unit 7 3rd 19

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again.

misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event.

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.

dejà vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking. knowing remembering, and communicating

concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas.

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions.

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier—but also more error-prone-use of heuristics.

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but alse more enror-prone than an algorith.

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution contrasts withi strategy-based solutions.

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.

fixation

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successhal in the past.