Consciousness & Sleep PDF

Consciousness - Awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your own head at any given moment, which you use to organise your behaviour - Generated by a set of action potentials in the communication among neurons States of consciousness Waking consciousnes...

Consciousness - Awareness of everything that is going on around you and inside your own head at any given moment, which you use to organise your behaviour - Generated by a set of action potentials in the communication among neurons States of consciousness Waking consciousness Altered state of consciousness Thoughts, feelings, and sensations are Shift in quality or pattern of mental activity clear and organised. They feel alert. as opposed to waking consciousness Wakefulness Awareness Level of alertness Consciousness; (awake, asleep) + whether you are regular cycles of aware of internal sleep and and external wakefulness + experiences basic reflexes (under the influence of a stimulant) altered state may mean being in a state of increased alertness Thought processes Controlled Automatic  Require conscious attention to a fairly Requires relatively low level of conscious height degree awareness Eg. driving Eg. walking Sleep - A reversible behavioural state of perceptual disengagement from, and not responsible to, the environment Sleep-wake cycle: circadian rhythm - Cycle of bodily rhythm that occurs over a 24h period - Controlled by the brain, specifically the hypothalamus: part of the brain that influences the endocrine system Suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) - Structure deep within the hypothalamus - Internal clock that tells people when to wake up and when to fall asleep Sensitive to changes in light (through eyes that is relayed to SCN). Decrease in light Increase in light SCN signals the pineal gland to secrete SCN signals the pineal gland to stop melatonin secreting melatonin Accumulation of melatonin suppresses the Allows the body to awaken neurons in the brain that keep us awake and alert, resulting in sleepiness Sleep is also influenced by neurotransmitters (eg. serotonin) and body temperature Theories of sleep Adaptive theory of sleep Restorative theory of sleep Sleep as a product of evolution; Sleep is necessary to the physical health of animals/humans evolved different sleep the body patterns to avoid being present during their - Replenish used up chemicals and predators’ normal hunting times which repair cellular damage would typically be at night Brain plasticity is enhanced by sleep Sleep enhances the synaptic connections among neurons, thus increasing the plasticity of the brain Flushes out useless information  from memory Most bodily growth and repair occur during the deepest stages of sleep Types of sleep Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep Non-Rapid Eye Movement (NREM) sleep Eyes move rapidly under the eyelids + Spans from lighter stages to a much person is typically experiencing a dream deeper, restful sleep Voluntary muscles are inhibited (sleep Person’s body is free to move around paralysis) and a person moves very little In a night, a person goes through several different stages of sleep where REM and NREM sleep occurs Brain activity during sleep - Electroencephalogram (EEG) measures brain-wave activity a person passes through during sleep to ascertain what type of sleep the person has entered Beta waves Alpha waves Theta waves Delta waves When a person Wide awake Relaxes and Deepest stages and mentally gets drowsy of sleep active Characteristics Small and very Slightly larger Even larger and Largest and fast and slower slower slowest Stages of sleep N1: light sleep N2 N3: deep sleep R: REM sleep NREM ↓ Alpha waves EEG shows sleep Delta waves appear Brain waves ↑ Beta waves spindles: brief bursts and increase from resemble beta of activity lasting around 20% to more waves (usually only one or two than 50% of total signals seconds brain activity wakefulness) People awakened at People awakened at Person is in the this point will this stage will be deepest stages of probably not believe aware of having sleep, slow-wave that they were been asleep sleep (SWS). Hard asleep to awaken a person.  Heart rate slows, Growth hormones Dreaming + rapid breathing becomes are released from eye movement more shallow and the pituitary gland irregular. and reach their peak; time where body growth occurs. Body is at the lowest level of functioning Order of a sleep cycle: N1→N2→N3→N2→R - 4-6 90-min cycles - Deep sleep is the longest at the beginning of the night, and REM sleep increases as sleep progresses Sleep deprivation Sleep required by an individual - Varies over the course of the lifespan - Around 7-8h per adult Symptoms of sleep deprivation Sleep disorders Sleep apnea Person intermittently stops breathing for 10 seconds or more during sleep, followed by a gasping sound as the person struggles to get air into the lungs. Narcolepsy Person may suddenly slip into REM sleep during the day (especially when the person experiences strong emotions), often accompanied by a sudden loss of muscle control Nightmares Bad dreams which the person can recount upon waking up. Occurs in REM sleep. Insomnia Inability to get to sleep, stay asleep, or get quality sleep Parasomnias: unwanted, disruptive motor activity and/or experiences during sleep Night terrors A state of panic experienced while sound asleep, and the person has no recollection of the night terror upon waking up. Occurs in NREM sleep. Sleepwalking moving /walking around in ones sleep during deep (N3) sleep Restless Leg Syndrome Neurological condition that causes a very strong urge to move the leg Dreams Theories Freud He believed that conflicts, events and desires of the past would be symbolically represented in the form of dreams. He believed dreams to be a kind of wish fulfilment. Manifest content Latent content Actual content of a dream Hidden, underlying meaning of the dream Activation synthesis hypothesis Dreams as a product of activity in the pons - Pons in the brainstem sends random signals to the upper part of the brain during REM sleep These signals pass through the thalamus, which sends signals to the proper sensory areas of the cortex The association areas of the cortex attempts to make sense of the random activation of these cortical cells by synthesising a dream Activation-information-mode (revised version of the activation synthesis hypothesis) As the brain synthesises a dream to explain its own sudden activation, it uses meaningful bits and pieces of the person experiences from the previous/ last few days rather than just random items from memory Altered state of consciousness Hypnosis - Altered state of consciousness in which a person is susceptible to suggestion Stages Subject is told to 1. Focus on commands 2. Relax and feel tired 3. Let go and accept suggestions easily 4. Use vivid imagination Psychological mechanisms of hypnosis Hypnosis as dissociation Hypnosis as a social playing role Divided state of conscious awareness; the People who are hypnotised are not in an immediate consciousness part of the mind altered state of mind but merely playing the is hypnotised, yet the other part of the mind role expected of them in the situation. They is aware of all that is going on might believed they are hypnotised but in fact it is a very good performance so much so that participants are unaware that they are role playing Uses of hypnosis Psychoactive drugs - Psychoactive drugs allows one to seek altered states of consciousness without sleep Dependence on drugs Psychological Physical The belief that the drug (or anything) is Person body becomes unable to function needed to continue a feeling or normally without a particular drug: psychological well being symptoms of drug tolerance and withdrawals Drug tolerance - more and more of the drug is needed to achieve the same effect due to a reduced response to the drug over repeated use Withdrawal - physical symptoms resulting  from a lack of the addictive drug in the body system Types Stimulants - Drugs that increase the functioning of the nervous system (sympathetic division of peripheral nervous system and/or central nervous system) Amphetamines Synthesised stimulants; found in drugs like adderall, benzedrine etc. Causes the sympathetic nervous system to go into overdrive - Depresses appetite as it is also a function of the sympathetic division Cocaine Natural drug found in coca plant leaves Produces feelings of euphoria, energy, power and pleasure + deadens pain and suppresses appetite Can cause convulsions and/or death when taken in high doses Nicotine - active ingredient in tobacco Mild toxic stimulant: produces a slight sense of arousal by raising blood pressure and accelerating the heart + rush of sugar into the bloodstream by stimulating the release of adrenalin + raises dopamine levels in the brain's reward pathway Caffeine Natural stimulant found in many plants Mild stimulant: maintains alertness, increases the effective of some pain relievers such as aspirin Depressants - Drugs that inhibit functioning of the central nervous system Major tranquilisers (barbiturates) Drugs that have a sedative effect. Can be used to treat insomnia Minor tranquillisers (benzodiazepines) Used to lower anxiety and stress Eg. valium, xanax, ativan Alcohol Health risks to liver, brain, heart Depressant that gives the illusion of a stimulant by depressing a person's natural inhibitions - social rules people have learned, followed by motor skills, reaction time and speech Alcohol indirectly stimulates the release of GABA (neurotransmitter), a major depressant which inhibits the brain's functioning. GABA slows down or stops brain functioning  Opiates and opioids Depressant that suppresses the sensation of pain by binding to and stimulating the nervous system’s natural receptor sites for endorphins Opiates: euphoria producing an Opioids: synthetically created drugs that spain-relieving drugs derived from opium act like opiates Eg. morphine, opium, heroin Eg. methadone, fentanyl Opium can be a hallucinogen, stimulant, depressant or painkiller depending on the dosage Hallucinogens - Causes the brain to alter its interpretation of sensations, producing sensory distortions very similar to synesthesia Manufactured Non manufactured LSD PCP MDMA Marijuana One of the most Can be a Has both stimulant Produces a feeling potent hallucinogen, and hallucinatory of well-being, mild hallucinogens. stimulant, effects intoxication and mild depressant or even sensory distortions/ painkiller depending Causes the release hallucinations on the dosage of large amounts of serotonin + blocks the reuptake of it Applicable across all senses Stimulation → transduction → sensation → perception Stimulation Transduction Sensation Perception Conversion of Activation of Sensations are external stimuli into receptors by interpreted and neural activity external stimuli organised in some meaningful fashion Past experience/knowledge can change your perception even though stimulation and sensation remains the same Thresholds Difference threshold (JND) Absolute threshold  Smallest difference between two stimuli Lowest level of stimulation that a person that is detectable 50% of the time can consciously detect 50% of the time the stimulation is present In terms of transduction, it will determine whether neural signals are fired or not Difference threshold - based on Weber’s Law Weber’s Law - Size of the difference threshold is proportional to the initial intensity of the stimulus The more intense the stimulus, the higher the difference threshold Sensory adaptation and habituation Sensation influenced by change Sense organs are change detectors Sensory adaptation Habituation Tendency of sensory receptor cells to Tendency of the brain to stop attending to become less responsive to a stimulus that constant, unchanging information is unchanging - Sensory receptors are still - Receptor cells become less responding to stimulation responsive and no longer sends - But lower centres of the brain are signals to the brain not sending the signals from the receptors to the cortex Eg. swimming in cold water Eg. background sound of a fan Sight Structure of the eye - To see clearly, a single point of light must travel through the structures of the eye and end up on the retina on a single point Transduction Occurs in the retina Three layers: ganglion cells, bipolar cells, rods and cones (photoreceptors) Rods and cones Bipolar cells Ganglion cells Rods: sensory receptors ion cells responsible for non-colour sensitivity to low light Cones: sensory receptors responsible for colour and sharpness of vision Rods and cones (photoreceptors) receives photons of light and turns them into neural signals for the brain, sending them to the bipolar calls and then to the ganglion cells whose axons form the optic nerve Blind spot - Area in the retina where axons of retina cells exit the eye to form the optic nerve - No photoreceptors are present; insensitive to light Visual pathways Of neural information from eyes to the brain Retina → optic nerve → optic chiasm → optic tract → lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) of thalamus → primary visual cortex  Contralateral pathways of vision Light entering the eyes can be separated in to left and right vision fields - Light from the right vision field falls on the left side of each eye’s retina, then to the left visual cortex - Light from the left vision field falls on the right side of each eye’s retina, then to the right visual cortex - Travels in a straight line through the cornea and lens - Resulting in the image projected on the retina to be upside down and reversed from left to right Visual stimulation to perception Wavelength of visible light on the electromagnetic spectrum and how it is perceived Brightness Colour Saturation Determined by the Determined by the Purity of the colour people amplitude of the wave wavelength of the wave perceive The higher the wave, the Shorter wavelengths found  brighter the light appears to at the blue end of the visible be spectrum while longer wavelengths are found at the red end Perception of colour Theories Trichromatic theory Opponent-process theory Proposes three types of cones - red, green, Proposes 4 primary colours arranged in blue opponent pairs beyond the cones - Different shades of colours - red-green, blue-yellow, black-white correspond to different amounts of - If one member of a pair is strongly light received by each of the three stimulated, the other member is cones inhibited and cannot be working - Combination of cones and rate at which they fire their message to the brains vision centres determines the colour that will be seen Explains colours but not other phenomena Explains afterimages and other aspects of visual perception after the initial detection of light from the environment Afterimage - images that occur when a visual sensation persists for a brief time even after the original stimulus is removed Colour deficient vision Caused by defective cones in the retina of the eye Monochromatic vision Dichromatic vision Red-green colour deficiency Sees only black, white and Sees the world with a Confuses red and greens; shades of grey combination of two sees the world primarily in colours/cones rather than blue, yellow and shades of three grey Cones do not function One cone does not work Red or green cones does properly as a result of one properly not function properly or more genetic mutations Hearing Human hearing limits: 20-20000 Hz Transduction Occurs in the cochlea Cochlea Snail shaped Hair cells (receptor cells for hearing) rests on the basilar structure of membrane that make up the organ of Corti. the inner ear They are bent by waves in the fluid. The basilar membrane converts vibrations into neural Basilar Resting place impulses. membrane of the organ The swaying of hair cells stimulates sensory nerve of Corti endings and generates electrical impulses. Organ of Corti Contains Neural signals pathway: cochlea → auditory nerve → receptor cells Thalamus → auditory cortex for the sense of hearing Pitch processing Place theory Frequency theory Different pitches are experienced by the Pitch is related to the speed of vibration of stimulations of hair cells on different the basilar membrane locations on the organ of Corti Works for moderate to high pitches Works for low pitches Taste Gustation - chemically based physical process leading to the psychological sensation of taste Sense of smell is responsible for around 80% of what we taste - Without a sense of smell, taste is limited Transduction Occurs at the taste buds Taste buds - taste receptor cells that are responsible for the sense of taste (gustation) - Each taste bud has about 20 receptors, very similar to the receptor sites on receiving neurons at the synapses Perception of taste is a combination of flavours, odours, sight and texture of food Basic tastes 1. Sweet 2. Sour 3. Salty 4. Bitter 5. Umami 6. (proposed) oleogustus - taste of fat Smell Olfaction - chemically based physical process of odour detection leasing to the psychological sensation of smell Transduction Occurs in the olfactory bulbs Unlike other senses (vision, hearing, taste), signals from the olfactory receptors in the nasal cavity do not pass through the thalamus (relay centre for all other sensory information) and then to the area of the cortex that processes that particular sensory information (primary olfactory cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala etc.) - Has its own special place in the brain: olfactory bulbs Olfactory bulbs - Located just below the frontal lobe - Receives informations from the olfactory receptor cells which contain tiny hairlike structures (cilia)  - Olfactory receptors bypass the thalamus and sends neural signals directly up to the bulbs Touch Somesthetic senses Sensory receptors in the skin - Half a dozen different receptors in the layers of skin - Transduces signals about touch, pressure, temperature, pain Neural signals pathway: Spinal cord → somatosensory cortex and other cortical areas (e.g. limbic system) Pain Visceral pain Somatic pain Receptors that detect pain and pressure in Pain in the skin, muscles, tendons and the organs joints that are carried on large nerve fibres Sensation of pain Theory Gate-control theory Pain signals must pass through a ‘gate’ located in the spinal cord (before moving to the other parts). Activity of the gate can be closed by nonpain signals coming into the spinal cord from the body and by signals coming from the brain. Substance P - increase pain signals Endorphins - decrease pain signals by reducing the action of substance P Balance and position Kinesthetic and proprioceptive senses Kinesthesia Proprioception Awareness of body movements Awareness of where the body and body parts are located in relation to each other in space and to the ground  - Receptors located in the muscles, tendons, and joints provide information about body movement and the movement and location of the arms, legs and their relation to each other which are then processed Vestibular sense (sense of balance) - Awareness of the balance, position, and movement of the head and body through space in relation to gravity’s pull - Processed by vestibular organs in the inner ear, particularly the semicircular canals - Responsible for motion sickness - Sensory conflict between visual information from the eyes with the information from the vestibular senses Perception Process whereby the brain takes all the sensations a person experiences at any given movement and allows them to be interpreted in some meaningful fashion Processing Bottom up processing Top down processing Analysis of the smaller features to build up Use of pre-existing knowledge to organise to a complete perception individual features in to a unified whole Perceptual constancy Ability to recognise the same object under different conditions that result in retinal images such as changes in angle, distance, location, illumination Size constancy Tendency to interpret an object as always being the same size regardless of its distance from the viewer Shape constancy Tendency to interpret the shape of an object as constant even when it changes on the retina (angle) Brightness constancy Tendency to perceive an apparently brightness of an object as the same even when light conditions change Colour constancy Tendency to perceive an object as having the same colour under different lighting conditions Gestalt theory of perceptions - Theories that perception is thought to be due to innate factors - Proposed laws for how incoming stimulation is organised into meaningful perceptual patterns Figure ground relationships Tendency to perceive objects/figures as existing on a background Reversible figures: visual illusions in which the figure and ground can be reversed Proximity Tendency to perceive objects that are close to one another as part of the same grouping Perceptual ambiguity Ambiguous figure: an image that allows for more than one interpretation Similarity Tendency to perceive things that look similar as being part of the same group Closure Tendency to complete figures that are incomplete Continuity Tendency to perceive things as simply as possible with a continuous pattern rather than a complex, broken-up pattern Common region Tendency to perceive objects that are in a common area or region as being in another group Element connectedness Tendency to perceive objects that are connected overrides both elements of similarity and proximity Common fate Tendency to group similar objects together that share a common motion, destination or orientation  Law of Pragnanz Tendency for the simplest organisation requiring the less cognitive effort to appear as the figure Perceptual illusions Illusion - perception that does not correspond to reality Hermann grid Perceptual illusion that distorts visual stimuli involving feature detectors Practical illusions Muller- Lyer illusion Perception is influenced by learning and experience - Perceptual set/expectancy: tendency to perceive things a certain way because of previous experiences or expectations that influences those perceptions Memory Active system that receives information from the senses, organises and alters that information as it stores it away, then retrieves the information from storage Processes Encoding Storage Retrieval Set of mental operations Holding onto information for Getting information that is in that people perform on some period of time storage out and into form sensory information to that can be used convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage systems Not limited to transduction; Period of time differs accomplished differently in depending on the system of each of the three storage memory being used systems of memory Models - All models can be used to explain different aspects of memory - Focus only on information processing model Levels-of-processing model Assumes that information that is more ‘deeply processed’/processed according to its meaning rather than just the sound or physical characteristics of the word(s) will be remembered more efficiency and for a longer period of time Information processing model - Assumes the processing of information for memory storage is similar to the way a computer processes memory in a series of three stages - Length of time that a memory will be remembered depends on the stage of memory in which it is stored For the information processing model, Information enters through the sensory system but may not make it to STM or LTM Types of memory systems Sensory memory Limited capacity and duration (~1-4s) in holding raw information First system; point at which raw information enters the nervous system through the sensory systems Types: iconic (visual), echoic (hearing), gustatory, olfactory Short-term memory (STM) Limited capacity (3-5 items) and duration (~12-30s) - Initially estimated to be 7 +/- 2 chunks - Later revised to 4+/- without chunking or other strategies Selective attention: Ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input Inattention blindness: a failure to notice changes occurring in one’s vision field, apparently caused by narrowing the focus of one's attention Change blindness: inability to detect salient changes in a stimulus Working memory Active system that processes information present within STM Rehearsal mechanisms Maintenance rehearsal Elaborative rehearsal Practice of saying some information over Method of transferring information from and over again in one’s head in order to STM to LTM by making information maintain it in short term memory meaningful in some way - Stays in STM until rehearsal stops - Afterwards memory rapidly decays and is forgotten Models Chunking Bits of information are combined into meaningful units(chunks) so that more information can be held in STM  Automatic encoding - Tendency of certain kinds of information to enter LTM with little/no effortful encoding Flashbulb memories - Automatic encoding that occurs because a unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering it Long-term memory (LTM) System into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently Capacity seemingly unlimited and duration relatively permanent Duration of memories - Associated with physical changes in the brain - Hippocampus and cortex involved in consolidation of information from STM to LTM - Only long-lasting memories of events and concepts that are meaningful and important are stored Types 1. Procedural (implicit) memory Memory of skills, procedures, habits and conditioned responses Memories are not conscious but are implied to exist because they affect conscious behaviour Eg. tying shoelaces 2. Declarative (explicit) memory Memory containing information that is conscious and known Semantic memory Episodic memory Contains facts, general knowledge Contains personal memories experienced Eg. knowledge of language, information by a person; not readily available to others learned in formal education Eg. daily activities and events Organised in terms of related meaning and concepts - Semantic network model: assumes that information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion, like a concept hierarchy Implicit memory Explicit memory - Affects behaviour or mental - Requires conscious awareness processes without conscious - Processed with information awareness (eg. priming) - Can be declarative-procedural - May not be deliberately learnt - Can be declarative/procedural Priming - Exposure to a stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus without conscious awareness Retrieving LTM  1. Retrieval cues The more cues (internal/external) stored with a piece of information, the easier the retrieval Recall Recognition Type of memory retrieval in which the Ability to match a piece of information to be retrieved must be ‘pulled’ information/stimulus to a stored image or from memory with very few external cues fact - False positive: person thinks they have recognised or even recalled something/someone but in fact does not even have that something/someone in memory 2. Encoding specificity Tendency for memory of information to be improved if related information (surroundings, physiological state etc.) that is available when the memory is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved Context-dependent learning State-dependent learning Actual physical environment in which you Memories formed during a particular learn information can alter serve as a physiological/psychological state will be retrieval cue for that information easier to retrieve while in a similar state Reconstructive nature of LTM - Constructive processing - memory retrieval process in which memories are ‘built’ or reconstructed from information stored during encoding - With each retrieval, memories are altered, revised or influenced by newer information Misinformation effect False memories via Misattribution of source suggestion (memory failure) Tendency of misleading Creation of inaccurate/false Memories are retrieved information presented after memories through the correctly but attributed t o an event to alter the suggestions of others an incorrect source memories of the event itself Biological basis of memory Memory trace (engram) Physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed - Increase in the number of neuronal receptor sites/synapses - Increased sensitivity of the synapses through repeated stimulation - Structural changes in dendrites - Changes in neuronal proteins Over time, if these traces are not used, they may decay and face to nothing (disuse) Memory consolidation Changes that take place in the structure and functioning of neurons when a memory is formed typically happens during sleep and wakeful rest With repeat retrieval of memories, connections are strengthened and memory is consolidated in LTM in the cerebral cortex Cerebellum Prefrontal cortex and temporal lobe Hippocampus Non-declarative Short term Long term memories Vital in the formation memories memories (not in the same of new declarative place as STM) LTM Memory failure Retrograde amnesia Loss of memory from the point of injury backward - Consolidation process which was busy making the physical changes to allow new memories to be stored gets destroyed and loses everything not already nearly finished Anterograde amnesia Loss of memories from the point of injury/illness forward Age-related amnesia Infantile amnesia Unable to remember memories in the first few years of life, when a child is still considered an infant Autobiological memory: memory for events and facts related to one’s personal story Alzhimer’s disease Beginning: anterograde amnesia As it progresses: retrograde amnesia take hold as memories of the past are erased Forgetting Normal and necessary - Prevents memory from being overwhelmed by information it no longer needs Ebbinghaus’ forgetting curve - Graph showing a distinct pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list, and then tapers off gradually Decay/disuse - Information that is not accessed decays from the storage system over time - Cannot explain why we can recall some memories years later How to retain information for a long time Mass practise (cramming) Distributed/spaced practice Studying a complete body of information at Spacing out study sessions once Spaced practise more effective Reasons for forgetting Encoding failure Information is not attended to and fails to be encoded Retrieval failure Recall fails temporarily even though the information is stored - Tip of the tongue phenomenon Interference Proactive Interference Retroactive interference Older information already in memory Newer information interferes with the interferes with the learning of newer retrieval of older information information  Serial position effect Information at the beginning and the end of a body of information is more accurately remembered than information in the middle Primacy effect Recency effect Tendency to remember information at the Tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better end of a body of information better than than what follows the information before it When information presented in a list is remembered better: Presented earlier in the list - primacy effect Presented later in the list - recency effect Presented multiple times - frequency/repetition effect More distinctive - distinctiveness effect Form part of a phrase - chunking effect Thinking/cognition Mental activity that goes on in the brain when a person is processing information - organising it, understanding it, and communicating it to others Thinking is governed by the interplay between the two thinking systems System 1 System 2 Intuitive thought processes that are Relatively slow, analytical, rule based designed for quick decisions But relies on (oftentimes faulty) heuristics, More dependent on out formal educational biases and prejudices experiences Thought processes 1. Mental imagery Representations that stand in for objects or events that have a picture-like quality - Mental images engaged in the mind much like how we engage or interact with physical objects - Information stored in many ways: depictive/pictorial format, propositional/descriptive format etc. Processed in the brain slightly differently than actual objects Seeing an actual image Creating a mental image Information goes from the eyes to the visual Areas of the cortex associated with stored cortex of the occipital lobe and is knowledge sends information to the visual processed/interpreted by other areas of the cortex, where image is perceived in the cortex that compare the new information to ‘mind's eye’  information already in memory 2. Concepts Ideas that represent a class/category of objects, events, activities - Allows people to organise their perceptions of the world around them - Used to interact and organise information without having to think about/process every specific example of the category Formal/Artificial concepts Natural concepts Concepts defined by specific rules or Mental categories people form as a result of features. Rigid. experiences with these concepts in the real world Eg. definition of a square Eg. defining a vehicle Prototype - an example of a concept that closely matches the defining characteristics of the concept - Prototypes develop according to the exposure a person has to objects in that category and/or culture Representation of concepts - Cognitive map: cognitive representation of a physical space or non-physical relations Schema Script Mental generalisations about objects, event, Kind of schema that involved a familiar people sequence of events Eg. stereotypes about certain groups of Eg. morning routines people Cognition processes Convergent thinking - type of thinking in which a problem is seen as having only one answer; all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer, using previous knowledge and logic - Works well for a routine problem solving but may be of little use when a more creative solution is needed Decision making Process of cognition that involves identifying, evaluating and choosing among several alternatives Problem solving Process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways Trial and error (mechanical solution) Problem solving method in which one possible solution after another is tried until a successful one is found Algorithms Specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems - Input → set of rules → output - Guaranteed a correct outcome if applied correctly Eg. recipes Heuristics An educated guess based on prior experiences that helps narrow down the possible solutions for a problem. ‘rule of thumb’. - Faster than an algorithm in many cases, but may not always lead to the correct solution Common heuristics Representative heuristics Availability heuristics Anchoring heuristic Assumption that any Estimating the Tendency to base/anchor object/person sharing frequency/likelihood of an an estimate on the first characteristics with the event based on how easy it piece of information and members of a particular is to recall relevant adjust the estimate around category is also a member information from memory/ the anchor of that category how easy it is for us to think of related examples Base-rate fallacy/neglect - Tendency to ignore base rate information and give more weight to individuating information Working backwards Subgoals Analogies Breaking down a goal into subgoals so that as each subgoal is achieved, the final solution is much closer Insight Sudden perception of relations among various parts of a problem, deriving a solution to a problem. ‘aha!’ moment.  - Mind simply reorgansises a problem, sometimes while the person is thinking about something else Barriers to problem solving Functional fixedness Thinking about objects only in terms of their typical uses, failing to see them as possible tools for solving other problems Mental sets Tendency for people to persist in using problem-solving patterns that have worked for them in the past Confirmation bias Tendency to search for evidence that fits one’s belief while ignoring any evidence to the contrary Framing effect Effect in which the way information is presented can influence our judgments, decisions and recall Divergent thinking - type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas/possibilities based on that point - Links and connections often made at a level of consciousness just below alert awareness - So that ideas can flow freely without being censored by the higher mental processes Creativity Solving problems by combining ideas/behaviours in new ways - Less prone to common barriers of problem solving - Can be stimulated Intelligence The ability to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems Theories Spearman’s G factor Intelligence as a single, general ability coupled with specific abilities G factor (general intelligence) S factor (specific intelligence) Ability to reason and solve problems Task specific abilities in certain areas (eg. music, art) Spearman believed that superiority in one type of intelligence predicts superiority overall Gardner's multiple intelligences Nine types of intelligences - Believed that reason, logic and knowledge are different aspects of intelligence Stenberg’s triarchic theory Three types of intelligences Analytical intelligence Creative intelligence Practical intelligence Ability to break problems Ability to deal with new and Ability to use information to down into component different concepts and to get along with life. ‘Street parts/analysis for problem come up with new ways of smarts’. solving solving problems Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory Cattel’s theory Crystallised intelligence Fluid intelligence Ability to access acquired knowledge and Ability to source problems and be adaptive skills acquired in unfamiliar situations Built upon Cattel’s theory, Horn and Carroll then developed the CHC theory - Intelligence comprises g (general intelligence), and 16 broad abilities Emotional intelligence The accurate awareness of and ability to manage one’s own emotions to facilitate thinking and attain specific goals, and the ability to understand what others feel Measuring intelligence IQ Initially compared between mental and physical age 𝑀𝐴 (𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑔𝑒) 𝐼𝑄 = 𝐶𝐴 (𝑐ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑔𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑔𝑒) × 100 Then: advantage of allowing testers to compare the intelligence levels of people of different age groups Now: compares a person’s score to a standardised form (age-group norms) Most intelligence tests follow a normal distribution and assumes that IQ is normally distributed around a mean of 100 with standard deviation of around 15 Standardisation of tests Process of giving the test to a large group of people that represents the kind of people for whom the test is designed - Aspects includes establishing consistent and standard methods of test administration Norms Scores from the standardisation group. Standards against which all others who take the test would be compared - Most intelligence tests follow a normal curve  Binet’s mental ability test Testing of mental age, the average age at which children could successfully answer a particular level of questions Stanford-Binet and IQ (intelligence quotient) Assesses: knowledge, fluid reasoning, quantitative reasoning, visuospatial processing, working memory Welscher tests Yields four index scores derived from both verbal and nonverbal subtests and an overall score of intelligence Uses of IQ tests - Generally valid for predicting academic success and job performance - Useful for assessing and evaluating a variety of conditions and disorders Individual differences Intellectual disabilities Exhibits deficits in mental ability and adaptive behaviour - IQ scores generally less than 70 (approximately two standard deviations below the mean of the normal curve) Neurodevelopmental disorder Causes Environmental Biological - Unhealthy living conditions that Down syndrome, fetal alcohol syndrome, affect brain development (eg. lead fragile X syndrome etc. poisoning) - Inadequate brain development or other health risks associated with poverty (eeg. malnutrition) Giftedness The 2% of the population falling on the upper end of the normal curve, typically possessing an IQ of 130 and above - IQ more than 140 are considered geniuses Typically grow up to be well-adjusted adults except when pushed to achieve at younger and younger ages Heritability and environment Influence of hereditary on the development of intelligence Heritability Degree to which changes in some trait within the population can be considered to be due to genetic influences - Heritability for intelligence is about 50% Influence of beliefs and expectations on intelligence Self fulfilling prophecy - Process by which a belief or expectations about someone can lead to that individual behaving in ways which are consistent with and confirm that belief Stereotype threat - condition in which being made aware of a negative performance stereotype interferes with the performance of someone that considers him/herself a part of that group