AP Psychology - Vocabulary for 1/9/26

recall

retrieving a memory without any choices of options

recognition

retreiving a memory from a list of options

sensory memory

very brief bits of information that comes in from the environment (if paid attention to it is passed onto short term memory)

ecoic memory

sound bits of information we hear every second

iconic memory

visual bits of information we see every second

short term memory

about 7 bits of information that is held onto for about 30 seconds (pay attention and it is passed onto long term memory)

long term memory

believed to be infinite and limitless

long term potentiation

the physical changes to neurons when memories are created and strengthened

deep processing

giving meaning to information to create stronger memories (elaborative rehearsal

shallow processing

focusing on the structure or the sounds of words but not the meaning (phonemic is the sounds

encoding

taking in the information to create a memory

storage

holding onto the memories that are created

retrieval

accessing the memories from the long term memory at a later time

serial position effect

typically remembering the beginning of the list (primacy) and the end of the list (recency) but forgetting the middle

method of loci

using specific location cues to encode and retrieve memories

spacing effect

studying information repeatedly over several sessions (distributed practice) instead of just cramming the information in one session (massed practice)

episodic memory

events of our lives (graduation

semantic memory

general knowledge/trivia

procedural memory

memory of how to do tasks and skills (ride a bike

prospective memory

memory to do something in the future (pay a bill later

working memory

holding onto information that will be useful in the moment

visuospacial workspace

being able to visualize information to help us process things in the moment

phonological loop

helps us to process and use verbal an dauditory information to use in the moment (hold onto an asked questions so you can share the answer)

state dependent memory

your current internal state of mind may trigger other times you had the same state of mind (hungry

context dependent memory

an external trigger that can help retrieve a memory (chew the same gum studying and taking the test)

testing effect

studying in a practice quiz works better than studying notes

misinformation effect

our memories can be changed or influenced by outside sources

retroactive interference

an old memory is blocked (forgot old teacher)

proactive interference

a new memory is blocked (can't remember new password)

retrograde amnesia

brain injury or illness causes new memories not to be formed

antereograde amnesia

brain injury or illness causes new memories to not be formed

source amnesia

incorrectly identifying or not remembering where you heard info

infantile amnesia

not remembering things before ages 3 or 4 due to the hippocampus not being developed yet

framing

how a question is presented can influence a memory

prototype

what you consider the best example of a concept

accomodation

creating a new concept to fit newly learned information

assimilation

adding new information to and existing concept (young children)

executive functions

humans' highest level of cognitive abilities

availibility heurisitc

decision making based on what you are familiar with or heard about recently

representativeness heuristic

your prototype can affect your opinions of people/things

mental set

only trying to solve a problem using a method that worked in the past

sunk cost fallacy

when a person is reluctant to change their thinking/behavior because they have already invested too much time/money into what they are doing