Unit 5

Fixtation

thinking from one point of view, inability to approach a situation from different perspectives

Self-reference Effect

people's tendency to better remember information when that information has been linked to the self than when it has not been linked to the self

“Memory

” learning that occurs over time and information that we acquire through experience and that we can retrieve and store

“Encoding

” getting information into our brain (extracting the meaning from information)

“Storage

” the process of retaining the encoded information for a long period of time

“Retrieval

” the process of retrieving that stored information (getting that information out of memory storage and back out)

“Parallel processing

” the brain’s natural process of processing multiple aspects of information/a problem at the same time

“Sensory memory

” a short temporary and immediate memory/recording of the information you just acquired

“Short-term memory

” memory that holds onto 7 pieces of information for a short period of time; information before being stored or forgotten

“Long-term memory

” usually permanent information that can be stored and retrieved (ex

“Working Memory (short-term memory)

” a new form of short term memory focusing on conscious and incoming auditory and visual information and information retrieved from long term memory storage

“Explicit memory (declarative memory)

” facts and experiences that you know for sure and your memory of them; “Encoded through effortful processing

“Implicit memory (nondeclarative memory)

” a type of long term memory that can affect your thought processes and behavior, independent from conscious thought (can be used and acquired unconsciously); “Encoded through automatic processing

“Iconic memory

” brief memory of visual/sensory information

“Echoic memory

” brief memory of auditory information

“Chunking

” when you organize stuff into more familiar manageable chunks in order to memorize it easier

“Mnemonics

” a learning technique that aids a person in retrieving memory or retaining it usually including imagery and devices

“Hierarchies

” a couple of broad concepts that are later divided into smaller subcategories, concepts and facts

“Spacing effect

” when learning events are spaced apart in durations of time, long term memory is more effective (spread out studying based on time)

“Testing effect

” the effect where memory is better encoded and can be much more easily recalled in the long term if the individual spends more time practicing retrieving that information/memory rather than simply rereading it

“Shallow processing

” basic level encoding usually just based on the structure or appearance of the words

“Deep processing

” encoding information that is meaningful or important to the individual studying that information, yields the best retention of information

“Flashbulb memories

” Flashbulb memories are crystal clear memories of an emotionally significant event

“Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

” After rapid but brief stimulation, the cell’s firing potential will increase

“Recall

” retrieving information that was learned at a previous time but wasn’t originally aware of it in your conscious mind

“Recognition

” identifying or recognizing something from previous experience/stuff that has been previously learned

“Relearning

” relearning something faster for the second time or at a later time than the first time

Retrieval cues

A type of stimulus that helps you remember something.

“Priming

” when exposed to a stimulus, you unconsciously respond to that specific stimuli and the stimuli following/after that event, it activates specific associations to memories

“Context-dependent memory

” A technique to prime your mind's ability to retrieve memory by putting oneself back into the context of an experience

“State-dependent memory

” Ability to much more easily recall something when we were learning something in a certain state, such as being drunk or sober when being in that same exact state again

Mood congruent

” being most likely to recall certain experiences that are associated with your mood

“Serial position effect

” being most likely to recall the first and last items of a list than anything else

Anterograde amnesia means not being able to create new memories while retrograde amnesia means not being able to recall past memories.

Ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve

process is at first rapid, in the beginning but then slows with time.

“Proactive Interference

” when old memories disrupt your ability to encode and retrieve new information, usually when your past experiences contradict or is too similar to new information

“Retroactive interference

” when new memories/when you learn something new disrupts your ability to remember something from the past/something you previously learned

“Repression

” In order to minimize anxiety or pain, we suppress hurtful memories in order to protect oneself, Freud

Reconsolidation

an original memory is replaced with a memory that is similar to the original but slightly different or modified.

“Misinformation effect

” when misleading information is added and effects someone else's memory of that event, Elizabeth Loftus

“Source Amnesia

” basically not knowing where a memory comes from (examples are like when you try to recall a childhood memory but you don’t remember if you actually remember it or it was just something your family member told you happened).

“Déjà vu

” feeling that you have experienced something like that before

“Cognition

” activities in the brain or mental ones such as remembering, communicating or thinking

“Concepts

” grouping similar objects, ideas, people or events in your brain together

“Prototypes

” the best example or mental image of a category

“Creativity

” ability to produce unique and novel ideas that are in some way valuable

“Convergent thinking

” a type of thinking where you can narrow down all available solutions in order to determine the best solution out of all options

“Divergent thinking

” a more free and unstructured way to problem solve; doesn’t single out options to solutions but instead expands on them

“Algorithms

” systems of instruction that can help someone accomplish a task or problem and provides solutions

“Heuristics

” a strategy for thinking that is much more simpler and quicker than algorithms but also more prone to error

“Insight

” the sudden realization to the solution of a problem

“Confirmation Bias

” the tendency to search for only information that supports our conceptions of something and information that ignores or contradicts what we believe

“Mental Set

” the tendency to only approach a problem in a specific way because it worked in the past

“Intuition

” our automated and usually unexplainable or have no reasons behind our thoughts and feelings

“Representative heuristic

” being more likely to judge things based on how well they match specific prototypes

“Availability heuristic

” estimating the likelihood of events based on how mentally available they are

“Belief Perseverance

” clinging onto your initial point even after it has been discredited

“Framing

” the way an issue is posed

“Language

” spoken, written or signed words and how we combine them together to make meaning

“Phonemes

” the smallest distinctive sound unit of language (ex; c, a, t)

“Morphemes

” the smallest unit in the language that also carries meaning for a word (boy, boyish, etc.)

“Grammar

” a set of rules that help us communicate and understand others using language

Receptive Language

ability to understand (7 months)

Productive Language

ability to produce words

“Babbling Stage

” When an infant can say various sounds during the speech development process but is unrelated to the actual language

“One-Word Stage

” When a child can speak in single words

“Two-Word Stage

” When a child can speak in two word statements

“Telegraphic Speech

” when a child can speak using nouns and verbs; an early speech stage where the child talks like a telegram (ex

critical period

Noam Chomsky; a period of time where a person can master certain aspects of language before that language learning window closes permanently.

“Aphasia

” a disorder that disrupts how someone communicates, speaks, writes or understands language

“Broca’s Area

” a part of the brain located in the left frontal lobe that controls language expression and produces speech

“Wernicke’s Area

” the region of the brain in the left temporal lobe that helps you understand speech/language comprehension

“Linguistic determinism

” a theory by Benjamin Whorf that language can determine the way we think

“Intelligence

” the ability to learn from experiences and use that past knowledge to help them in future situations and to solve problems

“Intelligence Test

” assessments of an individual's mental ability that are also compared to other peoples’ scores which are in numerical form

“Spearman’s “g” General Intelligence

” a factor (the "g") that determines a person's general intelligence, saying that one factor is measured by all tasks on an intelligence test and therefore shows all underlying mental abilities. Basically, that one test determines whether a person can do well on any other tests. Spearman believes that no one can train to have a better “g” score and that is set.

“Savant Syndrome

” a syndrome characterized by an individual having limited mental capability in most/general intelligence(s) but having one specific skill that they are exceptionally good at.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

Howard Gardner believed that people all have different types or kinds of intelligence (around 8 of them) and some people are specifically good /significantly worse or much better/worse than others in certain areas. Multiple abilities can come in different forms/packages such as how brain damage can occur in an area and only destroy one ability but leaves the other ones intact.

Gardner’s 8 intelligences

are naturalist (interested in nature, nurture, environment, other species, changes), linguistic (spoken and written language), logical-mathematical (reasoning, patterns, analyzing, numbers), musical (rhythms and sounds), spatial (visuals), bodily-kinesthetic (actions and physical control), intrapersonal (awareness of themselves, their emotions/feelings/motivations/etc), and interpersonal (understanding, relating and getting along with others).

“Sternberg’s Triarchic Theory of intelligences

includes analytical intelligence which is understanding/analyzing and drawing conclusions from information, predicting outcomes and also identifying patterns. It also includes creative intelligence which is coming up with out of the box situations during unpredictable and complex situations. There is also practical intelligence which is the ability to think on the spot (immediate solutions to everyday problems). Think of it as street smarts or someone who has good common sense.

“Social Intelligence

” the ability to understand yourself and others at a deeper level, usually learned over time by interacting with others and using that information wisely

“Emotional intelligence

Dan Goleman

“Binet’s Mental Age

” a concept that looks at how well an individual of a specific age performed on an intellectual level and compares it to the average performance of other people their age.

“Terman’s Stanford-Binet

” Terman basically revised the IQ/Simon Binet test for the United States, allowing the test to be formatted for adults not only children.

“Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

” divide your mental age by your actual age and then multiply that by 100

“Achievement Test

” basically a test that assesses how much of the material a person has learned

“Aptitude Test

” a test that is meant to measure/predict future performances of a person

“Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

test is the most widely used intelligence test for adults and older adolescents, it tests responses that are both verbal and nonverbal.

“Standardization

” process of making sure the procedure is uniform and set to a specific standard for everyone, procedures must always be kept the same.

“Normal Curve

” bell shaped curve that shows that the majority of the results will be in the middle and farther out fewer fewer results will land there. (usually an average of 75%). that basically describes the distribution of whatever we are looking at.

Flynn Effect when college entrance aptitude scores dropped during the 1960s and 1970s. It is also likely that IQ scores will change over time and that the general population overtime will experience an increase in intelligence.

“Reliability

” in short, consistent and dependable results. The same results appear no matter how many times the test is done.

“Validity

” if a test truly measures what it is supposed to measure or predict

“Content Validity

” whether a test samples the behavior that it is supposed to measure/test

“Predictive Validity

” the success of when a test predicts what it is supposed to predict

“Crystallized Intelligence

” knowledge that is accumulated over time and come from past experiences/prior learning (ex

Fluid Intelligence

ability to respond and reason through situations in an efficient manner even if the problem poses a new question they have never seen before; decreases with age

“Intellectual disability

” a person has a limited ability to acquire knowledge and skills, it means you lack the ability or skill to perform day to day tasks.

“Down Syndrome

a genetic disorder that comes with intellectual disability and some physical disorders such as a small nose and an upward slant to the eyes. It is caused by abnormal cell division which leads to excess genetic material.

“Heritability

” a measurement that estimates how much a given trait (in this case, an intelligence test score and its variation) is inherited in a population (due to genetic variation).