Psych 134 Midterm 3
Spreading activation
"activating" a node spreads to all connected concepts
Visual imagery
"seeing" in the absence of a visual stimulus -Visual imagery may involve visual information in working memory or long-term memory -Some people have exceptional visual imagery abilities -Visual imagery can be used to recall landmarks or imagine alternate routes during spatial navigation -can be used to plan future actions -can be used to improve memory -can help when reasoning and problem solving -Visual imagery is less vivid than perception
Prototype
"typical" member of a category that has most of the characteristic features
Create the category hierarchy for this object:
-animal -mammal global levels -dog basic level -bulldog -French bulldog - blue French bulldo
Sentences
A meaningful collection of words
According to the definitional approach, ____ members of a category share the same defining features. A. all B. most C. some D. no
A. all
It is easier to understand words that ____. A. occur more frequently B. are spoken in a heavy accent C. appear without their context D. have more than one meaning
A. occur more frequently
This inductive argument is ____. A. strong B. neutral C. nonexistent D.weak Observations • my grandpa has seen news reports of major hurricanes hitting the US every Fall • the almanac shows major hurricanes hit the US every Fall for the past 150 years Conclusion a major hurricane will hit the US this Fall
A. strong
Visual imagery is a ____ process. A. top-down B. nondeclarative C. bottom-up D. physical
A. top-down
We have a bias to believe syllogisms that are both ____. A. valid and may be true B. invalid and concrete C. abstract and inaccurate D. accurate and falsifiable
A. valid and may be true
Operators
Actions that take the problem from one state to another
Problem space
All possible states that can occur when solving a problem
According to the Constraint-Based Model, we have a hard time parsing the sentence "we painted the wall with cracks" because we assume that "the wall" is the subject of the phrase "we painted". A. True B. False
B. False
"No!" has ____ morpheme(s). A. zero B. one C. two D. three
B. one
Our inaccurate visual image that LA is west of Reno is evidence that imagery relies on ____ representations. A. spatial B. propositional C. both spatial and propositional D.neither spatial nor propositional
B. propositional
The process of ____ is when you change the way a problem is represented. A. insight B. restructuring C. identification D. fixation
B. restructuring
Nonverbal communication
Being able to interpret and react to the person's gestures, facial expressions, tones of voice, and other cues to meaning
The principle of ___ states that it is easier to understand conversations when the participants already know the back story. A. syntactic coordination B. the given-new contract C. common ground D. theory of mind
C. common ground
According to the Information-Processing Approach, you are in the ____ state when you have solved a problem. A. intermediate B. problem C. goal D. initial
C. goal
The category "sport" would be represented in a semantic network as a ____ for basketball and archery. A. node with separate properties B. lower node connected to higher nodes C. higher node connected to lower nodes D. node connected at the same level to nodes
C. higher node connected to lower nodes
The example about my cousin Joe was intended to show that we sometimes draw conclusions (inductive reasoning) that ____. A. are biased by the availability of observations B. fail to recognize that two events are less probable that one alone C. ignore relative proportions in the population D. overlook the fact that more observations will be more representative of the population
C. ignore relative proportions in the population (base rate)
According to the prototype approach, ____ members of a category share the same defining features. A. all B. most C. some D. no
C. some
Experts solve problems in their field more quickly than novices because they ____. A. focus on surface features of problems B. have knowledge that extends beyond their field C. spend more time practicing and learning those material D. are set in their ways of looking at problems
C. spend more time practicing and learning those material
Russian marriage problem
Can the matchmaker come up with 31 heterosexual marriages among the 62 survivors?
Intermediate states
Conditions after each step is made toward solving a problem
Initial state
Conditions at the beginning of a problem
Connectionist networks represent categories as ____. A. interconnected nodes B. connection weights C. interconnected units D. patterns of activity across units
D. patterns of activity across units
Which approach to categorization is used more often in our everyday life? A. definitional B. prototype C. exemplar D. prototype and exemplar
D. prototype and exemplar
In the example discussed here, the source problem is ____. A. difficult to transfer B. the radiation problem C. what needs to be restructured D. the fortress story
D. the fortress story
Multilated checkerboard problem
If we eliminate two corners of a checkerboard, can we cover the remaining squares with dominos?
Lexical decision task
Participants indicate whether the stimuli are words or nonwords -We respond faster when the words are more closely associated in the semantic network
Priming effect
Respond faster to probe words that have the same meaning as the priming sentence -Respond faster to probe words that have a related meaning to the priming sentence -But if there is a delay, the sentence only primes the probe word with the same meaning
Phonemes
Smallest unit of speech sounds
Goal state
Solution to the problem
Imagery vs Perception
Whereas perception is automatic
Language
a system of communication using sounds or symbols that enable us to express our feelings, thoughts, ideas, and experiences -Language allows us to communicate -Language involves sequences of signals -Language creates images -Language is meaningful -Language is hierarchical -Language follows rules -Language is universal
Lexicon
all of the words we know
Categories
all possible examples of a given concept
Source problem
another problem that is similar to and may illustrate a way to solve the target problem
Analogical problem solving
attempting to solve a problem using the solution to a similar problem -The Russian marriage solution can be used to solve the multilated checkerboard problem
Solitude
avoiding distractions; giving the mind space and time to make new connections and find meaning
Theory of mind
being able to understand what others feel, think, or believe
Concepts
categories of objects, events, and ideas
Rule-based nature of language
components can be arranged in some ways, but not others
Words
comprised of one or more morphemes
Semantic network approach
concepts are arranged in the mind as networks that connect related concepts -nodes: category or concept -lines: connect related nodes -Semantic networks are comprised of interconnected nodes -Concept properties are revealed at each node and by moving up the network -The distance between concepts is related to the time it takes to access them -Problem #1: semantic networks can not explain the typicality effect -Problem #2: semantic networks can not explain some sentence verification results
Connectionist network
concepts are represented as activity that is distributed across a network -Connectionist networks are also known as parallel distributed processing (PDP) model
Syllogism
consist of two broad statements (premises) and a conclusion
Hierarchical nature of language
consists of small components that can be combined to form larger units
Syntactic coordination
conversation participants coordinate their grammatical constructs
Framing effect
decisions are influenced by how the choices are stated (framed)
Definitional approach
determine category membership based on whether an item meets the definition of the category -Problem #1: some categories do not readily lend themselves to feature analysis -Problem #2: a violation of defining features does not change the category
Prototype approach
determine category membership by comparing the item to a prototype that resembles the category
Exemplar approach
determine category membership by comparing the item to exemplars of the category -Problem #1: unclear how many exemplars are compared or how similarity is computed
Heuristics
educated guesses, intuitive judgments, or common sense used to solve a problem quickly
Representativeness heuristic
events that are more similar to a given category are more likely to be judged as being part of that category
Availability heuristic
events that come to mind more easily are judged as being more probable -Our conclusions are biased by evidence that is more available
Analogical transfer
experience solving one problem is transferred to another problem
Syntactic priming
hearing a grammatical construction increases the chance that you will use it too
Typicality
how closely a category member resembles the category prototype -high typicality members are rated as being more representative of the category -high typicality members are named first within the category -high typicality members have more overlapping characteristics of the category -high typicality members are verified more rapidly -high typicality members are more affected by priming
Representation
how language is represented in the mind
Word frequency
how often words occur
Acquisition
how we learn language
Production
how we produce language
Word pronunciation
how we say words is affected by speech speed, accents, and word "slurring"
Comprehension
how we understand language
Representativeness of observations
how well observations about a particular category represent all members of that category
Analogical paradox
it can be difficult to apply analogies in the laboratory, but we routinely use analogies in real-world setting
Family resemblance
items in a category resemble one another in a number of ways
Common ground
knowledge and beliefs shared among conversation participants -Conversations with friends are easy because there is so much shared knowledge
Conceptual knowledge
knowledge that enables us to recognize objects and events and to make inferences about their properties
Hierarchical organization
larger, more general categories are divided into smaller, more specific categories -global levels -basic level: name most often used to identify an object -specific level
Garden path model of parsing
listeners use heuristics (syntax-based rules) to group words into phrases
Constraint-based approach to parsing
listeners use syntax along with other information (word meaning, context, memory load) to group words into phrases
Phrasal semantics
meaning of sentences
Lexical semantics
meaning of words
Semantics
meaning of words, sentences, or passages
Parsing
mentally grouping the words into phrases to create meaning
Mondegreens
mishear something
Candle problem
mount the candle to the wall so it will burn without dripping wax on the floor -The solution requires that you think of the matchbox as a platform, not a container -It's easier to overcome this functional fixedness when the tacks are presented outside the box
Biased dominance
one meaning occurs more often than others
Referential communication task
one person has to identify something (the reference) being described to them by someone else
Backfire effect
our support for a given opinion can be stronger when faced with facts that oppose it
Pegword technique
pair to-be-remembered words to concrete (not abstract) nouns from which you can create images for the new words to "hang onto"
Late closure
parser assumes each new word is part of the current phrase
Mindfulness
pay attention to what is happening in our mind and in the environment
Graceful degradation
performance disruption occurs gradually as parts of the system are damaged
Mental set
preconceived notion about how to approach a problem -Prior examples can establish a mental set that inhibits participants from using simpler solution later on
exemplar
previously encountered member of a category
Information-processing approach
problem solving is a search between the posing of a problem and its solution
Daydreaming
purposeful mind wandering
Lexical Priming Task
read a priming sentence followed by a probe word as quickly as possible
Means-end analysis
reduce the difference between the initial and goal states by creating sub-goals
Garden path sentences
sentences that begin by appearing to mean one thing, but then end up meaning something else
Cognitive economy
shared properties are stored just once at a higher-level node
Morphemes
smallest meaningful unit of language
Expert
someone knowledgeable or skilled in a particular field
Given-new contract
speaker should construct sentences that include given information (that the listener already knows) and new information (that the listener is hearing for the first time)
categorical syllogism
statements begin with "all", "no", or "some"
Insight
sudden realization of a solution to a problem
Creative cognition
technique to train people to think creatively
Functional fixedness
tendency to focus on familiar functions or uses of objects
Invalid syllogism
the conclusion does not follow logically from the premises
Valid syllogism
the conclusion follows logically from the premises
conditional syllogism
the first premise has an "if...then" format
Law of large numbers
the more individuals that are randomly drawn from a population, the more representative the group will be of the entire population
Conjunction rule
the probability of a conjunction of two events cannot be higher than the probability of the events alone
Target problem
the problem you are trying to solve
Categorization
the process of assigning something to a category 1. Definitional approach 2. Prototype approach 3. Exemplar approach
Problem restructuring
the process of changing a problem's representation
decision
the process of choosing between alternatives
decision (2)
the process of choosing between alternatives
deductive reasoning
the process of determining whether a specific conclusion logically follows from general statements • premise is stated as facts or general principles -All men are mortal.Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. -broad principles --> specific cases -top-down process -if the premise is true, the conclusion is definitely true
inductive reasoning
the process of drawing a general conclusion based on specific observations -premise is stated as observations of specific cases -The temperature in Riverside reaches 100° every summer. Therefore, it will reach 100° in Riverside this summer. -specific cases --> broad principles -bottom-up process -if the premise is true, the conclusion is probably true
reasoning
the process of drawing conclusions
Base rate
the relative proportion of different classes in the population
Object-relative construction
the senator is the object of the embedded clause -The senator who the reporter spotted shouted
Subject-relative construction
the senator is the subject of the embedded clause -The senator who spotted the reporter shouted
Status quo bias
the tendency to do nothing when faced with making a decision
Belief bias
the tendency to think a syllogism is valid if its conclusions are believable
Creativity
the use of imagination or original ideas
Problem representation
the way a problem is translated or represented in our mind -We represent problems in our mind differently than they are presented to us -...as seen by the different ways that we approach solving the same problem
Divergent thinking
thinking that is open-ended and involves a large number of potential "solutions"
Two string problem
tie together the two strings hanging from the ceiling
judgment
to judge or form an opinion
Falsification principle
to test a rule, it is necessary to look for situation that would falsify it
Generalization of learning
training a system to recognize properties of one concept provides information about related concepts
Visual world paradigm
view a scene and follow the instructions
Lexical decision task (2)
view stimuli and indicate whether it is a word or nonword
Method of loci
visualize to-be-remembered items in different locations in a well-known mental route
Mental scanning
we create mental images and then scan them into our mind
Symbolic distance effect
we detect more details when we are closer to a stimulus
Myside bias
we evaluate evidence in a way that is biased toward our own opinions and attitudes
Confirmation bias
we look for information that supports our opinions and ignore information that refutes it
Speech segmentation
we perceive individual words even though there are often no silences between them -Speech segmentation is improved by learning which speech sounds co-occur more often -Speech segmentation is improved by hearing the words in context
Typicality effect
we respond faster to "basketball is a sport" than to "archery is a sport"
Word frequency effect
we respond faster to words that occur more frequently -we fixate less to words that occur more frequently
Mental rotation
we rotate visual images in the mind
Illusory correlations
when a relationship between two events appears to exist, but in reality, there is little or no relationship
Problem
when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal -Problems need to be identified before they can be solved -Well-defined problems are easy to identify and solve -lll-defined problems are hard to identify and solve
propositional representation
where images are represented by language or symbols
spatial representation
where parts of an image correspond to locations in space
Water jug problem
with these 3 empty jars of varying capacities, can you measure 5 quarts of water? -Fill B • Pour into A once • Pour into C twice 43 - 18 - 10 - 10 = 5
Lexical ambiguity
words often have more than one meaning