Intro to Cognitive Psychology Terms

perception

interpreting sensory input

memory

storing and retrieving data

Imagination

visualizing possibilites

Thinking

solving complex problems

Who was the first to differentiate between memory systems?

William James - 1890

Explicit memory

Intentional retrieval of information - remembering specific date or list of words

Implicit memory

Past experiences influence behavior without conscious awareness - skill aquisition

Semantic encoding

Meaning words are integrated into existing knowledge structures making them easier to recall

Serial processing

cognitive operations happen one at a time in a sequential series

Parallel processing

Multiple cognitive operations occur simultaneously

Three dimensions of consciousness

Self-knowledge, Informational access, Sentience

Six basic emotions

Happiness, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, Anger, Surprise

Two descriptors of emotion

Valence, Arousal

Valence

Degree of pleasure vs displeasure

Arousal

Level of physiological activation

Independant variable

Factor manipulated by researcher

Dependent variable

Factor measured to see the effect of independant variable

Reaction time

Time interval between stimulus and response

Cross-validation

Using multiple methods to increase the validity of the findings

Spatial resolution

Ability to pinpoint WHERE in the brain activity is occurring

Temporal resolution

Ability to pinpoint WHEN in time brain activity is occurring