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Psychology (Cognitive approach (Thinking and decision-making (The…

- - - - Multi-store model
        
        Sensory memory (SM)
        
        Holds information received by the senses, is very short-term.
        
        A study done by Crowder (1993) discovered that sensory memory holds information in the iconic store for just a few milliseconds, whereas the echoic store holds information for 2-3 seconds, implying that sensory information might be encoded into different sensory stores with different durations.
        
        A study done by Treisman (1964) had participants be presented with auditory messages to either of their ears with a slight delay between the transmissions. It was noted that when the delay was under two seconds, the participants noticed the messages being identical - the findings further pointing towards the echoic store having a duration of about two seconds.
        
        Stores received information in an unprocessed form, each sensory input having a different sensory store - echoic (auditory), icoinic (visual), haptic (tactile), gustatory (taste), olfactory (smell). Information that is paid attention to passes onto the STM. SM stores have high capacity but extremely limited duration, different stores varying in capacity and duration with both decreasing by age.
        
        Short-term memory (STM)
        
        Information storage that holds a small amount of info for a brief period.
        
        Receives information from the SM and encodes it into a form that can be more easily dealt with - either visually, acoustically, or semantically (meaning). STM has a rather limited capacity that can hold anywhere between 5-9 items, though that can be gotten around by chunking information. The duration of the STM is a maximum of 30 seconds, which can be further extended by repetition of said information - enough of which will transfer it into LTM.
        
        A study done by Baddeley (1966) had participants be presented with one of four word lists which were repeated four times. In order to test coding in STM, they were given the list in the wrong order to sort it correctly. It was found that acoustically similar words were much harder to sort compared to the other, random lists. To test LTM, the procedure was the same but with a 20-minute interval before recalling. The results showed that semantically similar words were hardest to recall in LTM, recalling synonyms instead of the original.
        
        Long-term memory (LMT)
        
        Information storage that holds limitless information for a long period of time.
        
        A study done by Frost (1972) had participants given 16 pictures of 4 different categories but all differing in visual orientation, The order at which they recalled said items implied the use of both visual and semantic coding, being evidence for the existance of both in LTM.
        
        LTM receives information that has been already passed through the SM and STM. Research has indicated that there's three different types of long-term memory: semantic (meaning), episodic (when it was learned), procedural (how to do it). Not all LTM items are of equal strength (e.g. your birthday is much easier to recall than say a specific word in Russian). LTMs are not unchanging, so they may merge with other LTMs, resulting in inaccurate memories. LTM has a potentially unlimited capacity and duration.
        
        Semantic LTM
        
        Semantic LTM is another type of explicit memory that contains all the knowledge an individual has learned. The strength of said memories is associated with the degree of processing during coding. Semantic LTMs are linked with episodic LTMs since knowledge is often learned from experiences. It is uncertai which areas of the brain are responsible for semantic LTM.
        
        A study done by Vicari et al. (2007) analysed the case of an eight-year-old girl who suffered from brain damage. She showed deficiencies in her episodic LTM functions, especially creating new ones, but she was still capable of creating and recalling semantic memories, suggesting that the two forms of memory are separate, the hippocampus associated with episodic and the perirhinal cortex with semantic LTM.
        
        Episodic LTM
        
        A form of LTM that holds events occuring in an individual's life
        
        Episodic LTM is the memory that provides individuals with an autobiographical record of their personal experiences, such as when is their birthday, the birth of their children etc. The strength of episodic memories is determined by the emotional reaction to the event, as well as by the degree of processing. Episodic LTM may help people tell apart reality and delusions. The prefrontal cortex is most associated with initial coding of episodic memories.
        
        A study done by Herlitz et al. (1997) assessed LTM abilities in 1000 people, the findings suggesting that females seemed to consistently perform better than males on tasks that required episodic LTM, but no difference in semantic memory. Might explain why females generally have higher verbal ability.
        
        Procedural LTM
        
        A form of LTM responsible for particular types of action.
        
        Procedural LTM is a type of implicit memory that permits individuals to perform tasks they've already learned previously with very little conscious thought. A lot of procedural LTMs occur very early in someone's development. It is also involved in language, helping automatical speaking (without having to think about grammar or syntax). Since procedural memory does not require conscious thought, it allows people to perform other tasks at the same time that require more attention
        
        A study done by Finke et al. (2012) reported a case study of a 68-year-old professional cellist after he had suffered severe brain damage and become an amnesiac. Episodic and semantic LTM were severely affected - he was unable to remember the names of musical pieces and composers but he was still able to learn new pieces and play old ones just as good as before.
        
        Capacity
        
        The amount of information that a store can hold at any given time
        
        Encoding
        
        The conversion of a memory item (e.g. event) into a construct that the brain can store and later recall
      - Working memory model
        
        Central executive (CE)
        
        Coordinates the components of working memory
        
        The CE acts a filter that decides whether or not sensory information is worth paying attention to, processing information from all sensory forms and directing it to the model's components. It's limited in its capacity and can only handle a single strand of information at a given time, thereforing selectively attending to different types of information when attention needs to be divided between them.
        
        A study done by D'Esposito (1995) discoverer by using fMRI scans that the prefrontal cortex was only activated when spatial and verbal tasks were performed simultaneously, not separately, implying that the prefrontal cortex may be associated with the CE.
        
        Visuospatial sketchpad (VSS)
        
        A component of the WMM that processes visual information and items' physical relationship to each other.
        
        A slave system (component) of the WMM that deals with non-phonological information, also being a temporary store for spatial items and the relationships between them, as well as for visual items. The VSS primarily helps people to navigate around and interact with the environment around them, mental pictures coding said information.
        
        It was suggested by Logie (1995) to sub-divide the VSS into a visual cache (VC) and an inner scribe (IS), both handling visual material about form and colour and spatial relationships and information transfer respectively.
        
        A study done by Klauer & Zhao (2004) found that there is more interference between performing two visual tasks rather than a visual and a spatial task, suggesting the existence of a separate VC and IS
        
        Phonological loop (PL)
        
        A component of the WMM that processes auditory information.
        
        A slave system (component) of the WMM that deals with auditory information and the order of said information. It is similar to the rehersal system of the MSM, having a limited capacity determined by its duration. Since it's mainly an acoustic store, similarly sounding words can confuse it.
        
        A study done by Baddeley et al. (1975) found out that participants were able to recall more short words in serial order rather than long words, coming to the conclusion that the capacity of the PL is set by how long it takes to say the words, rather than sheer number.
        
        Episodic buffer (EB)
        
        A short-term store of integrated information from all components of the WMM.
        
        A slave system (component) of the WMM that, due to the lack of capacity of other slave systems, deals with the storage of information, holding information that is combined together from the PL, the CE, the LTM, and the VSS.
        
        A study done by Prabhakaran et al. (2000) used fMRI scans that let to finding more intense right frontal brain activation for combined spatial and verbal information, but greater posterior activation for non-combined information. This gives biological evidence to the existence of the EB.
  - - - A schema is a cognitive framework that structures information about the physical world and the events that occur within it. As such, knowledge becomes stored within memory in a way that future experiences become perceived in a certain way.
      - A study done by Allport & Postman (1947) showed participants a picture of a black man and white man arguing, with the white man carrying a knife. During recalling, many participants recalled the black man holding the knife due to black people generally being associated more with violence and aggression, a cultural stereotype that wa sreflected in people's schemas.
    - - Top-down processing is perception involving processing that goes beyond mere sensory input
        
        Different biases already known from TOK (emotional, cultural etc)
    - - Bottom-up processing is perception that comes directly from sensory input without any further cognitive processing
        
        Optical array
        
        Structure/shape of patterened light that enters the eyes.
        
        The structure of patterned light that enters one's eyes, with special reference to the movement of individuals and objects around oneself, taking into mind the intensities of the light from different directions. - Light itself does not provide information, but its shape, movement, and intensity does.
        
        Texture gradient
        
        Patterns on surfaces that provide sensory information about shape, depth etc
        
        Provides information about objects through their surfaces, analysing the texture of said surface. When one's moving, the flow of texture gradients also changes, providing an ever-changing source of information. (Such as objects 'expanding' when one gets near)
        
        Optic flow patterns
        
        Sources of information that deal with relative height, distance, and speed of objects
        
        Optic flow is the experience of one's surroundings while moving, seeing objects move in relation to them and their sizes changing, taking the apparent speed, size change etc in mind to perceive the size, distance, and actual speed of entities.
        
        A study done by Maher & West (1993) recorded the movements of black-clad animals, having placed lights on their joints. It was found that people were able to identify the species of animals without any other information but movement - demonstrating that information from movement (optic flow) is enough for perception to occur directly.
        
        Affordances
        
        Attaching meaning to sensory information, with relation to actions
        
        Giving meaning to sensory information, particularly the actions that can be done with them (e.g. a pencil 'afford' writing), therefore being that certain objects mean to observers without the need of learning skills, being directly evolutionary.
        
        A study done by Warren (1984), took a look at how his participants were able to judge the 'climbability' of staircases depending on how they're portrayed. The results showed that participants were very sensitive to the affordance of 'climbability', and Gibson implied that it was due to the light reflected by the staircases, supporting the concept that affordances do not rely on experience.
  - - - Conscious actions of one's mind done to interpret the world around oneself and make plans and predictions through it.
    - - A cognitive process that involves choosing an option from several available choice.s
    - - Humans are very selective in tending to information and the way they use it
      - Preferences and beliefs to be constructed through the decision-making process
      - Acquiring and processing information to be cognitively and emotionally taxing
      - Humans using heuristics (aka mental short-cuts) to choose and process chosen information
      - Heuristics being chosen according to the decision that has to be made
      - Adaptive decision maker framework (ADMF)
        
        Focuses on choice in decision-making, with particular reference to preferential choice problems, which are solved by gathering and evulating information about possible choices, the options varying according to:
        
        ..Their perceived desirability
        
        ..Certainty in the value of the option
        
        ..Willingless of the person making the decision to accept a sacrifice in one aspect for gain in the other
        
        Choice goals framework
        
        Maximizing accuracy of decision-making
        
        Minimizing cognitive effort
        
        Minimizing negative emotions during and after making decisions
        
        Maximizing ease of justifying
        
        Coping theory
        
        Folkman & Lazarus (1988) instead think that individuals respond to negative emotions in one of two ways:
        
        Problem focused coping sees negative emotions as indicating the importance of the decision to an individual, therefore having them concentrate more on making the best choice, uninfluenced by the negative emotions
        
        Emotion focused coping sees individuals trying to minimize negative emotions instead of focusing on the quality of the decision, using various methods such as avoiding the bad aspects of a choice or even giving the choice to someone else. Negative emotions are especially prevalent when trade-offs between two desirable options must be made.
    - - Effects
        
        Framing effect - Perceiving something in a different way will also change the way the person behaves. (e.g. in gambling perceiving to be in a position of gain meaning taking more risks)
        
        A study done by Rahman and Crouch (2015) put participants in two conditions regarding booking flights. The first group had a choice between saving some money or a chance to save or lose all the discount. The second group had a choice between losing a set amount of discount or a chance of not losing any or losing double. The gain-framed condition had 73% of people choose the riskless option, whereas in the risk-framed option, only 44% chose the riskless option, with the majority choosing the risky option. This study supports the framing effect.
        
        Use of information - Easily available information may be paid more attention to, easily memorable information may be seen as more important etc. Furthermore, positive things about oneself are seen as more correct (called the self-serving bias) and evidence of what confirms one's beliefs is also seen to be more true.
        
        Judgement - Sensory information is very heavily filtered, and since people like being certain in what they know then uncertain information is often neglected. Problematic information gets shoved aside more often than not due to the long-term effects. Furthermore, people are rooted in what they've already learned and as such, a mental anchor prevents the learning of new things that contradict previous knowledge that easily.
        
        Post-decision evaluation - Due to the egoistic nature of humans, we see favourable outcomes as a result of our own actions (fundamental attribution bias) and unfavourable ones as others' fault. The confidence in oneself also results in an illusion of control. To top it all off, the aforementioned confidence also results in the hindsight bias, where we think we knew something all along when we had no information of it in reality.
  - - - Reliability of memory
        
        The amount of consistent results that memory produces
      - Eyewitness testimony (EWT)
        
        Observers' recalling of events previously experienced
  - - - Lazarus's cognitive appraisal theory ('82) is a theory of emotion that suggest that both preceeding conditions and the nature of the cognitive appraisals play two crucial roles in the cognitive aspects of emotion, with primary appraisal assessing an event's importance and secondary the coping mechanism. The theory heavily stresses the role of thinking, seeing as it precedes physiological arousal.
        
        A study done by Speisman et al. (1964) showed participants a film about circumscision and found that when the most intense moments of the film were accompanied with corresponding manipulations of the soundtrack, the emotional response to the film was heightened, suggesting that emotional and cognitive appraisal to a situation depends on the level of arousal
        
        Zajonc argued against the theory with an example of emotion being able to also occur before cognition, such as when one hears a hissing snake - fear and adrenaline occur before the snake is actually perceived properly.
      - Perceptual defence - The discarding or distortion of stimuli that have a threatening or 'offending'/conflicting nature to the perceiver.
        
        A study done by McGinnies (1949) showed participants a set of 11 neutral words and 7 loaded, colourful words such as 'rape', the word being presented until it was recognized. The study showed that emotionally more intense words took longer to reckognize.
        
        This concept is uncertain, as the longer 'reckognition' time may have just been the participants being too shy to say the words out loud, as a study done by Bitterman &Kniffin (1953) had particiapnts instead write the words, and no difference in reckognition time was noticed.
    - - Confabulation - The sudden and intense production of false memories that are perceived as true
      - Repression - A subconscious action that involves hiding emotionally dangerous memories in order to prevent heavy anxiety.
      - The process part
        
        Cue-utilzation theory suggests that intense levels of emotion focus purely on the emotionally significant aspects of the environment surrounding an event, with emotionally insignificant details being disregarded in favour of encoding emotionally important ones.
        
        The more emotionally arousing an event, the more of it gets stored in memory - and usually not immediately, but rather after a short delay in time (most likely due to hormonal processes involved)
        
        Mood-congurgence effect suggests that people are more able to retrieve information that is emotionally similar to their current emotional state.
        
        Mood-state dependent retrieval is the ability of an individual to be able to recall information with more ease if their emotional state matches the emotions experienced during encoding.
        
        A study done by Drace (2013) put 38 female participants under positive, negative, and neutral emotional conditions that were measured using electromyography ratings), and then asked to recall memories through a questionnaire. Results clearly indicated that more positive memories were recalled when in a positive mood rather than negative.
      - Flashbulb memory is the intense and vivid memory of an emotionally important event.
        
        A study done by Holmes (1990) looked over near 6 decades of repression research and failed to find any solid evidence for the phenomenon.
        
        Flashbulb memories are very susceptible to post-event information that may influence original memories of a strong memory, suggesting that flashbulb memories aren't completely accurate recollections.
- - - - Testosterone
        
        Male hormone that's an androgen, linked to aggression and in humans mostly to social responses to provocation
      - Adrenaline
        
        Secreted by adrenal glands, triggers a flight-fight response and attention seeking
      - Oxytocin
        
        Maternal behaviour and attachment, also intensifies contractions during labour.
      - Seratonin
        
        Low seratonin means increased aggression, high seratonin is linked to increased wellbeing and happiness.
    - - Primer
        
        Take longer to get a response and usually influence development or reproduction physiology. (menstrual cycles,puberty, pregnancy). Can also alter hormone levels of other beings.
      - Signaler
        
        Give out information, for example a signaler pheromone can be used for a mother to reckognize her newborn.
      - Releaser
        
        Immediate response, usually rapid and reliable. Mostly linked to sexual attraction.
      - Modulator
        
        Mostly in sweat - Can alter or synchornize bodily functions. (for example make them more relaxed)
  - - - Computed tomography (CG)
        
        A computerized x-ray imaging procedure. Aims a narrow beam of x-rays at a patient and rotates it around their body, producing images of 'slices' of the patient's body called tomographic images. This is often much more informative than a conventional x-ray. These are then stacked together to form a 3D image. Allows for rather easy identification of basic structures, as well as tumors and other abnormalities.
      - Electroencephalography (EEG)
        
        Measures and records brain-wave patterns by attaching 8 or 16 electrodes to the scalp. For example, for a fully relaxed but awake adult person the EEG is made of regularly recurring oscillating waves known as alpha waves. If said person is instead excited, the waves become irregular and rapid. However it is limited since it only records activity from the surface of the brain, not deeper down. Good for investigating brain damage from events like concussions.
      - Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
        
        A non-invasive brain imaging technology. Maps all chemical changes in the cells as blood is sent to more active parts of the brain and behaviour is diagnosed by seeing common correlations between brain activity in a region and behaviour. Technically a more precise MRI used mainly just for the brain.
      - Positron Emission Tomography (PET scans)
        
        Use very small amounts of radoactive materials (tracers), a computer, and a camera to look at organ and tissue functions. Identifies body changes at a cellular level so it may detect faults before other imaging techniques do. ---- Mainly detects cancer and assesses how treatment is going, also keeps track of blood flow and brain abnormalities.
      - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
        
        A non-invasive brain imaging technology. It produces three dimensional anatomical images, all without using radiation. The working principle of it is that it excites and detects the change in direction of the rotational axis of protons. MRI are often used to monitor diseases and treatment, as well as to diagnose symptoms. It is often used to detect knee and shoulder injuries due to muscles and the brain, nerves etc being much more visible using an MRI than a CT scan.
    - - Cerebellum
        
        The cerebellum is located behind the top part of the brain stem. It helps voluntary movements as well as keeping balance. It plays a big part in learning motor behaviours, such as playing an instrument or riding a bike. However, it does not generate said movements itself, but helps with controlling them. As such, disorders of the cerebellum cause coordination and balance issues and can even lead to cancer.
      - Cerebral cortex
        
        The cerebral cortex is located in the outer part of the brain and divided into four lobes. Each of those lobes are responsible for a different brain function. It consists of gray matter and lacks insulation wihch makes other parts of the brain white. It is divided into four:
        Temporal lobe (Auditory information and lang.)
        Occipital lobe ( Visual stimuli and info reception)
        Frontal lobe (Reasoning and motor skills)
        Parietal lobe (Tactile information)
      - Brainstem
        
        The brainstem is located between the cerrvical spinal cord and the cerebral hemispheres. It is a control centre for the most vital bodily functions and provides motor control to a big part of the facial region, including the tongue and facial muscles. Provides sense of taste, balanced, and hearing and also participates in autonomic functions. Due to it being such a key region for vital processes, disorders of the brainstem can result in various conditions like speech disorders to respiratory disturbances.
      - Pineal gland
        
        The pineal gland is located between the two brain hemispheres. It's a small endocrine gland that has also been referred to as 'the third eye'. It is yet not completely confirmed what the pineal gland does, but it is known that it produces melatonin and blocks the secretion of gonadotropins. Pineal gland disorders result in chronobiological dysfunction.
      - Corpus calossum
        
        Located under the cortex above the thalamus. It is a part a of the brain that connects the two hemispheres and is reponsible for the transmission of neural messages between the hemispheres. It is also related to information processing and physical coordination/vision. Disorders cause general disabilities like slower learning or worse motor control/social capabilities.
      - Basal ganglia
        
        The basal ganglia is a cluster of neurons located beneath the cerebral cortex. It plays a role in movement regulatin like using your hands in order to catch a ball. It's also important for learning new actions, planning actions in order to reach a set goal, or to execute habits. Basal ganglia dysfunctions result in diseases such as parkinsons, huntingtons, or various movement disorders.
      - Amygdala
        
        Located at the end of the limbic system as a part of the hippocampus. Amygdala is most commonly connected with the fear emotion. It is the sole reason we are afraid and it also controls our reactions to stimuli or events that we (it) identify as dangerous.
      - Pituitary gland
        
        Part of the endocrine system, it is located behind one's nose, near the underside of the brain. The main function of it is to secrete hormones into your bloodstream, and as such it is also called the control gland due to how it manages your body via being one of the main lgands that deals with hormone secretion. (Or the master gland, since it is involved in so many processes. It is divided into two lobes that both produce and secrete different types of hormones. The anterior lobe (e.g. growth hormone) and the posterior lobe (e.g. oxytocin)
      - Parietal lobe
        
        Located in the upper, back part of the cortex. Is able to process sensory information extremely fast. Processes sensory information such as tasting, touching, temperature etc. If the parietal lobe were damaged, one would not be able to feel those sensations.
      - Hippocampus
        
        The hippocampus is part of the limbic system and is located in each temporal lobe. In apperance, the hippocampus is similar to that of a horseshoe. Its main function is to aid us with our long term memory storage, but also the memory of people and locations. If this part of the brain were damaged or malfunctinal (e.g. Alzheimer's), we would not even be able to remember the locations of our own houses.
      - Occipital lobe
        
        The occipital lobe is located in the bottom, back part of the cortex and its main function is to make sure you understand what your eyes are seeing. The occipital lobe is extremely fast due to the nature of how much information it has to process. If the occpital lobe were to be damaged or dysfunctional, our brain would not be able to properly process visual signals and as such, the result would be visual confusion.
      - Temporal lobe
        
        The temporal lobe is located in the bottom middle part of the cortex, just behind the temples. it mainly receives auditory information from the ears and then analyses them. It is very important to be able to understand speech and language overall, and if it were ever damaged or somehow dysfunctional, our linguistic capabilities would be severely hindered if not even non-existent. Not only does it make sense of the sound, but also the pitches of it.
    - - Lateralisation
        
        Certain mental processes are tied mostly to either one part of the brain or the other part of the brain
      - Neuroplasticity
        
        The ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections (adapt, improvise, overcome), mostly due to learning or experiencing injury
      - Localisation
        
        Certain functions are localized to different parts of the brain
- - - - Deep culture refers to the beliefs and values associated with the culture - the cognitive level.
      - Surface culture is a shallower level and is what people normally mean when they refer to cultures [especially when comparing two cultures]
    - - Power/distance refers to a culture's nature to be hierarchical.
      - Long-term/short-term in cultures refers, obviously, to the amount of respect paid to a more prolonged goal and wellbeing in the future in a culture rather than the present.
    - - Masculinity of a culture refers to the importance and reckognition of ambition, money, and 'reckognition'.
      - Indulgence/restraint of a culture refers to how much instant gratification for actions is expected in a culture and how much the wishes of the individual are considered so they can be 'indulgent'
        
        A study done by Lamm et al. (2017) compared roughly 100 children from both Cameroon and from Germany with the infamous Walter experiment that involved waiting for another candy or just eating the first one immediately. He found that the culture played a huge role in whether or not the children waited for another candy or just ate one immediately - with cultures more focused on restraint having children who are also capable of waiting and controlling themselves better.
    - - Assimilation is the process of enculturation in a non-home culture where the individual adopts the norms and values of the new culture with sacrifices to their own culture, if not completely shedding their old culture.
      - Separation refers to the retaining of old beliefs when moving to a new culture, hardly being influenced by the old culture at all
      - Integration is when an individual adopts the norms and values of a new culture without abandoning their old values - instead just trying to fit in to the new culture
      - Marginalization is when an individual, by some magical occurrence, sheds both the home culture and the new culture.
      - A study done by Tadmor et al. (2012) gathered ~80 MBA students in Europe and separated them into groups based on their type of acculturation, then measured the effects of living abroad on the different groups. The results concluded that bicultural participants outperformed other groups in terms of their integrative complexity and were more innovative than others.
    - - Kaya and Oran (2015) compared teaching Turkish as a native language vs as a second language. They found that when Turkish was taught as a second language to people, especially abroad, sociocultural nuances of the language were not mentioned and as such, a lot of the intricacies of the culture were missed.