REDUCED VERSION Unit 2 - Cognition

Chunking

The process by which the mind divides large pieces(familiar pieces) of information into smaller units that are easier to retain in short-term memory.

Encoding

The processing of information into the memory system.

Spacing effect

a learning procedure in which practice periods for a task are separated by lengthy rest periods or lengthy periods of practicing different activities or studying other material, rather than occurring close together in time.

Massed practice

Learning procedure in which practice trials occur close together in time, either in a single lengthy session or in sessions separated by short intervals.

Method of lori

A mnemonic technique in which the items to be remembered are converted into mental images and associated with specific positions or locations.

Mnemonic device

Any device or technique used to assist memory, usually by forging a link or association between the new information to be remembered and information previously encoded.

Serial position effect

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Grouping

Focuses on organizing items based on shared characteristics.

Amnesia

the loss of memory.

Rehearsal

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.

Alzheimer’s disease

A progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by synapse loss, causing dementia and a significant decline in functioning.

Anterograde amnesia

A type of memory loss that occurs when you can't form new memories.

Retrograde amnesia

inability to recall previously learned information or past events.

Elaborative rehearsal

an encoding strategy to facilitate the formation of memory by linking new information to what one already knows, is more detailed and involves additional memory aids like mnemonic devices.

Infantile amnesia

the commonly experienced inability to recall events from early childhood.

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, experiences.

Memory retention

persistence of learned behavior or experience during a period when it is not being performed or practiced as indicated by the ability to recall, recognize, reproduce, or relearn it. And, the storage and maintenance of a memory. Retention is the second stage of memory, after encoding and before retrieval. The retentic encoded information over time.

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, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.

Working memory

The brief retention of information in a highly accessible state. A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

State-dependent memory

a condition in which memory for a past event is improved when the person is in the same biological or psychological state as when the memory was initially formed.

Mood-congruent

the finding that memory for an event can be recalled more readily when one is in the same emotional mood (eg, happy or sad as when the memory was initially formed; mood-dependent or

Metacognition

A deeper level of thinking that includes your ability to think about your thinking; how you understand, adapt, change, control, and use your thought processes. Awareness of one's own cognitive processes, often involving a conscious attempt to control them.

Encoding failure

A breakdown in the process of getting information into the cognitive system; when this occurs, the information doesn't get into memory.

Forgetting curve

A graphic depiction of the amount of forgetting over time after learning has taken place. In his pioneering studies of forgetting, which involved lists of nonsense syllables, Hermann Ebbinghaus was the first to show that there is generally a sudden drop in retention shortly after learning, followed by a more gradual decline thereafter.

Imagination inflation

The increased likelihood that a person will judge an event as having actually occurred (e.g., during childhood) when they imagine the event before making such a judgment.

Memory consolidation

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

Misinformation effect

a phenomenon in which a person mistakenly recalls misleading information that an experimenter has provided, instead of accurately recalling the correct information that had been presented earlier.

Proactive interference

The disruptive effect of old learning on the recall of new information.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

The experience of attempting to retrieve from memory a specific name or word but not being able to do so. Usually, the name or word is eventually retrieved, but while on the TOT, it seems to hover tantalizingly on the rim of consciousness. 

Construct validity

the degree to which a test or instrument is capable of measuring a concept, trait, or other theoretical entity. 

Validity

The degree to which empirical evidence and theoretical rationales support the adequacy and appropriateness of conclusions drawn from some form of assessment. The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict. 

G (general intelligence)

A general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

Mixed mindset

The belief that your intelligence, talents and other abilities are set in stone.

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by 100.

Split halt reliablity

A measure of the internal consistency of surveys, psychologicaltests, questionnaires, and other instruments or techniques that assess participant responses on particular constructs; determined by dividing the total set of items (e.g., questions) relating to a construct of interest into halves (e.g., odd-numbered and even-numbered questions) and comparing the results obtained from the two subsets of items thus created. The closer the correlation between results from the two versions, the greater the internal consistency of the survey or instrument. 

Stereotype lift

a performance boost that occurs when downward comparisons are made with a denigrated outgroup.

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations. 

Cultural test bias

partiality of a test in favor of individuals from certain backgrounds at the expense of individuals from other backgrounds. The partiality may be in the content of the items, in the format of the items, or in the very act of taking a test itself.

Iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Implicit memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection, non-declarative memory.

Explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare."

Prospective memory

The memory for intentions, remember to do something ahead of time.

Encoding

the processing of information into the memory system-for example, by extracting meaning. The conversion of a sensory input into a form capable of being processed and deposited in memory; the first stage of memory processing, followed by retention and then retrieval.

Levels of Processing Model (Craik & Lockhart)

a model developed by Craik and Lockhart that says the level of encoding leads to level of recall.

Multi-store Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin)

a theory developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin, hypothesizing that information can move through and be retained in any of several memory storage systems, usually of a short-term and a long-term variety.

Episodic memory

the ability to remember personally experienced events associated with a particular time and place.

Semantic memory

memory for general factual knowledge and concepts, of the kind that endows information with meaning and ultimately allows people to engage in such complex cognitive processes as recognizing objects and using language.

Semantic encoding

cognitive encoding of new information that focuses on its meaningful aspects as opposed to its perceptual characteristics. This will usually involve some form of elaboration; the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words. 

Phonological loop

in the working memory model, a component that holds and manipulates auditory information over short intervals of time. 

Working memory model (Baddeley & Hitch)

a memory model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch the short-term maintenance and manipulation of information necessary for performing complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension. 

Visuospatial sketchpad

in the working memory model, a component that briefly holds and manipulates information about the appearance of objects and their location in space.

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.