psych unit 5 vocab (copy)

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