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Accommodation
The process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus near or far objects on the retina.
Algorithms
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
Assimilation
Interpreting new experiences in terms of existing schemas.
Availability heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.
Convergent thinking
A type of thinking that focuses on coming up with the single, well-established answer to a problem.
Creativity
The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.
Divergent thinking
A type of thinking that involves generating multiple possible solutions to a problem.
Executive functions
Cognitive processes including planning, flexible thinking, and inhibitory control.
Framing
The way an issue is posed, which can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
Functional fixedness
The tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions.
Gambler’s fallacy
The belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn’t happened recently.
Heuristics
Simple, efficient rules which people often use to form judgments and make decisions.
Mental set
A tendency to approach a problem in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.
Prototypes
A mental image or best example of a category.
Representativeness heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent particular prototypes.
Sunk-cost fallacy
The inclination to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made.
Automatic processing
Unconscious encoding of incidental information.
Central executive
The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.
Deep encoding
The process of encoding information on a meaningful level.
Echoic memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.
Effortful processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
Encoding
The process of getting information into the memory system.
Episodic memory
The collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place.
Explicit memory
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.
Iconic memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli.
Implicit memory
Retention independent of conscious recollection.
Levels of processing model (Craik & Lockhart)
A theory that suggests the depth (shallow to deep) at which information is thought about affects memory retention.
Long-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.
Long-term potentiation
An increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.
Multi-store model (Atkinson & Shiffrin)
A model that describes memory as having three stores
Phonemic processing
Processing that focuses on the sound of the information.
Phonological loop
The part of working memory that deals with spoken and written material.
Primary memory system
The system responsible for short-term and long-term memory storage.
Procedural memory
A type of long-term memory of how to perform different actions and skills.
Prospective memory
Remembering to perform a planned action or intention at the appropriate time.
Retrieval
The process of getting information out of memory storage.
Semantic processing
Processing that focuses on the meaning of the information.
Semantic memory
Memory for knowledge about the world.
Sensory memory
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Shallow encoding
Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.
Storage
The retention of encoded information over time.
Structural processing
Processing that focuses on the structure of the information.
Visuospatial sketchpad
A component of working memory that holds and manipulates visual images.
Working memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing.
Working memory model (Baddeley & Fitch)
A model that describes working memory as consisting of multiple components, including the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, and central executive.
Categorical classification
Organizing information into categories.
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.
Distributed practice
Spacing the study of material over time to enhance memory.
Encoding
The process of getting information into the memory system.
Hierarchies
Organizing information into broad categories that are further divided into subcategories.
Massed practice
Cramming the study of material into a short period.
Memory consolidation
The process by which memories become stable in the brain.
Method of loci
A mnemonic technique that involves associating items with a location.
Mnemonic devices
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
Primacy effect
The tendency to remember the first items in a list better than the middle items.
Recency effect
The tendency to remember the last items in a list better than the middle items.
Serial position effect
The tendency to recall the first and last items in a list better than the middle items.
Spacing effect
The tendency for distributed study to yield better long-term retention.
Alzheimer’s disease
A progressive neurodegenerative disorder that leads to memory loss and cognitive decline.
Amnesia
A loss of memory, often due to brain injury, disease, or psychological trauma.
Anterograde amnesia
An inability to form new memories after the onset of amnesia.
Autobiographical memory
Memory for events and issues related to oneself.
Elaborative rehearsal
A memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered.
Infantile amnesia
The inability to recall memories from early childhood.
Long-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.
Maintenance rehearsal
The process of repeatedly verbalizing or thinking about a piece of information.
Memory retention
The ability to retain information over time.
Rehearsal
The conscious repetition of information to be remembered.
Retrograde amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.
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.
Working memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing.
Context-dependent memory
The improved recall of information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.
Metacognition
Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes.
Mood-congruent memory
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood.
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier.
Recognition
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned.
Retrieval
The process of getting information out of memory storage.
Retrieval cues
Stimuli that aid the recall or recognition of information stored in memory.
State-dependent memory
The improved recall of information when one is in the same state of consciousness as when the memory was formed.
Testing effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.
Constructive memory
The process of remembering by combining elements of experience with existing knowledge.
Encoding failure
The inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory.
Forgetting curve
A graph showing retention and forgetting over time.
Imagination inflation
The increased confidence in a false memory caused
Memory consolidation
The process by which memories become stable in the brain over time.
Misinformation effect
The phenomenon where a person's recall of an event becomes less accurate due to post-event information.
Proactive interference
The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
Repression
A defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
Retroactive interference
The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
Source amnesia
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
The temporary inability to remember something accompanied by a feeling that it is just out of reach.
Achievement tests
Tests designed to assess what a person has learned.
Aptitude tests
Tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.
Chronological age
The actual age of a person in years.
Construct validity
The extent to which a test measures what it claims to be measuring.
Fixed mindset
The belief that intelligence and abilities are static and unchangeable.
Flynn Effect
The observed rise in average IQ scores over time, across many nations.
g (general intelligence)
A factor that underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.
