5 Cognitive Psychology

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (declarative memory)

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection. (non-declarative or procedural memory)

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second; mental pictures are a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding

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

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study of practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. May be referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

deep processing

encoding semantically based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention; may be referred to as semantic encoding

hippocampus

a neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentiation

an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory. Indicates strengthening of synapses (synaptic changes)

recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list.

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories (from this point forward)

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one’s past (up to this point)

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information (PORN)

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basis defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (source misattribution) the heart of many false memories

deja vu

the eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

cognition

the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category. provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

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.

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier, but also more error-prone than algorithms.

insight

a sudden (and often novel) realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.

confirmation bias

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

mental set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.

fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning.

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.

availability heuristic

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.

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct; the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements.

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix).

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. In a given language, semantics is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements.

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram – “go car"- using mostly nouns and verbs.

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Broca’s area

controls language expression - an area, usually in the left frontal lobe, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke’s area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.

linguistic determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think.

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

general intelligence

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing.

grit

in psychology, ___ is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

emotional intelligence

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

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ=ma/ca x 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100, with scores assigned to relative performance above or below average.

achievement test

tests designed to assess what a person has learned.

aptitude test

tests designed to predict a person's future performance; ___ is the capacity to learn

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

normal curve

the symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes; most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting.

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behaviour that is of interest.

predictive validity

the success with which a test predicts the behaviour it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behaviour. (Also called criterion-related validity).

cohort

a group of people from a given time period

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

intellectual disability

(formerly referred to as mental retardation) a condition of limited mental ability indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound.

Down syndrome

a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory).

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory).

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory.

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it.

reconsolidation

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

linguistic influence

the weaker form of “linguistic relativity”—the idea that language affects thought (thus our thinking and world view is “relative to” our cultural language).