AP Psychology- Unit 2: Cognition

accomodation

In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the process of modifying existing cognitive structures in response to new information or experiences.

achievement test

A test designed to assess what a person has learned or accomplished in a particular area, such as academic subjects or job-related skills.

algorithm

A step-by-step procedure or formula for solving a problem, often involving repetitive operations.

Alzheimer's Disease

A progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory loss, language deterioration, and impaired ability to mentally manipulate visual information.

Amnesia

A significant memory loss that is too extensive to be due to normal forgetting.

anterograde amnesia

A type of memory impairment characterized by the inability to form new memories after a specific event or injury, while memories from before the event remain intact.

aptitude test

A test designed to assess a person's potential for learning or ability to perform in a particular area, such as intelligence tests or vocational aptitude tests.

assimilation

In Piaget's theory of cognitive development, the process of incorporating new information or experiences into existing cognitive structures or schemas.

Attention

The cognitive process of selectively focusing on a specific aspect of information while ignoring other perceivable information.

Autobiographical Memory

A person's memory for events and issues related to oneself.

autokinetic effect

A perceptual phenomenon where a stationary point of light appears to move in a dark environment due to small eye movements.

automatic processing

The unconscious processing of information that requires minimal attention and effort, such as routine tasks or well-learned skills.

availability heuristic

A mental shortcut where people make judgments based on the ease with which examples come to mind, often leading to overestimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

belief perserverance

The tendency to maintain one's beliefs even in the face of contradictory evidence.

binocular cue

Depth cues that rely on information from both eyes to perceive depth and distance, such as retinal disparity and convergence.

Bottom-Up Processing

An approach to perception that starts with incoming stimuli and builds up to a final perception; involves analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory

A contemporary theory of intelligence proposing that intelligence is composed of multiple distinct abilities, including fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, and various specific cognitive skills.

central executive

In Baddeley's model of working memory, the component responsible for coordinating and controlling cognitive processes, including attention, planning, and decision-making.

Change Blindness

A phenomenon in visual perception where changes in a visual stimulus are not noticed by the observer.

chunking

Organizing information into smaller, more manageable units or chunks to improve memory and processing efficiency.

Cocktail Party Effect

The phenomenon of being able to focus one's auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli, like hearing your name in a noisy room.

cognition

The mental processes involved in acquiring, processing, storing, and retrieving information, including perception, thinking, memory, and problem-solving.

cohort

A group of individuals who share a common characteristic or experience, such as age or generation, and are studied over time in longitudinal research.

color constancy

The perceptual phenomenon where the perceived color of an object remains relatively constant under different lighting conditions.

concept

A mental category or representation of objects, events, or ideas that share common features or characteristics.

confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses while ignoring or discounting contradictory evidence.

construct validity

The extent to which a test or measure accurately assesses the theoretical construct or concept it is intended to measure.

Constructive Memory

The process of constructing a memory by integrating new information with existing knowledge.

content validity

The extent to which a test or measure adequately samples the domain of interest and includes all relevant aspects of the construct being assessed.

Context-Dependent Memory

The improved recall of information when the context present at encoding and retrieval are the same.

convergence

A binocular depth cue where the eyes turn inward or converge to focus on nearby objects.

convergent thinking

A type of thinking characterized by narrowing down possible solutions to find a single correct answer, often associated with traditional problem-solving tasks.

creativity

The ability to generate novel and valuable ideas, solutions, or products that are meaningful or useful in a particular context.

cross-sectional study

A research design that compares different groups of individuals at a single point in time to examine age-related differences.

crystallized intelligence

Acquired knowledge and skills accumulated over a lifetime, often measured by vocabulary tests and general knowledge assessments.

deep processing

A type of encoding that involves elaborative rehearsal and meaningful analysis of information, leading to better long-term retention.

deja vu

A feeling of familiarity or recognition of a current situation or experience as if it has been previously experienced, even though it is objectively new or unfamiliar.

depth perception

The ability to perceive the distance and three-dimensional spatial relationships of objects in the environment.

Distributed Practice

A practice schedule that involves intervals of rest between sessions of learning.

Divergent Thinking

A thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.

echoic memory

The sensory memory system responsible for the temporary storage and processing of auditory information, often referred to as "echoes" of sounds.

effortful memory

The intentional and conscious processing of information to encode, store, and retrieve it from memory, requiring cognitive effort and attention.

emotional intelligence

The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions effectively in oneself and others.

Encoding

The process of transforming sensory input into a form that can be stored in memory.

Encoding Failure

The failure to process information into memory.

encoding specificity principle

The principle that retrieval of information is most effective when the conditions at encoding and retrieval are similar.

episodic memory

A type of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences with associated contextual details.

executive functions

Higher-level cognitive processes involved in goal setting, planning, problem-solving, decision-making, and self-regulation.

explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously recall and declare, also known as declarative memory.

factor analysis

A statistical technique used to identify and analyze the underlying structure of correlations between variables, often used to identify the factors underlying intelligence.

figure-ground

A gestalt principle of perception where we perceive objects as distinct from their background.

fixation

In problem-solving, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, often due to mental set or functional fixedness.

fixed mindset

The belief that intelligence, abilities, and talents are fixed traits that cannot be changed or developed.

flashbulb memory

A vivid and detailed memory of a significant and emotionally charged event, often recalled with high confidence and accuracy.

fluid intelligence

The ability to think logically and solve problems in novel situations, independent of acquired knowledge and experience.

Flynn effect

The observed trend of increasing average intelligence test scores over time, named after psychologist James Flynn.

Forgetting Curve

A graph showing the decline of memory retention over time.

framing

The way information is presented or framed can influence decision-making and judgment by highlighting certain aspects of the information while downplaying others.

Functional Fixedness

A cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used.

Gambler's Fallacy

The mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal during a given period, it will happen less frequently in the future, or vice versa.

general intelligence

A hypothetical construct representing the general intelligence factor underlying performance on various cognitive tasks.

gestalt

A German word meaning "form" or "pattern," referring to the perceptual tendency to organize sensory information into meaningful wholes.

grit

A personality trait characterized by passion, perseverance, and a strong motivation to achieve long-term goals.

grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize elements into meaningful groups or categories based on similarity, proximity, continuity, or closure.

growth mindset

The belief that intelligence, abilities, and talents can be developed through effort, practice, and learning.

heuristic

A mental shortcut or rule of thumb that simplifies problem-solving and decision-making, often leading to efficient but not always accurate judgments.

hippocampus

A brain structure located in the limbic system, involved in memory consolidation, spatial navigation, and learning.

iconic memory

The sensory memory system responsible for the temporary storage and processing of visual information, often referred to as "iconic" images.

implicit memory

Memory of skills, procedures, or associations that are expressed through performance or behavior without conscious awareness.

inattentional blindness

The failure to notice unexpected objects or events when attention is focused elsewhere.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3.

insight

The sudden realization or understanding of a problem's solution that contrasts with more incremental problem-solving methods.

intelligence

A mental ability consisting of the capacity to learn from experience, solve problems, adapt to new situations, and use knowledge to achieve goals.

intelligence quotient

A numerical score derived from standardized intelligence tests, typically representing a person's relative intelligence compared to others of the same age group.

intelligence test

A standardized assessment designed to measure a person's cognitive abilities, including reasoning, problem-solving, memory, and verbal comprehension.

interleaving

A learning technique that involves mixing or alternating different types of practice or study tasks to enhance learning and retention.

intuition

The ability to understand or know something immediately without conscious reasoning or analysis.

long-term memory

The relatively permanent storage of information, including facts, experiences, and skills, with potentially unlimited capacity and duration.

long-term potentiation (LTP)

A process of strengthening synaptic connections between neurons, believed to be a cellular mechanism underlying learning and memory.

longitudinal study

A research design that follows the same individuals or groups over an extended period to examine changes or development over time.

Massed Practice

A practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption.

memory

The ability to retain and retrieve information over time, involving encoding, storage, and retrieval processes.

memory consolidation

The process of stabilizing and strengthening newly acquired memories over time through the reorganization of neural circuits.

mental age

A measure of intellectual development based on performance relative to average performance for a given chronological age, often used in intelligence testing.

mental set

A tendency to approach problems in a particular way, often based on past experiences or familiar strategies, which may impede problem-solving.

metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes, including knowledge about when and how to use particular cognitive strategies.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic technique involving the visualization of familiar spatial environments to enhance the recall of information.

misinformation effect

The distortion of memory caused by exposure to misleading information after an event, leading to inaccuracies or false memories.

mneumonics

Memory aids or techniques used to improve encoding and retrieval of information, such as acronyms, rhymes, or visual imagery.

monocular cue

Depth cues that require only one eye to perceive depth and distance, such as relative size, interposition, and linear perspective.

mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall information or experiences that are consistent with one's current mood or emotional state.

Multistore Model of Memory

A model proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin, describing memory as consisting of three stores: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons, particularly in the hippocampus, believed to play a role in learning, memory, and mood regulation.

normal curve

A bell-shaped curve representing the distribution of scores or measurements in a population, with the majority of scores clustered around the mean.

nudge

A subtle suggestion or reinforcement designed to influence people's behavior or decisions without restricting their freedom of choice.

overconfidence

The tendency to overestimate one's abilities, knowledge, or judgment, often leading to errors in decision-making or problem-solving.

parallel processing

The simultaneous processing of multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem, allowing for efficient cognitive functioning and perception.

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events.

perceptual adaptation

The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, such as adapting to new eyeglasses or a reversed visual field.

perceptual constancy

The perceptual phenomenon where an object is perceived as maintaining its size, shape, color, or brightness despite changes in the sensory input.