UNIT 2 PSYCHCognition Pillar

Schemas

Preexisting mental concepts of how something should look.

Perceptual set

Tendency to see something as part of a group.

Constancies

Recognize that objects do not physically change despite changes in sensory input.

Inattentional blindness

Failure to notice something added because you’re focused on another task.

Change blindness

Fail to notice a change in the scene.

Binocular depth cues

How eyes form a 3D image.

Retinal Disparity

Image is cast slightly differently on each retina; location of image helps us determine depth.

Convergence

Eyes strain more as objects come closer.

Monocular depth cues

How we form a 3D image from a 2D one.

Interposition

Overlapping images appear closer.

Relative size

Two objects that are usually similar in size; the smaller one appears further away.

Linear perspective

Parallel lines converge with distance.

Relative clarity

Hazy objects appear further away.

Texture gradient

Coarser objects seem closer.

Algorithms

Step-by-step strategies that guarantee a solution (like formulas in math).

Representative Heuristic

Making judgments based on experience.

Availability Heuristic

Making a judgment based on the first thing that comes to mind.

Metacognition

Thinking about the way you think.

Mental set

Using one strategy to solve a problem; inability to think outside the box.

Functional Fixedness

Only seeing one use for an item.

Sunk cost fallacy

Continuing something due to prior investment, even if stopping would be more beneficial.

Gambler’s fallacy

Believing something is more likely to happen because of perceived patterns.

Divergent thinking

The ability to think about many things at once.

Convergent thinking

Limits creativity, one answer.

Executive functioning

Generating, organizing, planning, and carrying out goal-directed behaviors.

Automatic encoding

Requires no effort to retrieve memory.

Effortful encoding

Requires work to retrieve memory.

Structural encoding

shallow, emphasis on physical structural

Phonemic encoding

intermediate, emphasis on what words sound like

Semantic encoding

deep, emphasis on meaning of words

Elaborative rehearsal

Strategies to enhance encoding, such as imagery (attaching images to info to remember better) and dual encoding (using multiple methods to remember).

Method of loci

Using locations to remember a list of items in order.

Context dependent memory

Where you learn information is where you best remember it.

State dependent memory

Physical state you were in when learning is when you best remember info

Mood congruent memory

Remembering events in the same mood in which you experienced them (ex. remember happy moments when happy).

Forgetting curve

The rapid decrease in recall followed by a plateau.

Sensory memory

Stores all incoming stimuli that you receive.

Iconic memory

Visual memory, lasts approximately 0.3 seconds.

Echoic memory

Auditory memory, lasts 2-3 seconds.

Short term memory

Lasts 30 seconds, capable of remembering roughly 7 items.

Maintenance rehearsal

Rehearsing information to extend its time in short-term memory.

Explicit memory

Requires conscious effort to recall.

Episodic memory

Memory for events.

Semantic memory

Memory for facts.

Implicit memory

Automatic recall without effort.

Prospective memory

Remembering something you need to do in the future.

Autobiographical memory

Memory for personal history, encompassing both episodic and semantic.

Super autobiographical

A rare condition of having very detailed memories.

Hierarchies

Memory organized according to clusters of related info.

Semantic networks

Webs of semi-related information.

Schema (in memory context)

Framework that organizes information.

Assimilation

Incorporating new information into existing schemas.

Accommodation

Adjusting existing schemas to include new information.

Infantile amnesia

Reliability of memories before age 3 is low due to the developing hippocampus.

Long term-potentiation

The neural basis of memory; connections strengthen over time with repeated stimulation.

Memory consolidation

Memories strengthened with time.

Serial position effect

Tendency to remember the beginning (primacy effect-happens because info got moved to LTM) and end (recency effect-happens because info is still in STM) of a list.

Recall

Remembering information without cues (ex. FRQ)

Recognition

Identifying previously learned information with cues (ex. MCQ)

Repressed memories

Unconscious burying of memories to defend the ego (ex. trauma).

Encoding failure

Forgetting information because it was never encoded.

Proactive interference

Old information blocking new information.

Retroactive interference

New information blocking old information.

Constructive memory

How we update memories with new experiences and information, memory unreliable.

Source amnesia

Forgetting where or from whom you heard information.

Misinformation effect

Distortion of memory due to misinformation.

Framing

The way a question is framed impacts how info is recalled/perceived (ex. how fast were the cars going when they smashed)

Imagination inflation

Increased confidence in an event happening after imagining it.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories after a traumatic event.

Retrograde amnesia

Inability to recall old memories prior to a traumatic event.

Single form of intelligence (g factor)

The underlying factor that supports all mental abilities.

Multiple intelligences

The concept that intelligence has various types and domains.

IQ formula

(Mental age/Chronological age) x 100.

Psychometrics

Field focused on creating psychological tests.

Test reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results over time.

Test validity

The accuracy of a test in measuring what it intends to measure.

Aptitude tests

Tests predicting abilities to learn new skills.

Achievement tests

Tests measuring knowledge in a particular area (ex. AP tests)

Eugenics

The study aimed at improving the gene pool by discouraging specific traits.

Culture fair tests

IQ tests focusing on non-language skills.

Stereotype threat

Fear of conforming to negative stereotypes about one's group.

Stereotype lift

Performing better when not part of a negatively stereotyped group.

Flynn effect

Observed increase in IQ scores over the past 80 years.