AP Psych Unit 5: Mods 30-36

observational learning

observational learning

learning by observing others. Also called social learning.

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that some scientists believe fire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain's mirroring of another's action may enable imitation and empathy.

prosocial behavior

positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning.

storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time.

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage.

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

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.

long-term memory

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

working memory

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.

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." Also called declarative memory.

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection (also called nondeclarative memory)

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.

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

spacing effect

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

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

long-term potentiation (LTP)

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

recall

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

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.

relearning

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

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primary effect) in a list.

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past.

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.

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experience, heard about, read about, or imagined. (also called source misattribution.). Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.

deja vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

concept

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

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier- but also more error-prone - use of heuristics.

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.

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.

mental set

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

intuition

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

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come reading to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common.

overconfidence

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

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited.

framing

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

language

our spoken, written or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.

phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix).

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.

semantics

is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds.

syntax

is the set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.

babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements.

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram - "go car" - using mostly nouns and verbs.

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Broca's area

controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.

linguistic determinism

Whorf's hypotheses that language determines the way we think.