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cognition
process of understanding, remembering, and communicating concepts
concept
mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
prototype
typical examples of a concept; a stereotype
algorithm
Methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantee solving a particular problem
heuristic
simple thinking strategies that allow us to quickly make judgments and solve problems
insight
a sudden novel realization of a solution
confirmation bias
the tendency to search for information that confirms a personal bias
fixation
the inability to see a problem from another perspective
mental set
the tendency to approach a problem in a specific way
functional fixedness
the tendency to only think of the familiar functions of an object
representativeness heuristics
judging the how well certain things and objects seem to represent a specific stereotype
availability heuristic
judgments about the likelihood of an event’s occurrence
overconfidence
the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments
framing
process of wording specific statements and questions to emphasize a specific belief
belief bias
the tendency of one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning
belief perseverance
the tendency to cling to our beliefs in the face of contrary evidence
language
our spoken, written, or gestured work
phoneme
the smallest distinct sound unit
morpheme
the smallest unit that carries a meaning
grammar
the rules in a language that allow us to communicate well
semantics
branch of grammar; the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences
syntax
branch of grammar; the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
babbling stage
1st stage of language development; begins at ~4 months; infant utters random sounds
one-word stage
second stage in language development; begins at or around first birthday; child speaks one word at a time
two-word stage
third stage in language development; before the 2nd year; child speaks in two word sentences
telegraphic speech
speaking in two-word sentences
linguistic determinism
Whorf’s theory that language determines the way we think
intelligence
the ability to learn, solve problems, and adapt
factor analysis
approach to statistics that evaluates relationship between two variables
general intelligence
Spearman’s theory that intelligence was a combination of various skills
savant syndrome
brain thing where a person is EXTREMELY good at one thing and likely bad at all others
emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, and use emotions
creativity
the ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable
intelligence test
test that measures a person’s ability to solve problems, form concepts, reason, acquire detail, etc
mental age
derived by dividing an individual’s intelligence test results by their peer’s average score
stanford-binet
standardized assessment of intelligence and cognitive abilities; developed for American students
intelligence quotient (IQ)
(mental age/chronological age)*100
aptitude test
tests intended to predict your ability to learn
achievement test
tests intended to reflect what you already know
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Test (WAIS)
intelligence test meant to test overall intelligence, as well as 11 other related aspects
standardization
the process of establishing norms/rules for all instances of a specific test
normal curve
distribution of scores on a tested population in a bell-shaped pattern
reliability
the consistency of a test
validity
a test’s trustworthiness and accuracy
content validity
the extent in which a test measures a particular behavior or trait
criterion
a standard against which judgement is made
predictive validity
the function of a test in predicting a particular behavior or trait
mental retardation
an intellectual disorder in which an individual’s IQ is below 70
down syndrome
chromosomal disorder that frequently results in a mild to severe intellectual developmental disorder
stereotype threat
a self-confirming prophecy that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype
memory
the ability to store and retrieve information
flashbulb memory
a unique and highly emotional moment that may produce a clear, strong, and persistent memory
encoding
1st step in memory; getting information in
storage
2nd step in memory; keeping the information in the brain
retrieval
3rd step in memory; getting to the information
sensory memory
1st & short-term memory
short-term memory
memory regarding a limited amount of material after a period of about 10 to 30 seconds
long-term memory
relatively permanent memory regarding info hours, weeks, or even years after they were originally learned
working memory
limited capacity of 7±2 things (letters, numbers, etc.), holds things for ~20 seconds
automatic processing
act of processing information (such as space, time, and frequency) with little effort
effortful processing
committing information to memory that requires deliberation and control
rehearsal
conscious repetition
spacing effect
the way that we retain information better when we rehearse over time
serial position effect
the way that recall is better for first and last items on a list, but poor for middle items
visual encoding
process in which visual stimuli are converted into memory
acoustic encoding
process in which auditory stimuli are converted into memory
semantic encoding
cognitive encoding of new information that focuses on its meaningful aspects
imagery
self-generation of sensory input from the five senses
mnemonics
any device or technique used to assist memory
chunking
the process in which the mind divides large pieces of information into smaller units
iconic memory
the brief retention of an image of a visual stimulus after the end of that stimulus
echoic memory
the retention of auditory information for a brief period after the end of a stimulus
long-term potentiation (LTP)
increase in neurotransmitter release or receptors making synapses stronger
amnesia
partial or complete loss of memory
implicit memory
an automatic action/procedure that the individual doesn’t need to declare
explicit memory
facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare
hippocampus
the neural center in the limbic system that processes explicit memories
recall
retrieving information using effort
recognition
identifying an object amongst other choices
relearning
it’s easier to learn things the second time
priming
the process of actually retrieving memories
déjà vu
feeling of having experienced it before
mood-congruent memory
the connection between one’s mood and the emotional context of memories recalled
proactive interferance
interference due to new learning due to previous learning of similar or related material
retroactive interferance
when new learning or exposure to new information impairs the ability to remember material or carry out activities previously learned
repression
a defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
source amnesia
attributing an event to the wrong source that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined
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