Cognition Flashcards

Selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

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 (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions; allows us to judge distance.

Visual cliff

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

Binocular cues

a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of both eyes.

Convergence

a cue to a nearby object’s distance, enabled by the inward angle of the eyes.

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth, calculated by comparing images from two eyes.

Monocular cue

a depth cue available to either eye alone, such as interposition or linear perspective.

Stroboscopic movement

an illusion of continuous movement (as in a motion picture) experienced with rapidly varying images.

Phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in succession.

Autokinetic effect

the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room.

Perceptual constancy

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

Color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color regardless of changing illumination.

Perceptual adaptation

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced visual field.

Cognition

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

Metacognition

cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and evaluating our mental processes.

Concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category; helps in sorting items into categories.

Creativity

the ability to produce new and novel ideas.

Convergent thinking

narrowing available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

Divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions.

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas.

Accommodation

adapting current schemas to incorporate new information.

Executive functioning

cognitive skills that enable us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior.

Algorithm

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

Heuristics

a simple thinking strategy, or mental shortcut, that allows for efficient problem solving.

Insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.

Confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports preconceptions and ignore contradictory evidence.

Fixation

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

Mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often based on past success.

Intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit reasoning.

Representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of events based on how well they seem to match particular prototypes.

Availability heuristic

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

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct; to overestimate the accuracy of beliefs.

Belief perseverance

the persistence of initial conceptions even after the basis has been discredited.

Framing

the way an issue is presented; can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Nudge

framing choices in a way that encourages beneficial decisions.

Memory

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

Recall

a measure of memory requiring the retrieval of information learned earlier.

Recognition

a measure of memory where one identifies previously learned items.

Relearning

a measure of memory assessing time saved when learning material again.

Encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system.

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time.

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage.

Parallel processing

processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously.

Sensory memory

the immediate, brief recording of sensory information.

Short-term memory

briefly activated memory of a few items that is stored or forgotten later.

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent, limitless archive of the memory system.

Working memory

active processing of incoming sensory information and information retrieved from long-term memory.

Central Executive

a memory component that coordinates activities of 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 and location.

Neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons.

Long-term potentiation

an increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning.

Explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare.

Effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information; occurs with familiar information.

Implicit memory

retention of learned skills or associations independent of conscious recollection.

Iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic memory lasting tenths of a second.

Echoic memory

momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; sounds recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; occurs automatically.

Mnemonics

memory aids using vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study to yield better long-term retention than mass study.

Testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than rereading information.

Shallow processing

encoding based on the structure or appearance of words.

Deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of words; yields the best retention.

Semantic memory

explicit memories of facts and general knowledge; one of the two conscious memory systems.

Episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of the two conscious memory systems.

Hippocampus

a neural center in the limbic system that processes explicit memories.

Memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory.

Flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

Priming

the activation of associations in memory, often unconsciously.

Encoding specificity

cues specific to a memory are most effective in helping recall it.

Mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences consistent with one’s current mood.

Serial position effect

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

Interleaving

a retrieval strategy involving mixing the study of different topics.

Anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories.

Retrograde amnesia

an inability to remember information from one’s past.

Proactive interference

the disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.

Retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.

Repression

a defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts.

Reconsolidation

a process where retrieved memories can be altered before being stored again.

Misinformation effect

occurs when a memory is corrupted by misleading information.

Source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned.

Déjà vu

the eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before,” triggered by cues from the current situation.

Intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.

General intelligence (g)

underlies all mental abilities and is measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Factor analysis

a statistical procedure identifying clusters of related items on a test.

Fluid intelligence (Gf)

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age.

Crystallized intelligence (Gc)

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

theory that intelligence is based on g and specific abilities, bridged by Gf and Gc.

Savant syndrome

a condition where a person limited in ability has an exceptional specific skill.

Grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

Emotional intelligence

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