Studied by 36 people
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algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier-but also more error prone-use of heuristics
availability heuristics
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
anchoring effect
cognitive bias that describes the common human tendency to rely too heavily on the first piece of information offered when making decisions
aphasia
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area or to Wernicke’s area
automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information such as space, time and frequency, ,and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
belief perseverance
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
confirmation bias
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distract contradictory evidence
chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
cognition
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
convergent thinking
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
deja vu
the eerie sense that “i’ve experienced this before”. cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
divergent thinking
expanding the number of possible problem solutions, creative thinking that diverges in different thinking
encoding
the process of getting information into the memory system-for example, by extracting meaning
explicit memory
retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”
echoic memory
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
encoding failure
the brain’s occasional failure to create a memory link
episodic memory
explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems
effortful processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
fixation
the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving
framing
the way an issue is posed, how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgements
grammar
a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
insight
a sudden realization of a problem’s solution: contrasts with strategy-based solutions
implicit memory
retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection
intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling, or thought, as associated with explicit, conscious reasoning
iconic memory
a momentary sensory memory visual stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
linguistic determinism
the strong form of Wharf’s hypothesis-that language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us
long-term memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
mnemonics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
misinformation effect
occurs when misleading information has distorted one’s memory of an event
morphene
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning, may be a word or part of a word (prefix)
priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response
prototype
a mental image or best example of a category. matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
proactive interference
the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information
phoneme
in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage
recall
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test
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
retrieval failure
information is available in long-term memory but cannot be accessed or retrieved
retroactive interference
the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information
recognition
a measure of memory in which the person identifies items as previously learned, as on a multiple choice test
heuristic
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error prone than an algorithm
sensory memory
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
serial position effect
our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primary effect) items on a list
short-term/working memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten
semantic memory
explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems
source amnesia
faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. Along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories
spacing effect
cognitive phenomenon in which distributing to-be-learned information across time in short, interrupted study sessions leads to better long-term retention that continuous, massed sessions
semantics
the study of how meaning is stored in the mind
syntax
a logical way of communicating and thinking based on reality
Hermann Ebbinghaus
studied response speed when recalling or recognizing information indicates memory strength, like our speed at relearning
Elizabeth Loftus
studied that as a result of memory reconsolidation, the memory gets replaced with a false memory. The more vividly we remember things, the more likely they are to become memories
Noam Chomsky
Studied the nature’s gift-an unlearned human trait, separate from other parts of human cognition. Built in predisposition happens so naturally that training hardly helps.
Wolfgang Kohler
Found that humans are not the only creatures to display insight-the capacity to gain an accurate and deep intuitive understanding of a person or thing
Benjamin Whorf
“language itself shapes a person’s basic ideas” Discovered linguistic determinism-the strong form of his hypothesis-language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us
