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