AP Psych Unit 5

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