The way we think about the world depends on our awareness, thoughts, knowledge, and memories. It is also influenced by our ability to solve problems, make decisions, form judgments, and communicate. Psychological, sociocultural, and biological influences determine the development and use of these different yet convergent processes.
Biological factors underlie the mental processes that create our reality, shape our perception of the world, and influence the way we perceive and react to every aspect of our lives.
The content in this category covers critical aspects of cognition ― including consciousness, cognitive development, problem-solving and decision-making, intelligence, memory, and language.
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Topic
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Our Social World |
Introduction to Sociology |
Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life |
Exploring Psychology |
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Attention (PSY)
- Selective attention
- Divided attention
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Cognition (PSY)
- Information-processing model
- Cognitive development
- Piaget’s stages of cognitive development
- Cognitive changes in late adulthood
- Role of culture in cognitive development
- Influence of heredity and environment on cognitive development
- Biological factors that affect cognition (PSY, BIO)
- Problem-solving and decision-making
- Types of problem-solving
- Barriers to effective problem-solving
- Approaches to problem-solving
- Heuristics and biases (e.g., overconfidence, belief perseverance)
- Intellectual functioning
- Theories of intelligence
- Influence of heredity and environment on intelligence
- Variations in intellectual ability
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- Ch. 1, pp. 16-17
- Ch. 2, pp. 70-75
- Ch. 4, pp. 119-162
- Ch. 5, pp. 168-172
- Ch. 8, pp. 268-269
- Ch. 9, pp. 315-332, 336-346
- Ch. 10, pp. 378-380
- Ch. 13, pp. 489-491
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Consciousness (PSY)
- States of consciousness
- Alertness (PSY, BIO)
- Sleep
- Stages of sleep
- Sleep cycles and changes to sleep cycles
- Sleep and circadian rhythms (PSY, BIO)
- Dreaming
- Sleep-wake disorders
- Consciousness-altering drugs
- Types of consciousness-altering drugs and their effects on the nervous system and behavior
- Drug addiction and the reward pathway in the brain
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- Ch. 1, Taking a New Look at a Familiar World, pp. 5-7 (“A sociology of sleep”)
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Memory (PSY)
- Encoding
- Process of encoding information
- Processes that aid in encoding memories
- Storage
- Types of memory storage (e.g., sensory, working, long-term)
- Semantic networks and spreading activation
- Retrieval
- Recall, recognition, and relearning
- Retrieval cues
- The role of emotion in retrieving memories (PSY, BIO)
- Processes that aid retrieval
- Forgetting
- Aging and memory
- Memory dysfunctions (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease, Korsakoff’s syndrome)
- Decay
- Interference
- Memory construction and source monitoring
- Changes in synaptic connections underlie memory and learning (PSY, BIO)
- Neural plasticity
- Memory and learning
- Long-term potentiation
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- Ch. 2, pp. 39, 44, 64
- Ch. 4, pp. 152-154
- Ch. 6, pp. 193, 227
- Ch. 8, pp. 265-296
- Ch. 11, p. 401
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Language (PSY)
- Theories of language development (e.g., learning, Nativist, Interactionist)
- Influence of language on cognition
- Brain areas that control language and speech (PSY, BIO)
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- Ch. 3, Building Reality: The Social Construction of Knowledge, pp. 50-53 (“Culture and language”)
- Ch. 5, Building Identity: Socialization, pp. 113-118 (“The acquisition of self”)
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