psycho test 3

Sensation

Sensation

The process by which sensory receptors and the nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to recognize meaningful objects and events.

Bottom-Up Processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Top-Down Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, constructing perceptions based on experience and expectations.

Transduction

Conversion of one form of energy into another; in sensation, it refers to transforming stimulus energies into neural impulses.

Psychophysics

The study of relationships between physical characteristics of stimuli and our psychological experience of them.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Schemas

Concepts or frameworks that organize and interpret information, influencing our perceptual set.

Opponent-Process Theory

Theory that opposing retinal processes enable color vision.

Gestalt

An organized whole; emphasizes our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Figure-Ground

The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings.

Grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Depth Perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge distance.

Visual Cliff

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from both retinas.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Phi Phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging despite changes in illumination and retinal images.

Color Constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color despite changing illumination.

Memory

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

Recall

Requires retrieval of previously learned information.

Recognition

Identifying previously learned items.

Relearning

Assessing time saved when learning material again.

Encoding

Processing information into the memory system.

Storage

Retention of encoded information.

Retrieval

Getting information out of memory storage.

Sensory Memory

Immediate, brief recording of sensory information.

Short-term Memory

Activated memory holding a few items briefly.

Long-term Memory

Relatively permanent storehouse of knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Working Memory

Focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming information.

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences that can be consciously known.

Implicit Memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

Effortful Processing

Requires attention and conscious effort.

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

Mnemonics

Memory aids using vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Spacing Effect

Better long-term retention through distributed study/practice.

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving information.

Echoic Memory

Momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

Iconic Memory

Momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli.

Shallow Processing

Basic encoding based on structure or appearance of words.

Deep Processing

Encoding based on the meaning of words.

Hippocampus

Neural center that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Cerebellum + Basal Ganglia

Involved in implicit memory.

Flashbulb Memory

Clear memory of an emotionally significant moment.

Long-term Potentiation (LTP)

Increase in cell firing potential after rapid stimulation; basis for learning and memory.

Mood-Congruent Memory

Tendency to recall experiences consistent with one's current mood.

Serial Position Effect

Tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories.

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to retrieve information from the past.

Motivated Forgetting

The process of intentionally or unintentionally forgetting discomforting information.

Misinformation Effect + Repression

Incorporating misleading information into memory.

Proactive Interference

Disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new information.

Retroactive Interference

Disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old information.

Source Amnesia (Source Misattribution)

Attributing an event to the wrong source.

Déjà Vu

The eerie sense that 'I've experienced this before.'

Cognition

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

Concepts

Mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category.

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem’s solution.

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one’s preconceptions.

Mental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct.

Belief Perseverance

Clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis for them has been discredited.

Language

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

Phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

Morpheme

The smallest unit that carries meaning in a language.

Grammar

A system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.

Semantics

The set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences.

Syntax

The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

Babbling Stage

The stage in child development where infants utter sounds unrelated to the household language.

One-Word Stage

The stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

Two-Word Stage

The stage in speech development during which a child speaks in two-word statements.

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly nouns and verbs.

Linguistic Relativity

The hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

Intelligence

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Intelligence Test

A method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with others using numerical scores.

General Intelligence (g)

A general intelligence factor that underlies specific mental abilities.

Multiple Intelligences

Howard Gardner’s theory that intelligence comes in multiple forms.

Emotional Intelligence

The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Achievement Test

A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Aptitude Test

A test designed to predict a person’s future performance or capacity to learn new skills.

Standardization

Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

Reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to measure.

Stereotype Threat

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.