PSYC 1020H Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: René Descartes, Mental Representation, Confirmation Bias
20 Mar 2019
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Recap: human memory is : not like computer memory, reconstructed, malleable, yet reasonably effective, central to our identity. I think therefore i am rene descartes. Mental info processing: remembering, understanding, reasoning, decision-making, problem-solving, planning, communicating. System 2 monitors, corrects and overrides system 1. Cognitive miser idea (system 2: we have limited cognitive resources that must be conserved. Use mental shortcuts to process info rapidly & effectively. Mental shortcuts: categorization & concepts, schemas, heuristics. Categorization: mentally grouping things into categories based on shared features. Concept: mental representation of a category, defined by prototype + exemplars, prototype. Theory: is it like the most typical member of the category: exemplars. Schema: mental network of associated concepts, linked by meaning & relevance. Interpret new info: organize existing knowledge, make predictions, fill in gaps, streamline processing of new info. Stereotype: schema about a social category, generalization about a group. Identical characteristics are assigned to virtually all members of the group.
