AP Psych Midterm Review

Units 1-5

Memory

Memory

biocognitive process of recording information and experiences in a manner that can be organized & recalled repetitively over time

Categories of memory

• Declarative (generic) memory

• Prospective memory

• Procedural memory

• Episodic memory

  • Flashbulb memories

Declarative Memory

• general knowledge

• academics → facts, dates, images, numbers

• information typically encoded with language

• Anatomical requirements

  • Hippocampus, LADs

Prospective Memory

• organizational memory used to recall appointments, dates, tasks scheduled to be completed in the future

• Anatomical Requirements

  • Hippocampus, LADs

Procedural Memory (executive functioning)

memory of…

• learned skills and operational processes

• correct sequence of steps

• memories of step-by-step actions with sequential organization

• requires higher level learning abilities

• typically requires muscle coordination

• Anatomical requirements

  • Hippocampus, LADs, motor cortex, cerebellum

Episodic Memory

• memories of specific events & experiences

• type of memory most influenced by sensory input / emotion

• memories most commonly repressed and unlocked by physical sensation and emotional cues

• Anatomical Requirements

  • Hippocampus

Flashbulb Memories

• memories of events associated with intense emotion (trauma) that can be revealed with vivid detail

• trauma activates Sympathetic Nervous System

  • initiates the release of Acetylcholine

• recollection of highly-emotional events from the

  past that appear as though it “happened

  yesterday”

Serial Position Effect

• analysis of memory retrieval accuracy (or retrieval failure) of items presented in a list based upon their position

Humans can remember an average number of _____

7 items

Primacy Effect

stimuli have the highest likelihood of retrieval when located in the beginning of the list

Recency Effect

retrieval accuracy recovers with stimuli that are positioned at the end of the list

Memory is the weakest in the ___

middle of the list

Conceptual Memory

• memory relative to the process of conceptual development

• memory of schematic categories and items within schemas

Natural Concepts

memory of prototype

Artificial Concepts

memory of mental checklists

Hierarchical Concepts

memory of most important features and characteristics

Associative Memory

• memory retrieval based upon a stimulus’ relative similarity to other items within the schema

• paradoxical

  • stimuli differences often delay memory retrieval

  • sometimes stimuli differences can actually enhance memory retrieval

Memory Summation

• the mind’s natural tendency to draw conclusions & generalize the contents of a list or schema

• brain’s efficient information processing system allows us to label schematic categories

• contributor to False Memory Syndrome

Encoding

the process of translating transduced neural impulses from sensory receptors and arranging them into unique neurological codes that can be retained into memory storage

Encoding Specificity Principle

• optimal memory retrieval is recalled in the same manner / order in which it was first learned

• the coding sequence used to create a memory also

  establishes the same neural pathway used to retrieve it

• memory retrieval via alternative neural pathways lead

  to memory delay or failure

Rote Memory

memory recalled verbatim from the order in which it was encoded; regurgitated information with no analysis or comprehension of learned behavior

Mnemonic Devices

encoding technique using unique cues of phrases, words, and symbols that represent larger groups of memory schema

Memory Storage

• the ability to retain encoded neural impulses over a period of time

• not a structure of brain anatomy

Memories are stored ____

within the neural circuitry; 2/3 of neurons are concentrated in the cortex

Chunking Method

organization of serial stimuli into manageable units typically with the use of rhythmic pauses

Sensory Memory

• initial recordings of environmental information

• filtering & screening stage

• time transitions (RF → Pons)

• enormous capacity but with very limited duration

Multi-sensory input

organization of stimuli with combinations of various sensory signals to increase duration & accuracy of working memory

Olfactory Memory

this memory is unfiltered by the RF; most powerful sensory retrieval cue for memory

Echoic Memory (auditory) has…

2-4 second duration

Iconic Memory has…

½ second duration

Eidetic Memory / Imagery

• photographic memory

• permanent storage of an image after viewing it only once

• also typical with audition

• present in <0.07% of population

• <3% of children population; the ability gradually fades by the end of puberty

Short Term Memory (STM)

• transitional storage from sensory level to LTM

• limited capacity with limited duration

• information is held 20~30 seconds without rehearsal

Immediate Retention Span

• maximum amount of information that can be recalled perfectly after just one presentation

Long Term Memory (LTM)

• levels of memory retention lasting from several days to years

• extended duration with unlimited capacity

Memory Consolidation

• the process by which the brain turns short-term memories into long-term memories

• without routine up-keep of memories, they will fade and deteriorate

• requires conscious effort

Synaptic Consolidation

reinforcing trace memories from sensory experience to STM

System Consolidation

transferring short-term memories through hippocampus to promote long-term storage

Maintenance Rehearsal Techniques

• continual repetition of information

• stimulate the crystallization of myelin, strengthening the memory

• memory decay becomes slowed as information is encoded by the hippocampus multiple times

Elaborative Rehearsal

• relating new information into concepts that are currently part of your working memory

• building upon prior knowledge

• translating new concepts into your own words

Organizational Systems

• promoting long term memory by consolidating information with habit & routine

• establishing sequentially-ordered systems of step-by-step procedures promotes retrieval

Context-Dependent Memory Cues

• memories that are triggered by reconnecting with the place in which the memory was experienced & encoded

• physical cues based upon sensory perception

• recalling memories by returning to the physical location they were created

State-Dependent Memory Cues

• memories triggered by states of emotional cues

• reconnecting current states of mind to similar emotional states from past experiences

• happy mood → happy memories

Deja vu

• flashback memory illusions of past experiences

• overwhelming sense of familiarity when something logically shouldn’t be familiar

• 89% of population has reported this at least once

• highly common in patients with temporal epilepsy

Biological explanation for deja vu

neurological short circuit within the parahippocampal gyrus region; memories retrieved simultaneously when encoded

Tip-of-the-tongue Phenomenon

the ability to recall stored memory but retrieval delay prevents information from becoming verbalized in a timely manner

Recognition

basic identification of stimuli, people, places, information, etc.

Recall

identification with comprehension

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Working Memory

new understanding to STM; conscious, active processing both incoming sensory information and information retrieved from LTM

Central Executive

a memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

Neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

Long Term Potential

an increase in nerve cells firing potential after rapid stimulation; neural basis for learning and memory

Automatic Processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information such as space, time, and frequency and of familiar or well-learned information such as sounds, smells, or word meanings

Spacing Effect

a psychological phenomenon that describes how learning is more effective when study sessions are spread out over time instead of crammed together

Mood-Congruent Memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Interleaving

a retrieval practice strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics

Memory Decay

the natural, gradual, and predictable erosion of memory

Forgetting

deterioration of a memory; loss of details and accuracy often due to the passage of time or interference from other information

Hermann Ebbinghaus

• cognitive psychologist

• he discovered the empirical measurement of memory and it’s decay

Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve

• memory decay occurs most rapidly shortly after learning

• the rate of decay is rapid then plateaus and gradually deteriorates over time

Spaced Practice

practice that extends the longevity of the memory, prolongs the rate of decay

Massed Practice

practice that accelerates the rate of decay causing the memory to be forgotten prematurely

Memory Interference Theory

the idea that competing memories can disrupt the retrieval of information, leading to forgetting.

Interference

conflicts within “working memory” that exist when older and more recent information compete for the same limited space

Retroactive Interference

older memories become distorted when blurred with newer, similar information; ex. unable to remember old phone number

Proactive Interference

the ability to recall new information becomes distorted when blurred with older similar memories

Eye-witness Testimony

the account given by people of an event they have witnessed, which can be influenced by various factors such as stress, leading questions, and the passage of time

Selective Memory

the tendency to remember certain events, people, or experiences while forgetting others

Every time a memory is retrieved…

it’s biochemistry is altered

The more an individual shares with others…

the more their memories of an event will fuse/blur together, making a group of eye-witnesses unreliable

Eye-witness Simulation Study

a study used to investigate how eyewitnesses recall events, often showing the influence of misinformation and group dynamics on memory.

Misinformation Effect

occurs when memory has been corrupted by misleading information

Source Amnesia

the ability to retain factual information but unable to remember when, where, or how the information was acquired

Repression

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

Reconsolidation

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

Anterograde Amnesia

• the inability to form new memories

• memory impairment due to physical brain trauma

  • injury is located in hippocampal region of the midbrain

• also called “Short Term Memory Loss”

Retrograde Amnesia

• inability to recall information about one’s past

• memory impairment due to physical brain trauma, usually to cerebral cortex

  • memories typically restored once brain heals

Earliest memories tend to be…

tend to be episodic flashbulb memories

Motivated Forgetting

protection from isolated memories too traumatic to deal with

Unconscious Transference

a memory error in which an individual misplaces the presence of a person to an incorrect location or context

Dissociative Amnesia

• memory loss resulting from psychological stressors, not physical brain trauma or injury

• entire periods of memory are blocked

• comorbidly related to acute psychological stress disorders in which the body becomes disconnected from the mind (ex. DID, PTSD)

Dissociative Fugue

• dissociative condition impairing the memory of one’s identity

• includes wandering behavior, fleeing from ones home

• episodes are temporary but can last for days or months

Intelligence

• the cognitive ability to think, reason, and act purposefully & effectively as to manipulate one’s environment and meet goals in a rational manner

• ability to learn from experiences

• ability to apply knowledge to new sitations

• ability to solve problems

• ability to adapt / respond

Biological mechanisms of intelligence

• brain anatomy

  • cerebral cortex, frontal lobe, cerebrum, corpus callosum, both hemispheres

• neurology

  • neural plasticity

  • number of synaptic connections

• genetics & heredity

  • characteristics are a product of one’s DNA

Francis Galton

• came up with the idea of eugenics

Eugenics

attempts to biologically engineer the human gene pool by breeding superior people

Charles Spearman

• came up with the theory of general intelligence (g)

• intelligence is composed of a single, cognitive ability

General intelligence (g)

• statistical factor analysis that indicates an individual’s overall mental capacity is based upon a singular cognitive skill set

• level of academic intellect typically transcends across multiple curricular disciplines

• led to creation of standardized tests

Louis Thurston

• stated intelligence is a list of “primary mental abilities” → human intelligence consists of 7 different abilities (NSAWVIP)

• his theories led to the creation of modern intelligence tests

Primary mental abilities

1. Numerical abilities

2. Spatial relations

3. Associative memory

4. Word vocabulary

5. Verbal comprehension

6. Inductive reasoning

7. Perceptual processing speed

Raymond Cattell

• he revised Spearman’s theory of general intelligence

• described g (general intelligence) as being composed of 2 factors

Crystallized intelligence (g_c)

knowledge acquired and solidified through lifelong learning experiences; “book smarts”

Fluid intelligence (g_f)

flexibility of reasoning abilities, speed & efficiency of information processing; “street smarts”

Howard Gardner

• came up with the “Theory of Multiple Intelligences”

• his theories revolutionized the modern education system

Theory of multiple intelligences

• described intelligence as unique individual learning abilities and develop according to cultural influences

• described 8 learning abilities (LLMBSNII)

  1. logical / mathematical

  2. linguistic (reading, writing, speech)

  3. musical

  4. bodily (kinesthetic)

  5. spatial relations

  6. naturalistic

  7. interpersonal

  8. intrapersonal

Interpersonal

social skills & communication

Intrapersonal

self perception & metacognition

Robert Sternberg

• came up with the “Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence”

Triarchic Theory of Successful Intelligence

• intelligence is displayed through practical problem solving

• focuses on the process of problem solving, not the final product

• 3 abilities

  1. Analytical intelligence

  2. Practical intelligence

  3. Creative intelligence

• People with high intelligence effectively synthesize all three forms

Purposes / Clinical applications for intelligence testing

• used to assess cognitive development for psychological / scientific research

• used as diagnostic indicators to identify potential learning disabilities or gifted learners

• used forensically to evaluate legal competency