AP Psych Midterm!!!!

Units 1-5

cognition

mental process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses

memory

learning that has persisted over time

automatic processing

unconscious processing of well-learned information

effortful processing

requires both effort and attention; best describes cognitive processes of learning

deep/semantic processing

processing of info with consideration of its meaning and connections of its significance, requires lots of rehearsal and practice. often requires connecting new info with info previously learned and leads to better memories

shallow processing

requires less rehearsal as it just uses surface characteristics (like visuals or audio) to process info

divided attention

purposely doing two or more things at once (multitasking)

metacognition

awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes

sensory memory

immediate, very brief recording of sensory info in memory system

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as 7 digits of a phone number while dialing, before the info is stored or forgotten

long-term memory

relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

flashbulb memory

clear memory of an emotionally significant moment/event

encoding

processing of info into memory system – ex: by extracting meaning

storage

retention of encoded information over time

retrieval

process of getting info out of memory storage

rehearsal

conscious repetition of info, either to maintain it in consciousness or encode it for storage

spacing effect

tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

serial positioning effect

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

recognition

measure of memory in which person need only identify items previously learned (ex: multiple-choice test)

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

iconic memory

momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; photographic memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

echoic memory

momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 seconds

long-term potentiation

increase in synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

amnesia

memory loss

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection (procedural memory)

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare (declarative memory)

hippocampus

neural center located in limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage

recall

measure of memory in which the person must retrieve info learned earlier (ex: fill-in-the-blank test)

priming

activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

deja vu

eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of earlier experience

mood-congruent theory

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

proactive interference

disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new info (forward-acting)

retroactive interference

disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old info (backward-acting)

repression

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

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading info 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 (source misattribution). Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories

concept

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

prototype

mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to prototype provides quick and easy method for including items in category

algorithm

methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving particular problem. Contrasts with usually speedier (but more error-prone) use of heuristics

heuristic

simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually faster but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

sudden and often novel realization of solution to problem; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

belief perseverance

clinging to one’s initial conception after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

fixation

inability to see problem from new perspective; impediment to problem solving

mental set

tendency to approach problem in particular way, often a way that has been successful in past

functional fixedness

tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; impediment to problem solving

representativeness heuristic

judging likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent or match particular prototypes; may lead one to ignore other relevant info

availability heuristic

estimating likelihood of events based on availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events as common

overconfidence

tendency to be more confident than correct, to overestimate accuracy of one’s belief and judgments

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments

belief bias

tendency for one person’s existing beliefs to distort logical reasoning, sometimes by making invalid conclusions seem valid, or valid conclusions seem invalid

overconfidence bias

tendency to be more confident than correct, to overestimate accuracy of one’s belief and judgments

intelligence

mental quality consisting of ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

factor analysis

statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (factors) on a test; used to identify diff dimensions of performance that underlie one's total score

general intelligence

general intelligence factor that (according to Spearman and others) underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

emotional intelligence

ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

savant syndrome

condition in which person otherwise limited in mental ability has exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

creativity

ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

intelligence test

method for assessing individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

mental age

measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; chronological age that most typically corresponds to given level of performance

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

defined originally as percentage of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca), thus IQ = ma/ca * 100. Contemporary intelligence tests assign avg performance for given age on scale of 100. American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test

aptitude v. achievement test

Aptitude: predicts a person's future performance; aptitude is capacity to learn. Achievement: assesses what person has already learned

Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

WAIS is most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests

standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with performance of pretested standardization group

normal curve

symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near extremes

reliability

extent to which test yields consistent results, as assessed by consistency of scores on two halves of test, on alternate forms of test, or on retesting

validity

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

mental retardation

condition of limited mental ability, indicated by intelligence score of 70 or under and difficulty in adapting to demands of life; varies from mild to profound

Down Syndrome

condition of retardation and associated physical disorders caused by extra chromosome in one’s genetic makeup

stereotype threat

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

Transience

accessibility to memory decreases over time (storage decay)

Anti-transience

in highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM) ppl, memories of earlier events are clear and easily accessed. Their memories of recent events are similar to non-HSAM individuals, but their accessibility doesn’t decrease over time

Absentmindedness

forgetting caused by lapses in attention

Retrieval cues

stimulate memory and abate absentmindedness

Blocking

accessibility to info is temporarily blocked (ex: Word on tip of tongue)

Interference

learning other info can interfere w/ ability to retrieve smth else

Suggestibility

asking leading questions that suggest smth that never existed

Persistence

inability to forget undesirable memories

Motivated forgetting

defense mechanism that pushes painful, anxiety-reducing memories, thoughts, and feelings into subconscious

Fuzzy Trace Theory

Verbatim traces are memories of exact details of what actually happened, Gist traces are memories based on our general understanding of what happened or what event meant to person (children less affected by it)

cross-race effect

not being able to differentiate ppl of diff races

Stereotype

a way our brains tend to generalize information (overgeneralized belief)

Confirmation bias

tendency to find and trust info that confirms our existing ideas

Divergent thinking

process of creating multiple, unique ideas or solutions to a problem

Convergent thinking

narrowing down to best idea, logic-based

Law of Diminishing Returns

higher intelligence → less impact on task performed. essentially, advantage of high intelligence diminishes past certain threshold

Perceptual speed

ppl who perceive input more quickly tend to score higher on intelligence tests

Neurological speed

ppl who score higher on intelligence tests tend to register simple stimulus more quickly and show faster brain response when completing simple task

sensation

process by which our sensory receptors and our nervous system receive and represent environmental stimuli

perception

how our brains organize and interpret sensory stimuli (attach meaning to them)

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins w/ sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory info

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

selective attention

our brain’s ability to hyperfocus on the things we need to be paying attention to

inattentional blindness

when we become so focused on smth that we don’t know/perceive other stimuli

Gustav Flechner

developed concept of absolute threshold. Said that most w/o impaired senses can see a candle atop another mountain 30 mi away, feel bee’s wing on cheek, smell single drop of perfume in 3 bedroom apartment, taste teaspoon of sugar diluted in 2 gal of water, etc

absolute thresholds

minimum amount of stimulation needed to detect a stimulus 50% of the time by most ppl

subliminal

falls below absolute threshold of conscious awareness

priming

activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

difference threshold

minimum difference between 2 stimuli required for detection 50% of the time. We experience the difference threshold as a just noticeable difference (jnd)

Ernst Weber’s law

principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than constant amount)