Unit 2: Cognition

perception

the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events

schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

perceptual set

a readiness to perceive a stimulus in a particular way

attention

focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events

selective attention

the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input

cocktail party effect

Ability to concentrate on one voice amongst a crowd

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

divide attention

concentrating on more than one activity at the same time

sustained attention

the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time

altering attention

The ability to change focus altering between two or more stimuli

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

Gestalt

an organized whole

figure and ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into meaningful groups

proximity

(n.) nearness, closeness

similarity

the tendency to perceive things that look similar to each other as being part of the same group

continuity

we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

closure

the tendency to complete figures that are incomplete

connectedness

the effect of perceiving spots, lines, or areas as a single unit

depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

binocular cues

depth cues, such as retinal disparity and convergence, that depend on the use of two eyes

retinal disparity (binocular cue)

images from the two eyes differ, and the closer the object the larger the disparity

convergence (binocular cue)

the inward turning of your eyes as they focus on a nearby object provides information about its distance.

monocular cues

depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone

relative clarity (monocular cue)

objects that are sharp and clear seem closer. objects that are hazy seem further away

relative size (monocular cue)

if two objects are similar in size, we perceive the one that casts a smaller retinal image to be farther away

texture gradient (monocular cue)

nearby objects have a coarser and more distinct texture than distant ones

linear perspective (monocular cue)

parallel lines appear to converge with distance

interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer

perceptual constancies

tendency to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changing sensory info (size, shape, brightness, color)

apparent motion/movement

the perception of movement that occurs when a static image or sequence of images creates the illusion of a single object moving

stroboscopic movement

a type of apparent movement based on the rapid succession of still images, as in motion pictures

phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

autokinetic effect

the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room

perceptual adaptation

in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

concept

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

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

the process by which the eye's lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina

executive function

higher-order, complex cognitive processes, including thinking, planning, and problem solving

algorithm

a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem

heuristic

a mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps individuals make quick and efficient decisions or judgments under uncertainty

representativeness heuristic

a mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case

availability heuristic

making a decision based on the answer that most easily comes to mind

mental set

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

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

framing

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

gambler's fallacy

the belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently

sunk cost fallacy

people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

creativity (components)

ability to produce new and valuable ideas

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that confirms one's preconceptions

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

belief perseverance

tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them

memory

the ability to store and retrieve information over time

sensory memory

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

short term memory (STM)

the memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used

working memory

active maintenance of information in short-term storage

central executive

The part of working memory that is responsible for monitoring and directing attention and other mental resources.

visuospatial sketchpad

A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information

phonological loop

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

long term memory (LTM)

the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently

encoding

the processing of information so that it can be stored

storing

the process of retaining encoded information over time.

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

recognition

the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact

recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

ebbinghaus

created the forgetting curve and serial position effect in memory

long-term pontentiation (LTP)

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

working memory

active maintenance of information in short-term storage

multi store model

Explanation of memory that sees information flowing through a series of storage systems

levels of processing

a continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory

structural

An early school of psychology that sought to identify the basic "structures" of consciousness and the mind.

phonemic

the smallest units of sound in a language that distinguish meaning,

semantic

relating to the different meanings of words or other symbols