Psychology Unit 2 Vocab

Lifespan development

The subfield of psychology that explores how we change and grow from conception to death across physical, cognitive, and psychosocial domains.

Continuous development

Views development as a cumulative process with gradual, smooth improvements on existing skills

Discontinuous development

Views development as occurring in unique stages at specific times or ages, with more sudden changes.

Normative approach

Asks "What is normal development?" by studying large numbers of children to determine average ages when most reach specific developmental milestones.

Developmental milestones

Normative events representing approximate ages children should reach specific achievements (e.g., crawling, walking, speaking in sentences).

Nature versus nurture debate

The question of whether we are shaped more by biology and genetics __ or by environment and culture __

Schemata (schemas)

Concepts or mental models used to help us categorize and interpret information.

Assimilation

Taking in new information that is comparable to what we already know, fitting it into existing schemata.

Accommodation

Changing our schemata based on new information or experiences.

Sensorimotor stage (0-2 years)

Piaget's first stage where children learn about the world through their senses and motor behavior.

Object permanence

The understanding that even if something is out of sight, it still exists (develops between 5-8 months).

Stranger anxiety

Fear of unfamiliar people that begins around the same time as object permanence develops.

Preoperational stage (2-7 years)

Piaget's second stage where children can use symbols to represent words, images, and ideas but cannot understand adult logic or mentally manipulate information.

Conservation

The idea that even if you change the appearance of something, it remains equal in size as long as nothing has been removed or added.

Egocentrism

The inability to take the perspective of others; thinking that everyone sees, thinks, and feels just as you do.

Theory of mind

The understanding that people have thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that are different from one's own (typically develops between ages 3-5).

Concrete operational stage (7-11 years)

Piaget's third stage where children can think logically about real (concrete) events and understand conservation.

Reversibility

The principle that objects can be changed and then returned back to their original form or condition.

Formal operational stage (11+ years)

Piaget's fourth stage where individuals can use abstract thinking, consider hypothetical situations, and engage in systematic problem-solving.

Postformal stage

A proposed fifth stage of cognitive development where decisions are made based on situations and circumstances, integrating logic with emotion.

Pre-conventional morality

The earliest level (before age 9) where moral reasoning is based on avoiding punishment and self-interest.

Conventional morality

The middle level (early adolescence) where moral reasoning is based on social approval and obeying authority.

Post-conventional morality

The highest level where moral reasoning is based on social contracts, individual rights, and universal ethical principles.

Fluid intelligence

Information processing abilities such as logical reasoning, remembering lists, spatial ability, and reaction time (tends to decline with age).

Crystallized intelligence

Abilities that draw upon experience and knowledge, such as vocabulary and problem-solving based on experience (often maintained or improves with age).

Working memory

The ability to simultaneously store and use information (becomes less efficient with age).

Inhibitory functioning

The ability to focus on certain information while suppressing attention to less pertinent information.

Self-concept

An understanding of who one is (typically emerges around 18 months, demonstrated by the mirror/rouge test).

Cognition 

Thinking; encompasses the processes associated with perception, knowledge, problem solving, judgment, language, and memory.

Cognitive psychology

The field of psychology dedicated to examining how people think, including studying interactions among human thinking, emotion, creativity, language, and problem solving.

Category

A set of objects that can be treated as equivalent in some way.

Concepts

Categories or groupings of linguistic information, images, ideas, or memories; the mental representations we form of categories.

Prototype

The best example or representation of a concept.

Natural concepts 

Concepts created through direct or indirect experiences with the world.

Artificial concepts

Concepts defined by a specific set of characteristics that are always the same (e.g., geometric shapes, mathematical formulas).

Schema

A mental construct consisting of a cluster or collection of related concepts that organizes information and allows the brain to work more efficiently.

Role schema

Makes assumptions about how individuals in certain roles will behave.

Event schema (cognitive script)

A set of behaviors that can feel like a routine; automatic behavioral sequences.

Problem-solving strategy

A plan of action used to find a solution.

Trial and error

Continuing to try different solutions until the problem is solved.

Algorithm

A problem-solving formula that provides step-by-step instructions to achieve a desired outcome; produces the same result every time when followed exactly.

Heuristic

A general problem-solving framework or mental shortcut used to solve problems (e.g., "rule of thumb").

Working backwards

A heuristic in which you begin solving a problem by focusing on the end result.

Mental set

Persisting in approaching a problem in a way that has worked in the past but is clearly not working now.

Functional fixedness

A type of mental set where you cannot perceive an object being used for something other than what it was designed for.

Anchoring bias

Occurs when you focus on one piece of information when making a decision or solving a problem.

Confirmation bias

The tendency to focus on information that confirms your existing beliefs.

Hindsight bias

Leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn't.

Representative Heuristic

A faulty way of thinking, in which you unintentionally stereotype someone or something

Availability heuristic 

Making a decision based on an example, information, or recent experience that is readily available to you, even though it may not be the best example to inform your decision.

Memory

An umbrella term reflecting a number of different abilities for holding and recalling information.

Encoding

The act of getting information into our memory system; the initial experience of perceiving and learning information.

Storage

The retention of encoded information; creation of a permanent record of information.

Retrieval 

The act of getting information out of storage and back into conscious awareness.

Working memory (short-term memory)

The ability to hold information in our minds for a brief time and work with it; temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory (lasts about 20 seconds).

Episodic memory

The ability to remember the episodes of our lives; memory about happenings in particular places at particular times (the what, where, and when of an event).

Semantic memory

Our storehouse of more-or-less permanent knowledge, such as meanings of words and facts about the world.

Long-term memory (LTM)

The continuous storage of information with no limits on storage capacity.

Collective memory

The kind of memory that people in a group share (whether family, community, or citizens).

Autobiographical memory 

The kind of memory that people in a group share (whether family, community, or citizens).

Sensory memory 

Storage of brief sensory events (sights, sounds, tastes); very brief storage lasting up to a couple of seconds.

Explicit (declarative) memory

Memories we consciously try to remember and recall.

Implicit (non-declarative) memory

Memories that are not part of our consciousness; memories formed from behaviors.

Procedural memory

A type of implicit memory that stores information about how to do things; memory for skilled actions.

Hyperthymesia

A type of highly superior autobiographical memory where individuals can recall events in extraordinary detail.

Distinctiveness 

Having an event stand out as quite different from a background of similar events; key to remembering events.

Semantic encoding

The encoding of words and their meaning.

Visual encoding

The encoding of images.

Acoustic encoding

The encoding of sounds, particularly words.

Self-reference effect

The tendency for an individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself compared to material with less personal relevance.

Recoding 

Converting information from the form it is delivered to us into a way that we can make sense of it.

Pragmatic inferences

Instances when something is not explicitly stated, but we are still able to guess the undisclosed intention.

Consolidation

The process of rehearsal (conscious repetition of information) to move short-term memory into long-term memory.

Rehearsal

The conscious repetition of information to be remembered.

Atkinson-Shiffrin model (A-S model)

A model proposing that memory has distinct stages (sensory, short-term, long-term) through which information must pass.

Visuospatial sketchpad

A short-term system for storing visual-spatial information (according to Baddeley and Hitch's model).

Episodic buffer

A short-term memory system (according to Baddeley and Hitch's model).

Phonological loop

A short-term system for storing spoken or written material (according to Baddeley and Hitch's model).

Stroop effect

You will name a color more easily if it appears printed in that color; demonstrates sensory memory significance.

Available information

Information that is stored in memory (though the exact amount cannot be known).

Accessible information

Information that can be retrieved from memory.

Retrieval cues

Hints in the environment that help evoke memories.

Encoding specificity principle

States that to the extent a retrieval cue matches or overlaps the memory trace of an experience, it will be effective in evoking the memory.

Cue overload principle

To be effective, a retrieval cue cannot be overloaded with too many memories.

Recall

Accessing information without cues.

Recognition

Identifying information that you have previously learned after encountering it again; involves a process of comparison.

Relearning

Learning information that you previously learned.

Recognition failure of recallable words

The phenomenon where recall can sometimes lead to better performance than recognition.

Testing effect (retrieval practice effect)

The act of retrieval itself makes the retrieved memory more likely to be retrieved again.

Retrieval-induced forgetting

Retrieving some information can cause us to forget other related information.

Chunking

Organizing information into manageable bits or chunks.

Elaborative rehearsal

A technique in which you think about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory.

Mnemonic devices

Memory aids that help organize information for encoding.

Peg word technique

A mnemonic device using a learned set of cue words on which to "hang" memories.

Memory palace

An elaborate scene with discrete places used as a mnemonic device for remembering information.

Levels of processing

Theory that information processed more deeply goes into long-term memory.

Acronym 

A word formed by the first letter of each of the words you want to remember.

Acrostic

A phrase made from all the first letters of words to be remembered.

DRM effect (Deese-Roediger-McDermott effect)

A phenomenon where people falsely remember words related to a list they studied, even though those words were never presented.

Neurogenesis

The growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus.