apo psych 2.2-2.8

Cognition

all forms of knowing and awareness

Metacognition

awareness of one’s own cognitive process (thinking about thinking)

Concept

an idea that represents a class of objects or events or their properties

Prototype

a mental representation of an object or concept

Schema

Mental filters or maps that organize our information about the world

Assimilation

interpreting one’s new experience in terms of one’s existing schema

Accommodation

adapting one’s current understanding to incorporate new information

Algorithm

a methodical

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

Representativeness Heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent

Availability Heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

Mental Set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way

Priming

the process where exposure to a stimulus influences a subsequent response to a related stimulus without conscious thought.

Framing

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

Nudge

altering people's behavior in a predictable way without forbidding any options

Gambler’s Fallacy

a failure to recognize the independence of chance events

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

the tendency for people to continue an endeavor or course of action even when abandoning it would be more beneficial

Functional Fixedness

Inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.

Fixation

the human tendency to approach a given problem in a set way that limits one's ability to shift to a new approach to that problem

Intuition

immediate insight or perception

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

Belief Perseverance

the tendency to hold onto a belief even when there is evidence that proves it wrong

Executive Functions

the set of neurocognitive skills involved in goal-directed problem-solving

Insight

when a solution to a problem presents itself quickly and without warning

Creativity

Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Divergent Thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions

Convergent Thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Memory

learning that has continued over time

Explicit Memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (eg jans bday)

Episodic memories

The stories of our lives and experiences that we can recall and tell someone (key word: stories)

Semantic memories

Impersonal memories that are not drawn from personal experience but rather from everyday

Flashbulb memories

refer to emotionally intense events that become “burned in” as a vivid-seeming memory.

Implicit Memory

retention independent of conscious recollection (like procedural memory, conditioning, and priming)

Procedural Memory

long-term memory for the skills involved in particular tasks

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform actions in the future.

Retrospective Memory

the ability to recall past events, people, facts, and skills, encompassing a wide range of information learned or experienced in the past

Long-term Potentiation

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief

Neurogenesis

the creation of new neurons in the brain, which happens during both fetal development and throughout adult life

Working Memory

holding short-term (i.e. temporary) information in your mind while using that information to accomplish a task.

Central Executive

a component that manages the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

Phonological Loop

a part of working memory that handles verbal and auditory information

Visuospatial Sketchpad

a component that is responsible for the brief storage of visual information

Multi-Store Model

describes flow between three permanent storage systems of memory: the sensory register

Sensory memory

processing everything we sense

Iconic memory

fleeting visual images

Echoic memory

auditory signals

Short-term Memory

activated memory 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. Includes knowledge

Automatic Processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information (being on autopilot)

Effortful Processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Deep processing

involves elaborative rehearsal along with meaningful analysis of the ideas and words being learned

Shallow processing

simple memorization of something without attaching meaning to it

Information-processing model

a three-step process: encoding

Structural Processing

when we remember only the physical quality of the word

Phonemic Processing

includes remembering the word by the way it sounds

Semantic Processing

the cognitive process of understanding and interpreting the meaning of words, phrases, and sentences.

Encoding

the conversion of a sensory input into a form capable of being processed and deposited in memory.

Mnemonic Devices

memory aids

Method of loci

Using a familiar environment to recall memories

Peg word system

a mnemonic device that is used to memorize lists that need to be in order.

Chunking

combining grouping bits or related information

Categories

the way we sort objects into groups that help us organize knowledge

Hierarchies

systems where individuals or concepts are ranked one above another based on specific criteria

Spacing Effect

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

Massed Practice

a learning procedure in which practice trials occur close together in time

Serial Position Effect

refers to the tendency, when learning information in a long list, to more likely recall the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect).

Autobiographical Memory

a person’s memory for episodes or experiences that occurred in their own life

Memory Consolidation

the neurobiological processes by which a permanent memory is formed following a learning experience

Maintenance Rehearsal

repeating items over and over to maintain them in short-term memory

Elaborative Rehearsal

linking new information with existing memories and knowledge

example:remembering the name "Cliff" by visualizing a steep rock face or "Sandy" by imagining a beach

Basal Ganglia

Plays an important role in memory retrieval and procedural memory

Amygdala

Primary processor of emotional reactions and social and sexual behavior

Hippocampus

Most associated with emotions and transfer of information from STM to LTM

Cerebellum

Responsible for procedural memories

Retrograde Amnesia

You can’t remember information previously stored in memory

Anterograde Amnesia

The inability to form memories from new material

Alzheimer’s Disease

a brain disorder that gets worse over time

Infantile Amnesia

the commonly experienced inability to recall events from early childhood

Retrieval

the act of getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness

Recall

direct retrieval of facts or information

Recognition

correct identification of previously learned material

Relearning

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

Retrieval Cues

stimuli that help people retrieve memories

Encoding Specificity Principle

the principle that retrieval of memory is optimal when the retrieval conditions duplicate the conditions that were present when the memory was formed

Context-Dependent Memory

the phenomenon of how much easier it is to retrieve certain memories when the context is the same for both encoding and retrieval.

Mood-Congruent Memory

information can be retrieved while in a mood similar to when it was acquired

State-Dependent Memory

a person may be alert, tired, happy, sad, drunk, or sober when the information was encoded and may recall that information better when in the same state.

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving

Interleaving

a process where students mix multiple subjects or topics while they study in order to improve their learning

The Forgetting Curve

a graphic depiction of the amount of forgetting over time after learning has taken place

Hermann Ebbinghaus

guy that discovered the forgetting curve and the spacing effect.

Encoding Failure

inability to recall something because it was never properly stored in memory.

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

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

when information is retained in the memory store but cannot be accessed

Ego

The largely conscious

Repression

banishing anxiety arousing thoughts

Reconsolidation

the process of replacing or disrupting a stored memory with a new version of the memory

Misinformation Effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event