AP PSCYH UNIT 2

Placebo Effect

A psychological phenomenon where a patient experiences perceived or actual improvement in their condition after receiving a treatment with no therapeutic effect, due to their belief in the treatment's efficacy.

Just-noticeable Difference (JND)

The minimum difference in stimulation that a person can detect 50% of the time; also known as the difference threshold.

Weber's Law

States that the just-noticeable difference between two stimuli is proportional to the magnitude of the original stimulus.

Top-down Processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, such as prior knowledge, experiences, and expectations, to interpret sensory input.

Schemata

Plural of schema; cognitive frameworks or concepts that help organize and interpret information.

Schema

A mental structure that organizes knowledge and guides cognitive processes and behavior.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another, influenced by expectations, experiences, emotions, and culture.

Bottom-up Processing

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

Figure-ground Relationship

The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).

Gestalt Psychology

A school of thought that emphasizes our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Proximity

A Gestalt principle that states objects close to each other are perceived as a group.

Similarity

A Gestalt principle that states objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as part of the same group.

Continuity

A Gestalt principle where we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones.

Closure

A Gestalt principle that describes the tendency to fill in gaps in order to perceive a complete, whole object.

Visual Cliff

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

Monocular Depth Cues

Depth cues that are available to either eye alone, such as linear perspective, interposition, and texture gradient.

Binocular Depth Cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of both eyes, including retinal disparity and convergence.

Linear Perspective

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.

Relative Size Cue

A monocular cue in which smaller objects are perceived as farther away if we assume objects are similar in size.

Interposition Cue

A monocular depth cue where one object partially covers another, indicating that the covered object is farther away.

Texture Gradient

A monocular cue where a gradual change in texture signals increasing distance.

Retinal Disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the brain compares images from the retinas in both eyes to compute distance.

Binocular Disparity

Same as retinal disparity; refers to the slight difference in images between the two eyes.

Convergence

A binocular cue for depth perception; the extent to which the eyes turn inward when looking at an object.

Prototypes

A mental image or best example of a category, used to quickly sort and categorize items.

Algorithm

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

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that allows for quick judgments and problem-solving but is more error-prone than algorithms.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on how easily examples come to mind.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a prototype.

Gambler's Fallacy

The erroneous belief that past random events affect the likelihood of future random events.

Sunk-cost Fallacy

Continuing a behavior or endeavor as a result of previously invested resources (time, money, effort), despite new evidence suggesting the cost outweighs the benefit.

Mental Set

A tendency to approach problems in a particular way, often one that has been successful in the past.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions, inhibiting problem solving.

Framing

The way an issue is posed; framing can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Three-box/Information-Processing Model

A model of memory that includes sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Levels of Processing Model

A theory that suggests memory retention depends on the depth of processing (deep vs. shallow).

Multi-store Model

Another term for the information-processing model, including three memory stores: sensory, short-term, and long-term.

Sensory Memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

Iconic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Echoic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 seconds.

Short-term Memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.

Selective Attention

The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus on one voice among many in a noisy environment, and the tendency to notice personally relevant information.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment.

Working Memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory involving conscious, active processing of incoming information and retrieval from long-term memory.

Central Executive

The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

A component of working memory responsible for handling visual and spatial information.

Auditory Loop (Phonological Loop)

A component of working memory that deals with auditory information and language.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repetition of information to maintain it in short-term memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Linking new information with existing memories and knowledge to store it in long-term memory.

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Long-term Memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

Storage

The process of retaining encoded information over time.

Episodic Memory

Memory of specific events or episodes in one’s life.

Semantic Memory

Memory of general knowledge, facts, and concepts.

Procedural Memory

Memory of how to perform different actions and skills; a type of implicit memory.

Explicit Memories

Memories that require conscious recall, such as episodic and semantic memories.

Implicit Memories

Memories that are retained without conscious awareness, such as procedural memory.

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform a planned action or intention at the appropriate time in the future.

Shallowly Encoded

Processing information based on surface features (e.g., appearance or sound), resulting in weaker memory retention.

Deeply Encoded

Processing information by its meaning, leading to better retention.

Long-term Potentiation (LTP)

A long-lasting strengthening of synapses between nerve cells, believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Encoding

The process of getting information into the memory system.

Primacy Effect

The tendency to remember the first items in a list better than the middle items.

Recency Effect

The tendency to remember the last items in a list best.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to recall the first and last items in a list better than the middle items.

Serial Position Curve

A graph depicting both the primacy and recency effects in recall.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic technique that involves associating items to be remembered with specific physical locations.

Spacing Effect

The tendency for distributed study to yield better long-term retention than massed practice.

Massed Practice

Cramming; learning that takes place in one long session, less effective for long-term retention.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Mnemonic Devices

Memory aids, especially techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Anterograde Amnesia

An inability to form new memories after a brain injury.

Retrograde Amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from before a brain injury.

Retrieval

The process of bringing information out of long-term memory storage.

Recognition

A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned.

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier.

Retrieval Cues

Stimuli that help you retrieve a certain memory.

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

The feeling that a memory is available but not quite retrievable.

Context-Dependent Memory

Improved recall of specific information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.

Mood-Congruent Memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood.

State-Dependent Memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind is more easily recalled when in that same state.

Constructed Memory

A memory of an event that never occurred, which is created unconsciously to fill in gaps.

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

Retroactive Interference

When new information interferes with the recall of old information.

Proactive Interference

When old information interferes with learning new information.

Standardized

Uniform procedures for administering and scoring a test.

Reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results.

Split-half Reliability

A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two parts and an individual’s scores on both halves are compared.

Test-retest Reliability

A method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions.

Validity

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

Predictive Validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict.

Construct Validity

The extent to which a test truly measures the theoretical construct it is intended to measure.

Aptitude Tests

Tests designed to predict a person’s future performance or capacity to learn.

Achievement Tests

Tests designed to assess what a person has learned.

Intelligence

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

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and abstractly, tends to decrease with age.

Crystallized Intelligence

The accumulation of knowledge and verbal skills, tends to increase with age.