Learn: AP Psych Unit 2

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, allowing us to recognize meaningful objects and events

sensation

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

bottom-up processing

begins with sensory input, building perception from the smallest pieces of sensory information (like a puzzle)

top-down processing

uses prior knowledge, expectations, and experiences to interpret sensory information

schemas

mental frameworks (or mental "file folders") that help organize and interpret information. We have schemas for people, objects, and events that shape our perceptions

perceptual set

a readiness to perceive things a certain way, based on expectations, emotions, or cultural background

context & culture

external factors that can affect perception

Gestalt psychology

focuses on how people naturally organize sensory information into meaningful wholes.

figure-ground

distinguishing an object (figure) from its background (ground)

grouping principles

stimuli are perceived as being in meaningful groups

proximity

objects placed close to each other are perceived as a single group, while items spaced farther apart are seen as separate

similarity

the human brain naturally groups items that share visual traits—such as color, shape, size, or orientation—into a single, related set

closure

the brain fills in gaps to see a complete object

attention

the mental focus on specific stimuli while ignoring others

selective attention

focusing on one thing among other distractions

Cocktail Party Effect

ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy room

inattentional blindness

failing to notice visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

visual perception

the process of interpreting visual information from our environment

depth perception

the ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge distances

Visual Cliff

a classic experiment used to test infants' depth perception by placing them on a platform with a "drop" covered by clear glass

binocular cues

depth cues that require both eyes to work together

retinal disparity

the difference between images in the left and right eyes; the brain uses this difference to calculate depth

convergence

as objects get closer, our eyes turn inward. The brain interprets this muscle movement as a cue for depth

monocular cues

depth cues that can be seen with just one eye

relative size

objects that appear smaller are perceived as farther away

interposition

when one object overlaps another, it's perceived as closer

texture gradient

objects with finer details are seen as closer

relative clarity

hazy or blurry objects seem farther away than clearer objects

linear perspective

parallel lines appear to converge in the distance, like railroad tracks

perceptual constancies

recognizing objects as constant despite changes in lighting, distance, or angle

color constancy

we perceive colors as stable even when lighting changes

shape constancy

objects maintain the same shape despite changes in viewpoint

size constancy

an object appears the same size even as it moves closer or farther away

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

apparent motion

perception of movement when there is none

stroboscopic movement

quick succession of slightly different images that appear to move, like a flipbook or movie frames

phi phenomenon

lights blinking on and off in sequence, creating the illusion of movement

autokinetic effect

a stationary point of light appears to move in a dark room because of minor eye movements

perceptual adaptation

the brain's ability to adjust to altered sensory environments

cognition

all the 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; easy and quick method for sorting items into categories

assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas

accomodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that brances out in different directions

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

executive functions

high-level mental processes that help us plan, prioritize, and control impulses

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

nudge

a subtle alteration in how choices are presented to individuals (choice architecture) that predictably influences their behavior without restricting their freedom of choice or altering economic incentives

Gambler's Fallacy

the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

sticking with a bad choice because you've already invested time, money, or effort

functional fixedness

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

insight

the sudden realization of a problem's solution without going through a gradual process of trial and error

intuition

an effortless, immediate, and automatic feeling or thought, contrasted sharply with explicit, conscious reasoning

overconfidence

the cognitive bias where people overestimate the accuracy of their knowledge, judgments, and abilities, making them more certain than they are correct

belief perseverance

the cognitive bias where people continue to hold onto an initial belief even after the evidence supporting it has been completely discredited or proven wrong

creativity

the ability to come up with novel and useful ideas without being blocked by biased thinking

encoding

how information is transformed into a format (neural code) for storage

storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

mnemonic devices

memory tricks that enhance memory coding

semantic encoding

processing information based on its meaning or by making it personal

self-reference effect

tendency to better remember information relevant to ourselves

spacing effect

distributed practice over at least 3 days

chunking

putting items into meaningful groups

hierarchies

chart of related concepts showing their relationship

method of loci

associating familiar places with info to memorize in a list or speech

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

serial position effect

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

memory

the process of taking in information, storing it, and retrieving it later when needed

sensory memory

fleeting memory that is forgotten unless you pay attention to it

iconic

fleeting visual memory; 100-200 milliseconds

echoic

fleeting auditory memory; 3-4 seconds

short-term memory (working memory)

always taking in new information & retrieving information from LTM; up to 20-30 seconds; unless repeated through maintenance rehearsal

central executive

working memory has auditory & visual paths

visuospatial sketchpad

a memory component that briefly holds information about objects' appearance and location in space.

phonological loop

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

maintenance rehearsal

practice of saying some information to be remembered over and over in one's head in order to maintain it in short-term memory

sequential processing

the processing of one aspect of a problem at a time; used when we focus attention on new or complex tasks

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision

long term memory (LTM)

where memories are stored for extended periods

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

explicit/declarative memory

memories consciously recalled

episodic memory

memories of personal experiences

semantic memory

memories of general facts

implicit/nondeclarative memory

unconscious memories that influence behavior

procedural memory

a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits

classical conditioning

a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone

prospective memory

remembering to do things in the future

long-term potentiation (LTP)

the neural basis of memory; it is the long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between 2 neurons, after repeated stimulation