Unit 5 Flashcards

Information Processing Model

A framework used by cognitive psychologists to explain and describe mental processes

Rehearsal

Preparation for a forthcoming event or confrontation that is anticipated with some level of discomfort or anxiety

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Parallel Processing

Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions

Dual Processing

The principle that information is often simultaneously processed on separate conscious and unconscious tracks.

Multi-store Model

Explanation of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin which assumes there are three unitary (separate) memory stores, and that information is transferred between these stores in a linear sequence

Sensory Memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Iconic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a 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

Short-term Memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, 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

Encoding

The process of getting information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning

Episodic Memories

Explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

Semantic Memories

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems

Procedural Memories

Also called implicit memory, is a type of long-term memory involved in the performance of different actions and skills

Automatic Processing

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

Implicit Memories (Nondeclarative)

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Explicit Memories (Declarative)

Retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

Working Memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

Chunking

Separating information into "chunks" to remember it better. Ex: cell phones

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating items over and over to maintain them in short-term memory, as in repeating a telephone number until it has been dialed

Shallow Processing

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

Elaborative Processing

An encoding strategy to facilitate the formation of memory by linking new information to what one already knows

Deep Processing

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

Recognition

A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Recall

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

State-Dependent Memories

Improved recall of specific episodes or information when cues relating to emotional and physical state are the same during encoding and retrieval

Mood-Dependent Memories

The finding that memory for an event can be recalled more readily when one is in the same emotional mood (e.g., happy or sad) as when the memory was initially formed

Tip-of-the-Tongue

State in which one cannot quite recall a familiar word but can recall words of similar form and meaning

Serial Position Effect

Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list

Primacy Effect

The tendency for individuals without neurological impairment to show enhanced memory for items presented at the beginning of a list relative to items presented in the middle of the list

Recency Effect

A cognitive bias in which those items, ideas, or arguments that came last are remembered more clearly than those that came first

Eidetic Memory

Aka photographic memory--this phenomenon is the ability to perfectly remember things heard, read, or seen even if only exposed to them briefly

Savant Syndrome

A condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

Long-Term Potentiation

The biomolecular process your neurons go through as you learn; how connections between neurons are strengthened by repeated firing. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

Hippocampus

Capacity for plasticity

Amygdala

Fear conditioning

Cerebellum

cerebellar motor learning is mediated by LTD (long term depression)

Amnesia

The loss of memories, such as facts, information and experiences

Retrograde Amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from one's past

Anterograde Amnesia

An inability to form new memories

Forgetting Curve

An influential memory model that shows how learned information slips out of our memories over time—unless we take action to keep it there

Decay Theory

The theory that learned material leaves in the brain a trace or impression that autonomously recedes and disappears unless the material is practiced and used

Interference Theory

A memory phenomenon in which some memories interfere with the retrieval of other memories

Retroactive Interference

The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

Proactive Interference

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

Flashbulb Memories

A clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Misinformation Effect

Occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event

Source Amnesia

Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories

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

Cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Concepts

A mental grouping of similar things, events, and people that is used to remember and understand what things are, what they mean, and what categories or groups they belong to

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Creativity

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas

Critical Thinking

Thinking that does not blindly accept arguments and conclusions. Rather, it examines assumptions, appraises the source, discerns hidden biases, evaluates evidence, and assesses conclusions

Divergent Thinking

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

Fixed Mindset

Belief that abilities, talents and traits, like intelligence, are permanent, whereas those with growth mindsets believe these can be developed

Growth Mindset

Belief that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that allow people to solve problems and make judgments quickly and efficiently

Insight

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

Metacognition

The knowledge and regulation of one's own cognitive processes

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)

Anchoring Effect

The tendency for a person to rely heavily on the first piece of information they receive when making decisions

Availability Heuristic

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

Belief Perseverance

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

Confirmation Bias

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

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive bias that can sometimes prevent us from thinking of novel or creative solutions to problems

Mental Set

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

Overconfidence

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

Representativeness Heuristic

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

Grammar

In a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. Semantics is the language's set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is its set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

Language Acquisition Device (LAD)

A hypothetical tool in the human brain that lets children learn and understand language quickly

Linguistic Determinism

The strong form of Whorf's hypothesis—that language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us.

Linguistic Relativity

A principle suggesting that the structure of a language affects its speakers' worldview or cognition, and thus people's perceptions are relative to their spoken language

Morpheme

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

Phoneme

In a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

Semantics

Concerns the meanings of words, signs, symbols, and the phrases that represent them

Syntax

The cognitive capacity of human beings that allows us to connect linguistic meaning with linguistic form

Telegraphic Speech

Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs

Achievement Tests

A test designed to assess what a person has learned

Aptitude Tests

A test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

Binet-Simon Intelligence Scale

An intelligence test consisting originally of tasks graded from the level of the average 3-year-old to that of the average 12-year-old but later extended in range

Crystalized Intelligence

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills tend to increase with age

Factor Analysis

A statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score

Fluid Intelligence

Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood

Heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied

Intelligence

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca × 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100

Mental Age

A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age. Thus, a child who does as well as an average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8

Associative memory

The ability to memorize and recall

Numerical ability

The ability to solve mathematical problems

Perceptual speed

The ability to see differences and similarities among objects

Reasoning

The ability to find rules

Spatial visualization

The ability to visualize relationships

Verbal comprehension

The ability to define and understand words

Word fluency

The ability to produce words rapidly

Psychometric Psychologists

conceptualizes, administers, and interprets psychological tests

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test

A cognitive ability and intelligence test that is used to diagnose developmental or intellectual deficiencies in young children