AP Psychology - Memory & Cognition (SIMPLIFIED)

Anterograde amnesia

inability to form new long-term memories after brain damage (injury, conditions, etc.)

Retrograde amnesia

inability to recall past memories due to brain injury or trauma but can still make new memories

Retroactive interference

new information disrupts the recall of old information

Proactive interference

old information disrupts the taking in of new information

Pseudo-forgetting

failure to recall information due to never having properly encoded it in the first place

Divergent thinking

ability to general valuable or novel ideas that explore multiple solutions to a problem

Convergent thinking

cognitive process that focuses on finding a single, best solution to a problem by applying logical and known rules

Representative heuristic

a mental shortcut were people judged the likelihood of something based on how well it matches the prototype

Availability heuristic

a mental shortcut where people judge the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind

Explicit/declarative memory

memories we can consciously recall & describe. Two types: semantic & episodic

Implicit/nondeclarative memory

memories that are unconscious & automatic that influence behavior without intentional recall. Three types: procedural, priming, classical conditioning

Conjunction fallacy

mistaken belief that the probability of two events occurring together is higher than either occurring alone

Functional fixedness

tendency to view objects in terms of usual functions, interferes with divergent thinking/creativity

Gambler’s fallacy

belief past events in a random sequence influence future events

Sunk cost fallacy

tendency to continue investing in a decision based on past investments (like time, money, effort) rather than current beliefs (even if it no longer makes sense)

Role of the Cerebellum

Associated with implicit memory & the retrieval of it

Role of the Hippocampus

Converts short-term memory into long-term memories. Does not store memories but consolidates them