2.2-2.4 Psych

cognition

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

metacognitition

cognition; keeping track of and evaluates mental processes

concepts

at our basic level, we mentally group similar objects, ideas, or people, into different ________, allows us to simplify thinking and “makes life more manageable”

prototype

the best, ideal, or most typical example of a mental concept or category

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information from the outside world around you

assimilation

interpreting out new experiences in terms of our existing schemas (new info —> info we already know)

accomodation

adopting our current understandings (schema) to incorporate new information which redefines our schema

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

sternberg’s 5 components

(1) Expertise: well developed base of knowledged (2) Imaginative thinking skills: capacity to see things in novel ways (3) Venturesome personality: willingness to seek new experience (4) Intrinsic motivation: driven by deep interest, personal satisfaction, challenge to work (5) Creative environment: innovative, supportive, interactive setting leading to creativity.

convergent thinking

narrowing available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions (thinking of every possible solution); essential for creative thinking since it separates in different directions

executive functions

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule/procedure that tests every possible option, combination, or rule sequentially rather than guessing which guarantees the correct solution; slow, laborious, but reliable

heuristic

simple thinking strategy/mental shortcut that allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; more error prone, but less labourious

insight

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions; bursts of neural activity in the right temporal lobe

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence; supports our views but dismisses opposing facts

fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective an obstacle to problem solving

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in a particular way (typically a way that has worked in the past)

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought which contrasts with explicit or conscious reasoning, cam lead to overthinking

representativeness heuristic

judging likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent or match particular prototypes (most typical/best example)

what can representativeness heuristic lead too?

stereotypes and racial bias

availability heuristic

estimates likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind from memory (mind = common events)

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than actually correct which overestimates the accuracy of out beliefs and judgements

belief perseverance

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited (ignoring evidence that contradicts our beliefs), fueled by confirmation bias

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue/topic is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements; it can also be used to encourage one choice over another

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier (ex. fill in the blanks)

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person identifies terms previously learned (ex. mcq)

relearning

a measure of memory that asses the amount of time or effort saved when learning material a second time

encoding

the initial process of taking sensory data from the world and converting it into a mental form that your brain can store and later retrieve; this is step 1 of information processing

storage

the process of retaining encoded information overtime; this is step 2 of information processing

retrival

the process of getting information out of memory storage; this is step 3 of information processing

parallel processing

processing many aspects of stimulus or problem simultaneously (used naturally by agile brains)

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system; this is the first stage in the Atkinson-Shiffrin model

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items breifly before information is stored or forgotten

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experience

working memory

a new understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of of sensory information; an active, limited-capacity system that temporarily holds and manipulates information while you consciously process it

central executive

the "manager" or control component of working memory that directs attention, coordinates cognitive tasks, and manages information flow between the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

phonological loop

a memory component that briefly holds auditory information

visuospatial sketchpad

a memory component that briefly holds information about objects appearance/location

explicit memory

the facts, events, and experiences that we consciously know and declare (easily describe); aka declarative memory, this is processed through the hippocampus, frontal cortex, amygdala

implicit memory

unconscious learning associations, does not require conscious or effort ; aka nondeclarative memory, this is processed through the cerebellum and basal ganglia

neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons which is spurred through exercise, sleep, and nonsterssful stimulation

longterm potentiation

an increase in nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation a neural basis for learning and memory; shows how neural pathways strengthen with repeated use

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort; used for learning new facts, studying, and complex tasks

automatic processing

unconscious effortless encoding of incidental information (ex. space time, frequency, familiar well-learned information)

iconic memories

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimulus; a photographic or piccture-image memory lasting for a split second

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimulus; sounds and words can be recalled within 3-4 seconds

george sperlings experiments

demonstrated the existence and capacity of iconic memory (visual sensory memory), it proved that human visual memory holds a vast amount of information, but it fades almost instantly (1/4 of a second), you can recall memory even if mind wanders

chunking

organizing items into familiar manageable units, usually automatic

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices (ex. peg-word systems, acronyms, loci)

hierarchies

organizing information into broad categories divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts

spacing effect

the tendency for disrupted study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through mass study

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving and testing yourself on learned information, rather than simply rereading information

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level of physical characteristics, for example, based on structural appearance of words

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the word instead of surface level characteristics; a better way of processing because turning something meaningful triggers better memory recall

which type of processing tends to yield the best retention?

deep processing

priming

the implicit memory effect where exposure to a first stimulus subtly influences how a person responds to another, related stimulus without conscious awareness (our experiences shape other experiences)