AP Psych F+C 2.4-2.8

Mnemonic

a technique or strategy used to improve memory and facilitate learning; includes acronyms, rhyme, imagery, and association techniques

Method of Loci

a mnemonic device that uses visualizations of familiar places to help you remember information

massed practice

a practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption ("cramming")

distributed practice

spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

recency effect

tendency to remember recent information better than earlier information

primacy effect

tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows

maintenance rehearsal

A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself without attempting to find meaning in it

elaborative rehearsal

A memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, as opposed to simply repeating the word to yourself over and over.

autobiographical memory

a special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person's recollections of his or her life experiences

amnesia

partial or total loss of memory

retrograde amnesia

refers to loss of memory for information acquired before the onset of amnesia

anterograde amnesia

The inability to create new memories or transfer new information from short-term memory to long-term memory

Alzheimer's Disease

a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning

infantile amnesia

inability of adults to remember personal experiences that took place before an early age

recall

the act of retrieving information from memory without being given any specific cues or prompts

recognition

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

Context-Dependent Memory

The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.

State-Dependent Memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

Mood-Congruent Memory

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

Metacognition

"Thinking about thinking" or the ability to evaluate a cognitive task to determine how best to accomplish it, and then to monitor and adjust one's performance on that task

Forgetting Curve

a graphic depiction of how recall steadily declines over time

Encoding failure

the inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory

Repression

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

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

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.

Flynn Effect

the worldwide phenomenon that shows intelligence test performance has been increasing over the years

Stereotype Threat

the apprehension experienced by members of a group that their behavior might confirm a cultural stereotype

Achievement Test

measures how much a person has learned in a given subject or area

Aptitude Test

estimates the probability that a person will be successful in learning a specific new skill