Cognitive Psychology

Memory

learning that has persisted over time

Flashbulb memories

emotionally significant memories (9/11)

Encoding

getting information in

Storage

keeping information over time

Retrieval

getting information out

Memory process

Atkinson and Shiffrin

Automatic processing

unconscious encoding

Effortful processing

requires attention and conscious effort

Rehearsal

conscious repetition

Maintenance rehearsal: Keeping information in memory as long as you are rehearsing it (phone number)

Elaborative rehearsal

trying to make information meaningful so you retain it (trying to memorize phone number for good)

Next in-line effect

forget what the person in front of you says because you are focusing on yourself

Spacing effect

we learn information better when we rehearse it over time rather than cram it

Serial position effect

we remember the first and the last things better than the middle

Primacy effect

remembering the first

Recency effect

remembering the last

Acoustic encoding

sounds, words

Semantic encoding

encoding by meaning—WORKS THE BEST

Levels of Processing (Craik and Lockhart)

deeper levels of analysis lead to better comprehension (Ex

Self-reference effect

finding personal meaning in something

Rosy retrospection

people recall things more positively than they evaluated them at the time (six flags)

Chunking

organizing info into groups

Mnemonic devices

memory aids (ROYGBIV)

Method of loci

remembering things by giving them location

Peg-word system

relating words with something you know (one is bun, two is shoe…)

Sensory memory---Short-term memory--- Long-term memory

Sensory memory

lasts only for a second

Iconic memory

for visual things

Echoic memory

for auditory things

Short term/ working memory

holds about 7 items (+/- 2); must keep rehearsing it or it gets lost

Long-term memory

can hold as many as you want

Long-term potentiation

When the same neurons fire, it causes the memories to strengthen

Recall

retrieve information; essay, fill in the blank

Recognition: identify as in multiple choice

Retrieval cues

weather, smells, or any other reminder

Déjà vu

the sense that you have experienced something before because you have retrieval cues from the past experience

Priming

opening up associations Examples

Context effects

we retrieve information when we are in an environment similar to the one we encoded the information in

State-dependent learning

we remember info when we are in the same state of mind as when we learned it (intoxicated)

Mood congruent theory

we remember things that are consistent with our mood (if we are happy, we think of happy memories)

Encoding failure

we don't encode something properly, age disrupts encoding

Storage decay

Memories weaken over time when they are not used; Ebbinghaus…forgetting curve…we forget a lot at first and it levels off over time

Types of retrieval failure

Proactive interference, Retroactive interference, Anterograde (prograde) amnesia, & Retrograde amnesia

Proactive interference

something you learned earlier disrupts something you experience later (old address gets in way of remembering new one)

Retroactive interference

new information makes it hard to remember old (new locker combination makes it hard to remember your old one) video

Anterograde (Prograde) amnesia

Can’t form new memories since accident

Retrograde amnesia

Can’t remember things before an accident

Episodic memory: memory for a specific event or episode (your 5th birthday)

Prospective memory

“remember to go to store…”, your to do list

Infantile Amnesia: inability to remember episodic memories before ages of around 2-4

Implicit memory

procedural memory, knowing how to do something (cerebellum and amygdala)

Explicit memory: declarative memory, facts, knowing that you know how to do something (hippocampus)

Positive transfer

knowing old information helps us learn new (knowing Latin helps us learn French)

Source amnesia or source misattribution

attributing an event to the wrong source, forgetting the context you learned it in (writers)

Misinformation effect (Elizabeth Loftus)

we add misleading information into our memory of an event (car smashing…)

concepts

mental groups of events, ideas, or people (chair)

Prototype

the best example for a category (robin, not a penguin for a bird)

Algorithm

step by step procedure that GUARANTEES an answer (try every key on a key ring)

Heuristic

a short cut to solve the problem…faster, but does not guarantee answer (choose key based on size)

Confirmation bias

we look for information that confirms what we already think (boys are more aggressive)

Fixation

the inability to see something from a fresh perspective (connecting the dots)

Functional fixedness

think of things only in terms of their normal uses (two string problem) Matchbox problem

Mental set

type of fixation…approaching problem in a particular way—usually one that has worked in the past

Representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of something in terms of how well it represents or matches what you think (reads a lot, so he must be a professor, not a truck driver)

Availability heuristic

estimating likelihood of events based on how available they are in our mind (crime rates, diseases)

Gambler's fallacy

heuristic for thinking the likelihood of something has changed when in reality it stays the same (flipping a coin)

Overconfidence

we overestimate the accuracy of our thoughts

Wolfgang Kohler

chimps with bananas…shows insight

Divergent thinking

brainstorming, thinking of possible answers

Convergent thinking

narrowing down choices

Framing

the way an issue is posed affects judgment (75 percent lean/25 percent fat)

Belief perseverance

tendency to cling to your belief even after evidence proves you wrong (being stubborn)

Intelligence

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

Factor analysis

identifies clusters of related items on tests (reading ability, math, etc…)

General intelligence, G factor

if someone does well on one area, they are likely to do well on another (Charles Spearman)

Howard Gardner

Theory of multiple intelligences; Thought intelligence comes in different ways; Chart of intelligences

Robert Sternberg

triarchic theory (for real world/business success)

Analytical intelligence

academic problem solving

Creative intelligence

reacting and adapting to situations

Practical intelligence

everyday tasks

Alfred Binet

created tests for school kids

Mental age

the age that corresponds to the level a kid is on (5 year old works at a 10 year old level)

Stanford Binet Test

intelligence test that was revised after Binet died

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

mental age/chronological age * 100

Average is 100

Worked better for kids, not adults

Now IQ is just test score compared to everyone else

Aptitude tests

predicts future performance (college entrance exam)

Achievement tests

measure what a person has learned (chapter test, final)

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

MOST WIDELY USED intelligence test; Contains verbal and performance parts

Standardization

measure scores by comparing them with a sample group and using same measures

Normal curve

bell shaped curve…most scores fall around the average

Flynn effect

intelligence scores are improving

Reliability

must have consistent results (you should get around the same score every time you take it)

Validity

the test measures what it is supposed to

Content validity

measures the behavior it is supposed to

Predictive validity

predicts behavior it is supposed to

Intellectual disability (formerly known as mental retardation)

limited mental ability, IQ of less than 70, adaptive behavior is below level to live independently

Down syndrome

an extra chromosome causes retardation and physical problems, more common in males

Savant syndrome

person is limited in mental ability but has an exceptional skill (like computing or drawing)