon Sigmund Freud's work but emphasizes social and cultural factors, healthy development, and self-realization

Carl Jung

• Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and founder of analytical psychology, explored human psyche, proposing collective unconscious, archetypes, and individuation.

Collective Unconscious

• Theoratical respository of information shared by all people across cultures.

Archetypes

• Archetypes are patterns in our collective unconscious across cultures & societies.

Introver and Extrovert

• Introverts are quiet and reserved, prefer solitude or small groups, energized by being alone.
• Extroverts find energy and satisfaction from social interactions and the external world, typically outgoing, talkative, and sociable.

Self-Concept

• Self-concept includes our thoughts and feelings about ourselves.

Real Self

• Real self is the person we actually are.

Ideal Self

• Ideal self is the person we would like to be.

Self-Esteem

• Self-esteem refers to an individual's overall evaluation of their own worth with feelings of self-worth, self-acceptance, and self-respect.

Trait Theory

• Trait theory posits that personality is composed of stable traits that influence behavior across situations and time.

Social Cognitive Theory

• Social cognitive theory explains human behavior as a dynamic interaction between personal factors, environmental influences, and behavior.

Possible Selves

• Possible selves refer to the identities we envision for the future, impacting motivation, goals, and self-esteem.

Spotlight Effect

• Spotlight effect is the tendency to overestimate how much others notice or judge our actions.

Emotion

• Emotion is a subjective state of being described as feelings. Emotions have three components the following:
  • Subjective experience (or feeling)
  • Physiological responses
  • Behavioral responses

Stress

• Stress is the process where an individual perceives and responds to overwhelming or threatening events.
• Stressors are environmental events that may be judged as threatening or demanding.

Primary and Secondary Appraisal

• Primary appraisal involves evaluating a situation for potential harm, threat, or challenge.
• Secondary appraisal assesses available resources and coping strategies

Eustress and Distress

• Eustress is a good form of stress that is low to moderate, associated with positive feelings.
• Distress is a bad form of stress that is usually high in intensity, leading to exhaustion, fatigue, and burnout.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• Alarm reaction: fight or flight response
• Stage of resistance: the body attempts to cope with increased stress hormones
• Stage of exhaustion: the body's resources are depleted.

HPA Axis

• HPA axis is a structure found in both the limbic system and the endocrine system that regulates the body's physiological reactions to stress through the release of hormones

Cortisol

• Cortisol is a stress hormone released, when encountering a stressor, that is used to provide a boost of energy

Heart Disease

• Heart disease involves adverse heart conditions.

Personality Types

• Type A: competitive, ambitious, driven, impatient, with a strong sense of time urgency
• Type B: relaxed, easygoing, patient, and less competitive
• Type D: negative emotions, social inhibition, and a tendency to worry or feel anxious

Coping

• Coping refers to mental or behavioral efforts used to manage problems relating to stress, including its cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces. Coping can be the following:
  • Problem-focused: addressing the issue directly
  • Emotion-focused: managing the emotional impact
  • Social support seeking: support from others; talking about the issues

Personal Control

• Personal control is the perception that one has the ability, resources, or opportunities to receive positive outcomes or avoid negative effects.