PSY Unit 2

bottom up processing

learning information and then applying it into your schema

top-down processing

Knowing what you are looking for and then finding it

the older you get the more complex your top-down processing is

Schema

The way that we organize information and interpret the world

Perceptual set

mental predisposition to see one thing and not another

influences top-down processing

contexts

perception of objects depends on what surrounds it

cultural beliefs/experiences

these have an impact on schemas but can lead to dangerous stereotypes

gestalt principle of closure

when we look at things with gaps we fill in the gaps and assume things are there

gestalt principle of figure ground

We can separate objects as the figure from its surroundings as the ground

Can be auditory as well by isolating one sound

gestalt principle of proximity

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looks like three thick lines not six small lines because they are close

gestalt principle of similarity

If there are a bunch of dots in neat rows and columns we see it as rows and columns because of this

gestalt principle of continuity

We see two lines intersecting instead of random chunks of odd lines/shapes

selective attention

we can only pay attention to one aspect of an object at a time

inattentional blindness

by paying attention to one thing we lose focus on other things

change blindness

failure to notice when things become different

selective inattention

when focusing on one thing, the things you miss are proof of this

retinal disparity

The right and left eye see slightly different things to help with depth perception

convergence

The tension your eyeballs have when they focus on closer objects versus farther objects is used to help with depth perception

examples of binocular cues

retinal disparity and convergence

examples of monocular cues

relative clarity, relative size, texture gradient, linear perspective, interposition

relative clarity

closer objects are less blurry than farther objects

relative size

if two objects seem the same height, the closer one must be smaller

texture gradient

closer objects are more detailed than farther objects

linear perspective

if an object is farther from two converging lines then it is closer and if an object is closer to the convergence of two parallel lines it is farther

(converging lines mean they are two lines that meet at one point, like a road that goes off into the sunset)

interposition

If one object is in front of another that means the front object is closer

examples of visual constancies

size constancy, shape constancy

size constancy

if we have an object we know it is technically the same size no matter how far away it is

shape constancy

if we have an object we know the shape technically does not change regardless of the angle we view it from

examples of apparent movement

phi phenomenon, femininomenon, stroboscopic movement

phi phenomenon

when there is a sequence of light movements we think the lights are jumping from one light to another

stroboscopic movement

still images that are shown rapidly provide the illusion of movement (stop motion animation)

cognition

all forms of knowing and awareness (perceiving, judgement, reasoning, remembering, problem solving, imagining)

concepts

cognitive rules we apply to stimuli from our environment

prototypes

mental images that help us form concepts

aspects of schema

assimilation and accomodation

assimilation

new information is incorporated into existing schema

accomodation

schemas can be altered as new information comes along

algorithms

exhausting step-by-step problem solving systems

heuristics

strategies of trial and error to solve problems

examples of heuristics

representativeness heuristic, availability heuristic

representativeness heuristic

judging something based on how well it fits existing prototypes

availability heuristic

percieving some events to be more probable because they happened recently

influences on decision making

mental set, priming, functional fixedness, framing, sunk cost fallacy, gambler’s fallacy, belief perseverance

mental set

the mindset that one technique worked previously so it will work again

priming

exposure to one stimulus can make you want another

often used in advertising

functional fixedness

thinking of only familiar functions for objects

framing

people choose different things based on the context it is given in

sunk-cost fallacy

people don’t want to change their ways if they have invested lots into it already, even if they know they are wrong

gambler’s fallacy

when people falsely believe that the odds of something happening increase or decrease even though the odds are the same every time

belief perseverance

people are stubborn and don’t want to change their beliefs even if there is evidence against their claim

insight

not finding a solution to a problem until bazinga you do

creativity

finding new ways to solve problems

examples of creativity

convergent thinking, divergent thinking

convergent thinking

thinking pointed toward a specific solution

divergent thinking

thinking that searches for many possible answers

functional fixedness

limiting yourself to only using an object one way

explicit/declarative memory

consciously recalled memory

examples of explicit/declarative memory

episodic and semantic

episodic memory

a memory of a particular event or episode

processed in the frontal lobe and hippocampus

semantic memory

fact memories such as knowing what year it is or the definition of a vocab word

flashbulb memory

a specific highly emotional memory

implicit memory

memories you already know and do unawarely

processed in the cerebellum/limbic system

prospective memory

remembering how in the past you wanted to do something in the future

long term potentiation

the increased ability for neurons to fire

working memory

multi store model

the idea that there are three different areas of memory and they pass messages along linearly

Areas of the multi-store model

Sensory, short term, long term

Sensory memory

if you pay attention, memory gets stored here briefly enough to determine if it will move on to a different area of the multi store model

iconic memory

brief visual memory in the sensory memory

parts of iconic memory

eidetic and photographic memory

echoic memory

brief auditory memory stored in the sensory memory section of the multi store model

parts of sensory memory

iconic memory and echoic memory

short term memory

brief memories, mainly auditory, that can be extended if rehearsed

effortful processing

trying hard to process and remember information (you doing this knowt rn) which leads to long term potentiation

encoding

ways to remember things

like tips and tricks and mind games we make for ourselves

types of encoding

semantic and via imagery

semantic encoding

associating something meaningful to the item you are attempting to remember

encoding imagery

extremely positive images are easily remembered (like a flashbulb memory)

Forms of information retrieval

recall, recognition, relearning

recall retrieval

Having to remember information without stimulus

like a fill-in-the-blank question

recognition

having to remember information with stimulus

like a multiple choice question

relearning retrieval

using effort to go over material multiple times

web of association

anchoring bits of information to other bits of information to help you remember all of it

definition of a mnemonic device

using imagery to remember stuff

examples of mnemonic devices

method of loci, link method

method of loci

matching items to be memorized with a specific location

link method

taking a list of items to memorize and connecting them together with a story

chunking

organizing groups of items to be memorized into familiar sections

spacing effect

leaving time in between rehearsals in order to fully remember whatever it is we are trying to remember

serial position effects

primacy and recency

primacy effect

in a group of 7 or more things to remember, we tend to remember the earlier ones more

recency effect

in a group of 7 or more things to remember, we tend to remember the later ones more

maintenance rehearsal

repeating information to yourself (boring) to remember things in short term memory

elaborative rehearsal

remembering creatively and using encoding techniques to maintain items in your memory

highly superior autobiographical memory (hyperthemesia)

when someone remembers things really detailedly and quickly

General ability (g factor)

People who are relatively intelligent in several clusters of knowledge areas

intelligence

the ability to learn from experiences and solve problems

fluid intelligence

intelligence that decreases as you age

crystallized intelligence

intelligence that stays with you while you age

reification

taking abstract concepts and making them concrete

mental age

how old your mind is functioning