AP Psych - Term 1

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Charles Spearman

Thought that a basic intelligence predicts our abilities in varied academic areas

L.L Thurstone

Thought our intelligence may be broken down into seven distinct factors

Howard Gardner

our abilities are best classified into 8 or 9 independent intelligences

Robert Sternberg

thought our intelligence is best classified into 3 areas that predict real world success: analytical, creative, and practical

Francis Galton

Had a bias toward believing genius was inherited

Alfred Binet

Thought that children could be categorized as incapable of learning. Came up with the idea of mental age

Lewis terman

believed that intelligence was innate (people are born with the intelligence they have)

David Wechsler

Developed the Wechsler adult intelligence scale (Wais)

Carol Dweck

pioneered research and findings that show that believing intelligence can change creates a growth mindset

intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

general intelligence (g)

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

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters or related items on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a persons total score

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill

grit

in psychology, is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individuals mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

achievement test

a test design to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a persons future performance

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age

stnaford-binet

the widely used american revision of binets original intelligence test

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age, multiplied by 100. on contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

wechsler adult intelligence scale (WAIS)

this and its companion versions for children are the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance subtests

standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

normal curve

bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes.

reliability

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

validity

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

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

predictive validity

the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; is is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior

cohort

a group of people sharing a common characteristic, such as from a given time period

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood

cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence test score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life

down syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes. This may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied

stereotype threat

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

memory

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

recall

a measure of memory in which the person much retrieve information learned earlier

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned

relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system

storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

retrieval

the process of getting information out of the memory storage

parallel processing

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions

sensory memory

the immediate very brief recording of sensory information n the memory system

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

working memory

a newer understanding of short term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

automatic processing

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

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units

mnemonics

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

spacing effect

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

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

deep processing

encoding semantically, based of the meaning of words; tends to yield the best retention

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowlefge

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events

hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

flashbulb memory

a clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a cells firing potential after brief, rapid, stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with ones current good or bad mood

serial position effect

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

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from ones past

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

repression

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

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted ones memory of an event

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where informaiton was learned or imagined

deja vu

that eerie sense that “Ive experienced this before.” cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

concept

a metal grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

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

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

heuristics

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error-prone

insight

a sudden realization of a problems solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

fixation

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

mental set

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

intuition

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

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

availability heuristic

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

belief perserverance

clinging to ones initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worked can significantly affect decisions and judgements

language

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

phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others