Studied by 1 person
Bottom-Up Processing
when the brain processes sensory information and uses clues to understand stimuli.
Top-Down Processing
perceiving things based on your prior experiences and knowledge.
Perception
the sensory experience of the world, which includes how an individual recognizes and interprets sensory information.
Schemas
Concepts or mental frameworks that organize and interpret information.
Gestalt Psychology
a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts
Selective Attention
the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
Cocktail Party Effect
Ability to concentrate on one voice amongst a crowd
Inattentional Blindness
a failure to perceive objects that are not the focus of attention
Change Blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness
Binocular Cues
depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes
Retinal Disparity
a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
Convergence
A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object
Monocular Cues
depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone
Explicit Memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"
Episodic Memory
the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place
Semantic Memory
a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world
Implicit Memory
retention independent of conscious recollection
Procedural Memory
the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things
Prospective Memory
remembering to do things in the future
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
Working Memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
Central Executive
the part of working memory that directs attention and processing
Phonological Loop
the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information
Visuospatial Sketchpad
A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information
Long-Term Memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
MultiStore Model
information-processing model that describes a sequence of mental structures through which information flows
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; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
Shallow Processing
encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words
Deep Processing
encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
Automatic Processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
Effortful Processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Structural Processing
Thinking about the physical appearance of words to be learnt
Phonemic Processing
when we encode its sound
Semantic Processing
Thinking about the meaning of words to be learnt
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.
Mnemonic Devices
techniques for using associations to memorize and retrieve information
Method of Loci
A mnemonic technique that involves associating items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations
Chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
The Spacing Effect
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
Massed Practice
a practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption ex: cramming
Distributed Practice
spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods
Serial Position Effect
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
Primacy Effect
tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well
Recency Effect
tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well
Maintenance Rehearsal
A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself without attempting to find meaning in it
Elaborative Rehearsal
a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way
Autobiographical Memory
the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story
Retrograde Amnesia
an inability to retrieve information from one's past
Anterograde Amnesia
an inability to form new memories
Alzheimers Disease
a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning
Infantile Amnesia
the inability to remember events from early childhood
Retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
Recognition
a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
Retrieval Cues
Stimuli that are used to bring a memory to consciousness or into behavior
Context-Dependent Memory
The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.
Mood-Congruent Memory
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood
State-Dependent Memory
The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.
Testing Effect
enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information
Meta Cognition
thinking about thinking
The Forgetting Curve
graphs retention and forgetting over time
Encoding Failure
failure to process information into memory
Proactive Interference
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
Retroactive Interference
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
tip of the tongue phenomenon
the feeling that a memory is available but not quite retrievable
Repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Misinformation Effect
incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
Source Amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
Constructive Memory
a process by which we first recall a generalized schema and then add in specific details
Memory Consolidation
the neural storage of a long-term memory
Imagination Inflation
a memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an event markedly increases confidence that the event actually occurred
Concept
a 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; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
Representativeness Heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
Availability Heuristic
estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
Mental Set
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
Priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response
Framing
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
Gamblers Fallacy
the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently
Sunk-Cost Fallacy
a framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation
Executive Functions
higher order thinking processes that include planning, organizing, inhibition, and decision-making
Divergent Thinking
expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)
Convergent Thinking
narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
Functional Fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving
General Intelligence (g)
a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
Mental Age
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance
Standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group
Validity
the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
Construct 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; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
Reliable
deserving trust, dependable
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
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.
Flynn Effect
The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations
Achievement Tests
tests designed to assess what a person has learned.
