Unit 2b Vocab 1 & 2

Cognition

Mental activities associated with thinking

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought and mental processes.

Concepts

Mental groupings of similar objects

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category (How we sort items essentially).

Creativity

Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Convergent thinking

Narrows problem solutions to determine the best solution.

Divergent thinking

Expands the number of possible problem solutions

Creativity

Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Executive functions

Cognitive skills that work together to enable us to generate, organize, plan and implement goal-directed behavior.

Algorithms

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Step-by-step procedures guaranteeing a solution.

Heuristics

Simple thinking strategies for quick problem-solving. Mental shortcut that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently.

Mental Set

Tendency to approach problems in a particular way.

Representativeness Heuristics

Judging likelihood based on how well something matches prototypes.

Availability Heuristics

Estimating likelihood based on availability in memory.

Overconfidence

Overestimating the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments. The tendency to be more confident than correct.

Sunk-cost fallacy

Continuing a venture due to previously invested resources.

Framing

Way an issue is posed

Memory

Persistence of learning over time via encoding

Recall

Retrieving information learned earlier.

Recognition

Identifying previously learned information.

Sensory Memory

Immediate, brief recording of sensory information.

Short-term Memory

Holds a few items briefly before storage or forgetting.

Long-term Memory

Relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of memory.

Working Memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory. Active processing of incoming information and retrieved long-term memory.

Central Executive

Coordinates working memory components of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.

Phonological Loop

Processes and briefly holds verbal and auditory information.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

A memory component that briefly holds information about object's appearance and location in space.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Increase in synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. A neural basis for learning and memory.

Explicit Memory

Retention of memory of facts and experiences one can consciously know.

Effortful Processing

Encoding requiring attention and conscious effort.

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information.

Implicit Memory

Retention of learned skills independent of conscious recollection.

Iconic Memory

Momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli.

Echoic Memory

Momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

Mnemonics

Memory aids using vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Method of Loci

Associating items with specific locations.

Hierarchies

Organizing items into a few broad concepts divided into narrower concepts.

Spacing Effect

Distributed study yields better long-term retention.

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than rereading. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

Shallow processing

Encoding on a basic level

Structural Encoding

Encoding based on the physical structure of information.

Phonemic Encoding

Encoding based on the sound of information.

Deep processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of information. Tends to yield the best retention.

Semantic Encoding

The process of converting sensory input into meaningful, long-term memories by associating new information with existing knowledge and experiences.

Semantic Memory

The store of general knowledge about the world, including the meaning of words, objects, places, and people.

Episodic Memory

The ability to recall specific events from the past

Memory Consolidation

Neural storage of long-term memories.

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform a future task.

Priming

Activation of particular associations in memory. (How exposure to one stimulus triggers related concepts.)

Context-dependent memory

Improved recall when context at encoding matches retrieval.

State-dependent memory

Recall better when in the same state as during encoding.

Mood-congruent memory

Recall experiences consistent with one's current mood.

Serial Position effect

Tendency to recall first and last items in a list.

Recency effect

Enhanced recall of items at the end of a list.

Primacy effect

Enhanced recall of items at the beginning of a list.

Superior Autobiographical Memory

Exceptional ability to recall personal experiences.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories.

Retrograde amnesia

Inability to retrieve past memories.

Proactive interference

Older information interferes with the retrieval of new information.

Retroactive interference

New information interferes with the retrieval of old information.

Repression (motivated forgetting)

Unconscious exclusion of distressing memories.

Constructive memory

Creating false memories from misleading information.

Reconsolidation

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

Misinformation effect

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

Imagination inflation

Increased confidence in a false memory after imagining it.

Source amnesia

Forgetting the true source of a memory.