Ap Psych Full Unit 5

intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

general intelligence

underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

analytical intelligence

assessed by intelligence tests, which present well-defined problems having a single right answer

creative intelligence

demonstrated in innovative smarts: the ability to adapt to new situations and generate novel ideas

practical intelligence

required for everyday tasks that may be poorly defined and may have multiple solutions

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

mental age

the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test

intelligence quotient

ratio of mental age to chronological age

Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests

Standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

Reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Validity

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

normal curve

the bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

cohort

a group of people sharing a common character such as from a given time period

Crystalized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

Down Syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

Heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

environmental Influences

Ex: A typical child cannot sit up unassisted at the age of 2 or walk at the age of 4

Early Intervention

systematic process of providing services to help families meet young children's developmental needs

growth mindset

a focus on learning and growing rather than viewing abilities as fixed

Ex; Intelligence is changeable not fixed

Racial and ethnic groups differing in mental ability scores

High scoring people are more likely to attain high levels of education and income.

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

memory

learning that persists over time, can be acquired, stored and retrieved

Recall

retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time

recognition

identifying items previously learned (multiple choice)

Relearning

learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time

Encoding

A process of getting info into the memory system; extracting meaning

storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

The process of getting of getting info out of memory storage

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision.

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

mnemonics

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

Hierarchies

Complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories

spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

semnatic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

Hippocampus

plays a role of processing explicit memories of facts and events for storage

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

Cerebellum

plays a key role in forming and storing the implicit memories created by classical conditioning

basal ganglia

Motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills

Amygdala

emotion-related memory formation

flashbulb memory

a clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentiation

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

encoding failure

failure to process info into memory

storage decay

Stored memories that start to fade away

retrieval failure

the failure to recall a memory due to missing stimuli or cues that were present at the time the memory was encoded

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Repression

the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined

deja vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

five components of creativity

expertise, imaginative thinking skills, venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, creative environment

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 efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

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, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

representiveness heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

availability heuristic

Estimate how common an event is based on its mental ability