psych u 2

Memory

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

Recall

Retrieving information that was learned at an earlier time.

Recognition

Identifying items previously known.

Relearning

Learning something more quickly when you learn it again.

Executive Functions

Set of cognitive skills that allow individuals to plan, organize, initiate, and manage complex behaviors.

Encoding

Process of getting information into the brain.

Storage

The process of retaining information in the brain.

Retrieval

Process of getting information out of the brain.

Parallel Processing

Processing multiple aspects of information at once.

Sensory memory

What information is first processed as.

Short term memory

Limited memory that shortly holds information.

Long term memory

Limitless memory that we have access to forever.

Working memory

A new understanding of short term memory that adds conscious active processing of incoming auditory and visual information.

Central executive

Controls aspects of memory.

Phonological loop

Memory that briefly holds auditory information.

Visuospatial sketchpad

Memory that allows you to visualize memory.

Automatic Processing

The unconscious processing of information requiring little conscious effort or attention.

Effortful processing

The active mental process of encoding information that requires conscious effort and attention.

Shallow Processing

When you recognize the structure of a word or object.

Deep Processing

When you recognize the meaning of a word or object.

Semantic Memory

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge.

Episodic Memory

Explicit memory of personally experienced events.

Context Dependent Memory

Memory improves based on the context around you.

State Congruent Memory

Improved memory recall based on the state you’re in.

Mood Congruent Memory

Improved memory recall based on mood.

Memory Consolidation

The process of storing memories.

Rehearsal

The process of repeatedly practicing information to enhance memory.

Spacing effect

Tendency to increase memory by spacing out rehearsal.

Serial position effect

Our tendency to recall first and last items on a list.

Mnemonic devices

Memory aids that use vivid imagery.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

Iconic Memory

A momentary visual stimuli lasting 3/10 seconds.

Echoic memory

A momentary auditory stimuli.

Amnesia

The loss of memory.

LTP (Long-Term Potentiation)

Increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

Flashbulb memory

A clear memory of an emotionally significant event.

Implicit memory

Retention of learned skills (non-declarative/procedural memory), located in the cerebellum by basal ganglia.

Explicit memory

Retention of facts and experiences that can be declared, located in the hippocampus, neocortex, and amygdala.

Hippocampus role

Vital for long-term memory formation, particularly declarative memories.

Metacognition

The ability to be aware of and control one's own thought processes.

Interleaving

A process where students mix multiple subjects or topics while studying.

Proactive interference

The 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.

Misinformation effect

Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.

Anterograde Amnesia

An inability to form new memories.

Retrograde Amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

Source amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, or read about.

Elizabeth Loftus

Known for her research on the malleability of human memory and eyewitness testimony.

George Miller

Proposed that the short-term memory holds 7 bits of information, +/- 2.

Karl Lashley

Conducted experiments on rats leading to theories of equipotentiality and mass action in memory.

Herman Ebbinghaus

Created the forgetting and retention curves related to memory.

Language

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

Grammar

A language's set of rules that enables communication.

Phoneme

Smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

Morpheme

Smallest unit of language that carries meaning.

Babbling stage

Starts at 4 months, where infants spontaneously utter various sounds.

One word stage

Starts at age 1-2, where child speaks mostly in single word statements.

Two word stage

Starts at 2 years old, where child speaks in mostly two word segments.

Telegraphic speech

Early speech stage where child speaks in a telegram-like manner.

Noam Chomsky

Theorized that humans have a universal aptitude for learning language.

Concepts

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

Prototypes

A mental image or best example of a category.

Algorithm

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

Heuristics

A simple thinking strategy that often allows for efficient problem solving.

Representative Heuristics

Judging likelihood based on resemblance to prototypes.

Availability Heuristics

Estimating likelihood based on readily available instances in memory.

Insight

A sudden realization of a solution to a problem.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for information that supports one's preconceptions.

Mental set

Our tendency to approach a problem in a particular way.

Belief perseverance

Clinging to one's beliefs despite contradictory evidence.

Framing

The way an issue is posed.

Achievement test

Measures what you have learned.

Aptitude test

Measures future performance.

The Flynn effect

The rise in average intelligence scores over time.

Intelligence

Ability to learn from experiences, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.

General intelligence

A general intelligence factor underlying specific mental abilities.

Factor analysis

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items on a test.

Savant Syndrome

A condition where a person with limited mental ability excels in a specific skill.

Emotional intelligence

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

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge over time.

Fluid intelligence

Ability to reason speedily and abstractly, typically decreases over time.

Mental Age

Measure of intelligence based on the average score of age.

WAIS

The most widely used intelligence test today.

Stanford Binet Test

Widely used American revision of Binet’s original test.

IQ

Measure of intelligence (mental age/chronological age) x100.

Standardization

Comparing performance with a pretested group.

Reliability

Test yield's consistent results.

Validity

Accuracy of a test.

Content validity

A test that measures actual behavior or criteria.

Construct validity

A test that measures a concept or a trait.

Predictive validity

A test that predicts future performance.

Alfred Binet

Tasked by French government to identify students needing specific instruction.

Howard Gardner

Proposed that intelligence comes in multiple abilities.

Robert Sternberg

Agreed with multiple intelligences, proposing three types.