Studied by 38 people
Memory
Indication that learning has persisted over time
Three-Box / Information Processing Model
This model argues that information processing begins in sensory memory, moves to short-term memory, and eventually moves to long-term memory.
Atkinson and Shiffrin
These people created the Information Processing Model
Sensory Memory
Split-second holding tank for incoming sensory information (less than a second)
Iconic memory
split-second photograph of a scene
Echoic memory
3-4 second memory period for sounds
Selective Attention
We encode what is important to us
Not always voluntary: something like “fire” is immediately noticed (cocktail party effect)
Short-Term / Working Memory
Memories one is currently working with and is aware of in the consciousness
Temporary memories: usually fade in 10-30 seconds
George Miller: “Magical number 7 +- 2” → Can only retain around 7 memories at a time
Expand with chunking: Group items in no more than 7 groups: like mnemonic devices)
Rehearse / Repeat: repeat to hold in short-term memory (other strategies are better for long-term memory)
Chunking
Group items in no more than 7 groups: like mnemonic devices to help remember better
Long-Term Memory
This part of the three-part memory model is Permanent storage → remember for the rest of someone’s life
Episodic Memory
Specific events stored in sequential series (like remembering last time on a date)
Semantic Memory
General knowledge of the world (facts, memory, categories) (like the difference between effect and affect)
Procedural Memory
Memories of skills and how to perform → sequential but may be too complicated to express in words
Explicit / Declarative
This type of memories are Conscious memories of facts and events that someone actively tries to remember. Also known as Effortful Processing
Implicit / Nondeclarative
These are Unintentional memories we might not know we have (like knowing how to vacuum)
Also known as Automatic Processing
Levels of Processing Model
This memory theory says that memories are not short or long-term —> they are deeply (elaboratively) or shallowly (maintenance) processed
Retrieval
Getting information out of memory so it can be used
Recognition
Process of matching current event / fact with one already in memory (like a familiar smell)
Recall
Retrieving a memory for an external use (like trying to remember what watermelon smells like)
Primacy Effect
We can more easily recall the first item in a list
Studied by Hermann Ebbinghaus
Recency Effect
We can more easily recall the last items on a list
Studied by Hermann Ebbinghaus
Serial Position Effect
Recalling of a list is affected by order
Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon
Temporary inability to remember information (like a name)
Semantic Network Theory
The brain forms new meanings by connecting context with earlier memories
Web of interconnected memories that helps us remember something with the help of context clues
Flashbulb Memory
Powerful memories during important events → importance causes encoding (such as 9/11 → everyone knows what they were doing)
May be inaccurate with made up ideas filling gaps
Mood-Congruent Memory
Higher likelihood of remembering an item when your mood matches event mood
Recall happy events when happy, sad events when in a pessimistic mood
State-Dependent
Recalling events that are encoded while in a particular state of consciousness
Remember an appointment when drowsy → will forget until drowsy again
Serial Processing
In this type of processing, only one process occurs at a time
Parallel Processing
Multiple brain tracks at the same tie
Prospective Memory
Memory about doing something in the future
Recovered Memory Phenomenon
Claim to suddenly remember something that was repressed for years
Elizabeth Loftus showed that many of these memories may be constructed / false
Constructed Memory
False details or even complete false recollection
Leading questions often lead to creation of false memories (police investigations)
Decay
Forgetting because a memory or the corresponding connections are not used for a long time
Relearning Effect
Memories do not disappear completely → easier to relearn than to learn
Retroactive Interference
Learning new information interferes with the old information that you are trying to recall
Proactive Interference
Old information gets in the way of recalling new information
Anterograde Amnesia
People with this condition cannot encode new memories (usually due to hippocampus damage) but can recall old memories and learn new skills
Source Amnesia
Attributing an experience to the wrong source
Retrograde Amnesia
People with this condition cannot remember a past event or experience, but their procedural emmory is intact
Long-Term Potentiation
Neuron connections strengthen through repeated firing and learning
Overlearning
Practicing something you already know a few more times to get it just right and avoid forgetting
Babbling Stage
This stage in the language acquisition process happens at 4 months old and is innate, happening in even deaf babies. Here, a person learns what sounds they are capable of producing and later lose phonemes for not primary languages
Phonemes
Smallest units of sound used in a language (English has 44). These make up morphemes
Morphemes
Smallest units of meaningful sound - Words “a”, “but”, or prefixes such as “an” or “pre”
Syntax
Order of written / spoken words
Holophrastic Stage / One-Word Stage
around 1 year old: babies speak in single words
Telegraphic Stage / Two-Word Stage
18 months: combine words into commands (no syntax)
Overgeneralization / Overregulation
Toddlers misuse grammar rules by applying them anywher
Nativist theory of language acquisition
Noam Chomsky
Theorized that humans are born with a language acquisition device
Ability to learn a language rapidly as children
A critical period for language must exist
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
The hypothesis presented by Benjamin Whorf that states that the language we use controls and limits our thinking
Concepts
Cognitive rules applied to stimuli that allow us to categorize (mom does not equal dad)
Based on prototypes
Prototypes
Most typical example of a particular concept
Images
Mental pictures of the outside world, visual, auditory, tactile, olfaction, taste (what does a cat look/feel like?)
Algorith
A rule that guarantees the right solution by using a formula or another foolproof method
Go through each iteration → becomes impractical when there are too many options
Heuristics
Rule of thumb: a rule that is generally (not always_ true that you can use to make a judgment
For example, if a password is a combination of letters, you would still guess words first instead of random combinations because passwords are usually words
Availability Heuristic
Judging a situation based on similar examples —> variability in personal experience
Representativeness Heuristic
Judging a situation on similar aspects in prototypes (like the depressed teenager)
Belief Bias
Making illogical conclusions to reaffirm existing beliefs
Rigidity / Mental Set
Tendency to fall into established thought patterns
Functional Fixedness
Never seeing a new use for an object
Fixedness
Never seeing more than one solution to a problem
Confirmation Bias
We tend to look for evidence confirming beliefs
Framing
How a problem is presented
Convergent Thinking
Looking usually for only one solution
Divergent Thinking
Looking usually for more than one solution
Anchoring Bias
Powerful / Emotional thought that weighs down the rest of the mind
Illusory Correlatiuon
Just because things happen near each other (physically or in time) does not mean they are related
Informal Reasoning
This includes heuristics, top-down processing, schema, and mental set
Fast thinking with shortcuts or tricks
Formal Reasoning
This includes algorithms, bottom-up processing, and diagnosis
Slower than informal reasoning but much more correct, lower p value
Mental Model
Think about how things interact (assume a brick always shatters windows)
But bricks and windows come in various conditions and forms
Syllogism
Using logic
Diagnosis
Eliminating wrong answers to find the right one
Standardized Test
Test items that have been piloted or a similar population as those taking and what norms have been established
Standardization Sample
Sample of people to help develop a future test
Psychometrics
Measuring the mind
People who make and analyze intelligence and other tess
Split-Half reliability
Randomly dividing a test into 2 parts and correlating results
Closer correlation is to +1: greater reliability
Equivalent Form Reliability
Correlation between performance on different forms of a test
Test-Retest Reliability
Correlation of one person’s results on retaking the test
Face Validity
Superficial measure of accuracy
IE: a test for baking has higher _____ if you’re looking for a chef, and lower if you’re looking for a doctor
Content Validity
A type f face validity: how well a measure measures the entire range of material it’s supposed to
Ex: test for chef needs to be appetizer, entree, dessert
Criterion-Related Validity
Two types of this validity exist: concurrent and predictive
Concurrent
Validity that measures how good is the result currently
Predictive Validity
Validity that predicts how good something will be in the future
Aptitude
This type of test measures ability or potential
Achievement
This type of test measures how much you know or have accomplished
Speed
This type of test has lots of questions in a short amount of time
Power
Thi type of test has unlimited time but difficult problems
Intelligence
Ability to gather and use information in productive ways
Fluid Intelligence
Ability to solve abstract problems and pick up new information and skills
Decreases as adults age
Crystallized Intelligence
Using knowledge accumulated over time
Holds steady and may even increase with age
Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory
Three types of intelligence exist
Componential / analytic = ability to compare, contrast, explain, analyze
Experimental / creative = ability to use knowledge and experiences in new and innovative ways
Contextual / Practical = “street smart” → ability to apply knowledge in real life situations
* Intelligence depends on context and the situation where it occurs
EQ
This measure measures how well people can achieve what thy want
Stanford-Binet
This type of IQ test returns a single IQ score
Uses Mental age an Chronological Age
All adults have an arbitrary age of 20
Mental Age / Chronological Age * 100 = IQ
Wechsler Tests
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) is used for adults
Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC): 6-16
Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI): Children as young as 4
Gives scores based on deviation IQ: standardized so the mean is 10 with a standard deviation of 15
Scores fell under predetermined normal distribution (68% = 1SD, 95% = 2SD)
Score is determined by how many deviations from the mean
Subscales as well as total IQ score
Flynn Effect
The observation that over generations, performance on IQ tests has been increasing
Savant Syndrome
Genius-like ability in a narrow area (such as multiplication), loosely correlated with autism
Stereotype Threat
Members in a group thought to be “less than” perform worse on IQ tests
Note
Flashcard