AP Psychology: Cognition, Perception, Memory & Intelligence

Top-down processing

Perception uses pre-existing knowledge and context to interpret incoming sensory data.

Bottom-up processing

Senses receive and relay information from outside stimulation, beginning with sensation.

Deep processing

Processing the meaning, significance, and context of information.

Shallow processing

Processing the surface-level, physical, or sensory features of information.

Schema

A mental framework that organizes and interprets information.

Heuristic

Mental shortcuts for problem-solving through simpler thinking to avoid overload.

Belief perseverance

The persistence of one's initial beliefs even after their basis has been discredited.

Intuition

Thought that is effortless and immediate rather than explicit, conscious reasoning.

Availability heuristic

Judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory and assuming they are common.

Overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgments.

Framing

The way an issue is presented, which can affect decisions and judgments.

Priming

The activation, often unconscious, of certain associations.

Confirmation bias

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

Reliability

Measures consistency and whether a tool produces the same or similar results across repeated applications.

Validity

Measures whether a tool or study actually measures what it claims to measure.

Visual sensation

The process of receiving visual information through the eyes.

Visual perception

Interpreting visual information, influenced by memory and context.

Transduction

The process of converting sensory stimulation into neural signals.

Declarative memory

Long-term memory involving facts, events, and general knowledge.

Semantic memory

Memory for general world knowledge, including facts and concepts.

Episodic memory

Memory for personal experiences and specific events.

Sensory memory

Briefly holds incoming environmental information through the senses.

Procedural memory

Unconscious memory that helps with everyday tasks and motor skills.

Stereotype threat

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype, which can affect performance.

Gestalt principles

The brain integrates pieces of information into an organized whole; we group things to make sense of them.

Binocular depth cues

Depth cues that use both eyes to help perceive depth and distance.

Perceptual constancy

The brain's ability to perceive objects as stable and unchanging.

Perceptual adaptation

The ability to adjust and recalibrate sensory perception.

Monocular depth cues

Depth cues that use one eye to help perceive depth and distance.

Metacognition

What you know about your own thinking and the strategies you use.

Convergent thinking

Narrowing down possible solutions to find a single best solution.

Divergent thinking

Expanding the number of possible solutions through creative thinking.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

The strengthening of synapses between neurons, making them more efficient at communicating with each other.

Chunking

Grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units to improve memory.

Serial position effect

The tendency to remember the first (primacy) and last (recency) items in a series better than the middle items.

Primacy effect

The tendency to remember items at the beginning of a list.

Recency effect

The tendency to remember items at the end of a list.

Semantic encoding

Encoding information based on its meaning.

Auditory encoding

Encoding information based on sound.

Proactive interference

When old information blocks or interferes with new information.

Retroactive interference

When new information blocks or interferes with old information.

Context-dependent memory

Memory is better when you are in the same physical environment where you learned the information.

State-dependent memory

Memory is better when you are in the same internal state, such as mood or physiological state, as when you learned the information.

Anterograde amnesia

The inability to form new memories after a specific event.

Retrograde amnesia

The inability to recall memories from before a specific event.

Source amnesia

The inability to remember where, when, or how information was learned.

Emotional intelligence

The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Achievement tests

Measure what a person has already learned.

Aptitude tests

Measure a person's potential ability to learn or perform in the future.

Flynn effect

The observation that average IQ scores have increased over generations.

Experimental study

A study that manipulates a variable to investigate cause and effect.

Case study

An in-depth study of one individual or a small group.

Correlational study

A study that investigates relationships between variables.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason, solve new problems, and think flexibly.

Crystallized intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and skills that develop through learning and experience.

Spearman's Theory

The idea that a general underlying mental ability influences performance across different cognitive tasks.

Gardner's Theory

The theory that intelligence consists of multiple distinct abilities.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

A theory of intelligence that includes fluid and crystallized intelligence, among other cognitive abilities.

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

The theory that intelligence includes analytical, creative, and practical abilities.

Analytical intelligence

The ability to analyze, evaluate, and solve problems.

Creative intelligence

The ability to generate new ideas and handle unfamiliar situations.

Practical intelligence

The ability to apply knowledge to real-life situations.

Stroboscopic movement

Perceiving continuous, fluid motion from a fast series of separate, complete images.

Phi phenomenon

Perceiving stationary lights or shapes in succession as a single light or shape moving across the gap.