ap psych final sem 1

internal factors

experiences, expectations, motivations, and emotions

external factors

context, cultural differences, and environmental cues

gestalt principles of human perception

figure-ground relationships, proximity, similarity, continuity, and closure

proximal stimulus

an object as it exists in your retina

distal stimulus

an object as it exists in the world

size constancy

perceived size of an object remains the same, despite how far or close it is

the ames room

specially built room that shows size constancy

shape constancy

when a shape stays the same, even though perception changes

brightness constancy

when the color of an object remains the same, even though the retinal image changes

depth perception

process of understanding how far away an object is

retinal disparity

the discrepancy between each eye’s view

young-helmholtz theory

theory that the retina has three types of color receptors sensitive to red, green, and blue.

perceptual set

readiness to perceive something in a specific way based on our preexisting beliefs

concepts

mental grouping of similar things

creativity

ability to produce new ideas

divergent thinking

ability to generate diverse assortments of solutions

convergent thinking

ability to narrow down choices to one option

functional fixedness

our inability to see alternative uses for objects

algorithm

methodical procedure that guarantees a correct solution to a problem

heuristic

mental shortcut used to make fast decisions efficiently

insight

sudden realization of a problem’s solution

confirmation bias

tendency to search for and favor information that confirms existing beliefs

mental set

tendency to approach a problem in a specific way that worked in the past

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of something by comparing it to an existing mental stereotype

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of an event based on how easily vivid or recent memories come to mind

overconfidence

the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of one’s knowledge or abilities

belief perseverance

clinging to an initial belief even after finding out evidence that disproves it

framing

the way information is presented, impacting decisions and judgements

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

encoding

process of taking incoming thoughts in order for memories to be formed

retrieval

process of bringing information out of storage and back into our conscious thought

three stores view of memory

theory that explains how human memory worked in three components (sensory, short-term, long-term)

g factor (general intelligence)

spearman’s term for a mental capacity that fuels everything

fluid intelligence

cattell, peaks in youth and declines with age

crystallized intelligence

cattell, term for accumulated knowledge, stable throughout life

triarchic theory of intelligence

sternberg’s theory consists of 3 domains: analytical, creative, practical

multiple intelligences theory

gardner’s theory, 9 domains

fetal alcohol syndrome

physical and behavior abnormalities in children caused by mother’s alcohol consumption

critical period

specific window during early development when an organism is receptive to acquiring certain skills

menarche

first menstrual period

spermarche

first emission

menopause

natural cessation of menstruation, occurs around age 50

terminal decline

drop in cognitive abilities and mental functioning