AP Psych- Cognition

cognition

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

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

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

shallow processing

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

selective attention

the capacity for or process of reacting to certain stimuli selectively when several occur simultaneously.

divided attention

type of simultaneous attention that allows us to process different information sources and successfully carry out multiple tasks at a time

Metacognition

awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

memory

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

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

sensory memory

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

prospective memory

remembering to do things in the future

explicit memory

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

Encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

visual encoding

the encoding of picture images

acoustic encoding

the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

semantic encoding

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

mnemonics

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

imagery

mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

rehearsal

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

spacing effect

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

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

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

context dependent memory

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

serial position effect

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

amnesia

loss of memory

anterograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma backwards, or loss of memory for the past

proactive interference

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

retroactive interference

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

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

hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

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.

concept

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

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Heuristic

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

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

process of determining a straightforward and concrete solution to any problem; involves speed, accuracy, and logic

divergent thinking

process of generating multiple solutions to a given problem, emphasizing spontaneous and creative ideas

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy based solutions

intuition

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

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

confirmation bias

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

fixation

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

mental set

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

functional fixedness

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

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

belief perseverance

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

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

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

framing effect

the way in which an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly impact decisions and judgments

intelligence

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

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

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

multiple intelligences

Gardner-bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, naturalistic, logical-mathematical, linguistic, musical, spatial

triarchic theory of intelligence

Robert Sternberg's theory that describes intelligence as having analytic, creative and practical dimensions

processing speed

cognitive ability that could be defined as the time it takes a person to do a mental task

Flynn effect

The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations

emotional intelligence

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

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.

Stanford-Binet Test

the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

reliability

consistency of measurement

content validity

The degree to which the content of a test is representative of the domain it's supposed to cover.

predictive validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

language

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

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

sunk cost fallacy

people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

gambler's fallacy

the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently

method of loci

A mnemonic technique that involves associating items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations

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

phonological loop

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

visuospatial sketchpad

A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information

levels of processing model

model of memory that assumes information that is more "deeply processed," or processed according to its meaning rather than just the sound or physical characteristics of the word or words, will be remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time