AP Psychology Unit 2 Vocab

Selective Attention

Consciously focusing on certain stimuli

Inattention Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when focused on another stimuli

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in an environment

Perceptual Set

Mental Predisposition to perceive 1 thing and not another

Gestalt Psychology

Tenancy to integrate Pieces of information into Wholes

Binocular Cue

When using both eyes to perceive depth

Monocular cue

Each eye works independently

Convergence

When a brain combines retinal images to judge an objects distance

Retinal Disparity

compares retinal images from eyes to gauge distance

Stroboscopic

Illusion of movement when viewing slightly different images rapidly

Phi Phenomenon

illusion of movement in lights when adjacent light flickers quickly

Perpetual Constancey

Perceiving objects as non’changing

Color Constancy

Perceiving families of objects as having consistent color despite light changes

Perceptual Adaptation

Ability to adjust sensory input

Stroop Affect

demonstrates interference between 2 cognitive processes

Perceptual Set

disposition to percieve one aspect of a thing

Cognition

Mental Activities associated with thinking, remembering, and communication

Concept

Mental grouping of similar objects or events

Prototype

best example of a concept

Schema

Mental concept that organises and interpretas information

Assimilation

Putting new information into schema without changing them

Accomidation

putting information into schema by changing them

Creativity

Ability to produce novel or valuable ideas

Divergent thinking

process of many generating solutions/ideas to one problem

Convergent thinking

process of finding a single answer to a question

Executive functions

high level of mental skill that enables goal oriented behaviors

Algorithm

logical/methodical step by step procedure

Heuristic

problem solving by simplifying complex issues

Representative Heuristic

Judgement by comparing prototype/typical examples of a catagory

Availability Heuristic

Judge likely hood of an event based on how easy examples come to mind

Framing

the way as issue is posed

Priming

exposure to stimulous

Gamblers Fallacy

false belief that you can predict chance events based on past chance experiences

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Bad decision based on money, time, or effort that has already been spent

Memory

Persistence of learning overtime

Explicit Memory

retention of facts and experiences one can consciously recall

Implicit Memory

retention of facts/skills unknowingly

Recall

retrieval of information not in conscious awareness (ex. fill in the blank)

Recognition

Identifying previously learned items (Ex. Multiple Choice)

Storage

Process of retaining information into memory system

Retrieval

Taking information out of storage

Sensory Memory

immediate and brief recording of sensory info

Short Term Memory

briefly activated memory

Long Term Memory

relatively permanent memory

Working Memory

where short and long term memory combine

Central Executive

Where information goes before being sorted into long term or erased

Phonological loop

holds auditory information in short term memory

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Briefly holds information about objects appearances and location

Long Term Potentiation (LTP)

increase in nerve cell firing potential due to brief stimulus

Episodic Memory

Events and Experiences you can declare/think about

Semantic Memory

Knowledge and Concepts you can declare/think about

Procedural Memory

Skills and actions you cant outwardly declare (Ex. Muscle Memory)

Encoding

Process of getting information into memory systems

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires conscious effort

Automatic Process

Unconscious coding of passive information

Chunking 

organizing information to more manageable units

Mnemonics

Visual/written/oral memory aids

Spacing Effect

Memory encoding overtime

Testing Effect

repeated self-testing

Shallow Processing

based on structure/appearance of words

Deep Processing

based on word meaning and connection

Memory Consolation

Neural storage of long-term memory

Flashbulb Memory

clear memory of emotionally significant

Encoding Specificity Memory

cues/contexts help when recalling specific memories

Mood Congruent Memory

recalling experiences consistent with ones mood

Serial Position Affect

Tendency to best recall first and last items in a list

Interleaving

retrieval practice involves mixing study of different topics

Anterograde Amnesia 

inability to create new memories after an incident/event

Retrograde Amnesia

the inability to recall previous memories after an event/incident

Source Amnesia

ability to remember information but inability to know from where/who one learned about it

Infantile Amnesia

inability for adults to recall early childhood memories

Proactive Interface

prior learning disrupts new learning

Retroactive Interface

new learning interrupts/disrupts past learning

Repression

basic defense mechanism that banishes bad/painful memories from conciousness

Reconsolidation

Alteration of past memories

Misinformation Effect

Exposure to misleading information can “corrupt” memories

Deja Vu

happens when cues/stimuli trigger retrieval of a past memory

Context Dependent Retrieval Cues

If you encounter a stimulus in a different context of the encoding, you may not recall or recognize when not in the same context

State Dependent Retrieval Cues

Conscious or altered state can affect retrieval

Mood Congruency

if you have a heightened emotional state during encoding, you will best retrieve the encoding memory when in the same emotional state

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

memory retrieval failier where you feel confident you know a word but cant remember

General Intelligence

underlines all mental abilities

Fluid Intelligence

Ability to quickly and abstractly solve logic problems

Crystallized Intelligence

accumulated knowledge in vocab and applied skills

Intelligence Test

assists and compares people mental aptitudes

Achievement Test

intended to reflect what ones learned (ex. Tests)

Aptitude Test

intended to predict one’s aptitude/capacity to learn

Stanford-Binet

American revision of Binet’s original intelligence test

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

ration of mental age to chronological age times 100

Wechester Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

Intelligence tests with verbal and performance subtests

Normal Curve

bell shaped curve describing many psychological and physical attributes

Flynn Effect

Rise of intelligence test scores over time and cultures

Reliability

Extent to which a test yields consistent results

Validity

the quality of being logically or factually sound

Growth Mindset

focus on learning or “growing”

Fixed Mindset

view that intelligence and talents are unchangeable

Method of Loci

linking things one wants to memorize with objcts in a mental “house” or “palace”

Maintenance Rehersal

strengthened by practice 

Elaborate Rehearsal

deeper levels of processing 

Super Autobiographical Memory

Ability to remember every moment/day of their life