U2 AP Psych: Cognition

Perception

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

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information

top-down processing

the use of preexisting knowledge to organize individual features into a unified whole

schemas

Concepts or mental frameworks that organize and interpret information.

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

perceptual set

a predisposition or readiness to perceive something in a particular way

context (experience and cultural experiences on perception)

pre-existing stereotypes influence our perception on different ideals/values

Gestalt Principles

Describe the top-down processing that organizes sensory information into distinct forms. Six principles: nearness, similarity, common region, closure, continuity, and figure & ground

Closure

the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete

figure-ground perception

the perception of figures against a background

proximity principle

parts of a visual stimulus that are close together are perceived as belonging together

Attention's Impact on Internal and External Processes

cocktail party effect

Ability to concentrate on one voice amongst a crowd

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

Cues of binocular depth

retinal disparity and convergence

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

relative clarity, relative size, texture gradient, linear perspective, and interposition

perceptual certificates

shape and size

relative motion

movement in relation to a frame of reference

concepts

cognitive groupings of similar objects, events, people, or ideas

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

algorithms

very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems

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

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

availibility heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availiablity in memory; if instances come readily to mind, 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.

Gambler's 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

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior

creativity

The ability to make or bring a new concept or idea into existence; marked by the ability or power to create.

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

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

episodic memory

A category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations and experiences.

semantic memory

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world

implicit memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

procedural memory

A type of long-term memory of how to perform different actions and skills. Essentially, it is the memory of how to do certain things.

prospective memory

remembering to do things in the future

long-term potentiation

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

Working Memory Model

A model that suggests that memory involves a series of active, temporary memory stores that manipulate information.

Multi-Store Model of Memory

The memory model that visualises memory as a system consisting of multiple memory stores through which a stream of data flows for processing.

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten

long-term memory

the relatively permanent storage of information

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

storage

the process of maintaining information in memory over time

level of processing model

the more deeply an item is encoded, the more meaning it has and the better it is remembered

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

spacing effect

information is retained better if there is a longer period of time between sessions or relearning

massed practice

cramming

distributed practice

spacing the repetitions of to-be-remembered information over time

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (recency) and first (primary) items in a list

rehearsal

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

elaborative rehearsal

A memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, as opposed to simply repeating the word to yourself over and over.

superior autobiographical memory

this type of memory is a near-perfect ability to recall every episodic memory you've made

amnesia

loss of memory

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

infantile amnesia

the inability to remember events from early childhood (before 3 yrs old)

Alzheimer's disease

an irreversible, progressive brain disorder, characterized by the deterioration of memory, language, and eventually, physical functioning

retrieval process

involves recovering stored information from memory so it can be used

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

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 remember experiences that are consistent with one's current mood and overlook or forget experiences that are not

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

awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

forgetting curve

A graph showing retention and forgetting over time, 'Memory decline graph'.

encoding failure

the inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory

proactive interference

the forward-acting 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

temporary inability to remember information; inadequate retrieval

repression

keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconscious

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

memory consolidation

the gradual, physical process of converting new long-term memories to stable, enduring memory codes

imagination inflation

a memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an event markedly increases confidence that the event actually occurred

IQ

intelligence quotient

IQ Testing Bias

IQ testing used to be used to differentiate races and intelligence

general intelligence (g factor)

according to Spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

multiple intelligences

idea that people vary in their ability levels across different domains of intellectual skill

original calculation for IQ tests

mental age/ chronological age * 100

Psychometrics

the scientific study of the measurement of human abilities, attitudes, and traits

Standarization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

factor analysis

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

validity

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

reliabilty

consistency of measurement

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