Cognitive Psychology and Developmental Psychology Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive set of flashcards covering key terms in Cognitive Psychology and Developmental Psychology from AP Psychology.

Memory

The process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved.

Encoding

The initial process of getting information into the memory system.

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

Parallel processing

The ability to process multiple pieces of information simultaneously.

Sensory memory

The immediate, brief recording of sensory information.

Short-term memory

The memory system that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.

Long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

Working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information.

Explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.

Implicit memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

Iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli.

Echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

Chunking

The process of organizing data into manageable units.

Mnemonics

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

Flashbulb memory

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

A process that increases the strength of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.

Recall

The ability to retrieve information learned earlier.

Recognition

The ability to identify previously learned information when presented with it.

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

Anterograde amnesia

An inability to form new memories.

Retrograde amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from one's 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.

Source amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced.

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category.

Convergent thinking

Thinking that proceeds toward a single, correct solution.

Divergent thinking

Thinking that produces many solutions to the same problem.

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 quickly.

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Mental set

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

Intuition

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought.

Availability heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct.

Belief perseverance

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

Framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Language

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

Phoneme

The smallest distinctive sound unit in a language.

Morpheme

The smallest unit that carries meaning in a language.

Grammar

The system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.

Babbling stage

The early stage of speech development where infants produce sounds that resemble speech.

Telegraphic speech

Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram.

Aphasia

The impairment of language, affecting the production or comprehension of speech.

Broca’s area

The brain region linked to speech production.

Wernicke’s area

The brain region linked to language comprehension.

Intelligence

The mental potential to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Intelligence test

A method for assessing an individual's mental aptitude and comparing it with others.

General intelligence (g)

A general intelligence factor that underlies specific mental abilities.

Factor analysis

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items.

Savant syndrome

A condition in which a person with a mental disability demonstrates profound abilities in a specific area.

Emotional intelligence

The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions.

Stanford-Binet

A widely used American IQ test.

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

A measure of intelligence that is adjusted for age.

Achievement test

A test designed to assess what a person has learned.

Aptitude test

A test designed to predict a person's future performance.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

The most widely used intelligence test; includes verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

Standardization

Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

Reliability

The extent to which a test yields consistent results.

Validity

The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

Crystallized intelligence

The accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that remain stable or increase with age.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to reason speedily and abstractly, which tends to decline with age.

Intellectual disability

A condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an IQ score below 70.

Teratogens

Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo or fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.

Habituation

The decreasing response to a stimulus after repeated exposure.

Maturation

The process of development that is relatively uninfluenced by experience.

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Schema

A mental concept that informs a person about what to expect from a variety of experiences.

Assimilation

The process of incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.

Accommodation

The process of adjusting schemas to fit new information.

Sensorimotor stage

The stage from birth to about 2 years old during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.

Object permanence

The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.

Preoperational stage

The stage from about 2 to 7 years old during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.

Conservation

The principle that properties such as mass, volume, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.

Egocentrism

The inability to take another's point of view.

Theory of mind

People's ideas about their own and others' mental states.

Concrete operational stage

The stage from about 7 to 11 years old during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.

Formal operational stage

The stage beginning about age 12 during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.

Attachment

An emotional tie with another person.

Temperament

A person's characteristic emotional reactivity and intensity.

Basic trust

According to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy.

Self-concept

All our thoughts and feelings about ourselves in answer to the question, 'Who am I?'

Adolescence

The transition period from childhood to adulthood.

Emerging adulthood

A period from the late teens to mid-twenties during which many in Western cultures are no longer adolescents but have not yet achieved full independence as adults.

Puberty

The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.

Menopause

The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.

Social clock

The culturally preferred timing of social events such as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.