How do brains make judgements?
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Alignment
LS1-2 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes
Discussion Questions
1. What are some ways you notice that your brain groups things?
2. Do you think animals (besides humans) can count? Why or why not? Do you have any examples?
3. How can we learn about how people think?
4. Describe how you remember learning the language you speak today.
Video 1
Vocabulary
1. Categorization - the action of placing objects or ideas into groups based on shared characteristics
2. The Stroop Effect - the delay in reaction time between stimuli that match and stimuli that don’t match:
a. Interference - the blocking of one memory or action by another competing memory or action
b. Parallel information processing - the ability of the brain to process different kinds of information at the same time
Video 2
Review
1. Our brains put together all types of evidence to make decisions about the stimuli we encounter.
2. Cognition helps animals make judgements, group objects, and form concepts to guide behavior.
3. Animals are specially evolved to recognize certain patterns depending on their natural histories (ex. Mama ducks!)
4. Brains process different kinds of information different ways and those processes sometimes interact (ex. The Stroop Effect)
