AP Psych: Cognition 2.1-2.8

Perception

giving meaning to what we sense

Bottom-Up Processing

taking sensory info and then assembling and integrating it

Top-Down Processing

using models, ideas, and expectations to interpret sensory info

Schemas

a mental framework that helps people organize and interpret info and make sense of the world around them

Perceptual Set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another; context, motivation, emotion

Attention

the cognitive process of selectively focusing on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other stimuli

Selective Attention

focusing our conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Cocktail Party Effect

the ability to focus one’s attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli

Inattentional Blindness

failing to see visible objects when attention is focused elswhere

Change Blindness 

failing to notice changes in the environment

Gestalt Psychology

a school of thought that proposes all objects and scenes can be observed in their simplest forms

Closure

the brain mentally fills in gaps to perceive incomplete objects as whole, unified figures (top-down)

Figure and Ground

organization of the visual field into objects/figures that stand out from their surroundings

Proximity 

group objects that are close together as being part of the same group

Similarity

objects similar in appearance are percieved as being part of the same group

Binocular Cues 

depth cue that depends on the use of two eyes

Convergence

the inward turning of both eyes when focusing on a nearby object

Retinal Disparity

binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing the retinal images

Monocular Cues

depth cue that is available to either eye

Relative Clarity

the clearer an object appears on the retina, the closer it is perceived to be

Relative Size

monocular depth cue where you perceive depth with one eye

Texture Gradient

monocular visual effect that creates illusion of depth and 3D by making it appear as if objects are denser and more compressed as they move away from viewer

Linear Perspective 

visual cue that helps people perceive depth in a 2D image

Interposition 

a monocular cue where when one object partially blocks another, the object that is being blocked is perceived as being farther away

Perceptual Constancies

ability to perceive objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change

Apparent Motion

the optical illusion of perceiving movement in a stationary object or series of stationary objects

Concept

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

Prototype

“ideal” image that comes to mind when thinking about a particular group of things

Assimilation

cognitive process where new info is integrated into existing schemas without altering them (ex: when encountering a new animal, you try to find a place for it in your existing schema)

Accommodation 

if you can’t assimilate, you alter your schema to include the new info

Executive Functions

set of mental skills that help manage/control behavior, thoughts, and emotions in order to achieve goals

Algorithm 

methodical, logical rule/procedure guarantees a solution to a problem

Heuristic 

simple thinking strategy that allows efficient judgement/problem solving, but doesn’t guarantee a solution

Representative Heuristic 

estimating likelihood of events in reference to how closely they resemble a particular prototype

Availability Heuristic

estimating likelihood of event based on how readily something comes to mind

Mental Set

tendency to persist in using the same problem strategy that worked in the past

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Framing

the way an issue is presented/worded can impact how people respond

Gambler’s Fallacy

the mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal, it’ll happen less frequently in the future and vice versa

Sunk-Cost Fallacy 

cognitive bias where individuals continue to invest in something because they’ve already invest in it, even if it isn’t rational anymore

Functional Fixedness

inability to recognize novel uses for an item and only see it for common purpose

Creativity 

ability to produce ideas that are novel and valuable

Divergent Thinking 

expanding the number of possible problem solutions

Convergent Thinking

narrows down the solutions to the single best option

Explicit Memory 

memory of facts and experiences you can consciously recall and describe

Episodic Memory 

fo personal experiences/episodes in life

Semantic Memory 

for facts, meanings, general knowledge, not tied to personal experiences

Implicit Memory 

happens without conscious awareness

Procedural Memory 

type of implicit memory of how to do things - motor skills/habits

Prospective Memory 

memory for things you need to do in the future

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) 

increase in cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation - neural basis for memory

Working Memory 

newer understanding of short-term memory - adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory/visual info retrieved from long-term memory

Visuospatial Sketchpad

stores visual/spatial info

Long-Term Memory

relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system, which holds knowledge, skills, and experience over long periods of time

Multi-Store Model

sequence of three distinct storage systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

Sensory Memory

very brief storage of sensory info (sights, sounds, smells) right after it’s perceived; lasts a few seconds or less

Central Executive

controls attention and coordinates activities of phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

Phonological Loop 

deals with spoken and written words

Iconic Memory 

a type of sensory memory for visual info, only lasts fraction of a second

Echoic Memory 

a type of sensory memory for auditory info; lasts 3-4 seconds

Shallow Processing 

encoding info on surface level, focus on simple features, not effective for long-term memory

Deep Processing

encoding info by thinking about meaning/connections to what you know, better for memory

Automatic Processing 

happens without effort/conscious thought

Effortful Processing

requires attention/conscious effort - learning new/complex info

Encoding 

the process of getting information into the memory system (creating file)

Storing 

the process of retaining info over time (putting the file somewhere)

Retrieval 

the process of getting info out of memory storage (finding the file)

Structural Processing 

focus on physical appearance of words (shallow)

Phonemic Processing 

focus on sound of word (shallow)

Semantic Processing

involves thinking about meaning of word and connecting concepts (deep)

Mnemonic Devices 

memory aids, especially techniques using vivid imagery/organizational methods (ex: HOMES)

Method of Loci 

mnemonic device where person associates info with specific locations in a familiar mental space

Chunking 

organizing items into familiar, manageable units, often automatically

Categories 

mental groupings of similar objects, ideas, or people that help us organize and understand the world

Hierarchies

system that ranks concepts, ideas, or individuals from highest to lowest based on importance or level

The Spacing Effect 

tendency for distributed study/practice to yield better results

Massed Practice 

study method where practice is concentrated into one long session with little to no breaks

Distributed Practice 

where study or practice sessions are spread out over time, rather than all at once

Serial Position Effect 

tendency to recall items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list better than those in the middle

Primacy Effect

tendency to better remember information presented at the beginning of a sequence

Recency Effect

tendency to remember the most recent items in a sequence better than earlier ones

Short-Term Memory 

memory that holds a small amount of info for a short time (20-30 sec)

Working Memory 

short-term memory that involves actively manipulating/working with info held temporarily

Maintenance Rehearsal 

repeating info over and over to keep it in short-term memory longer

Elaborative Rehearsal

connecting new info to existing knowledge to help transfer to long-term memory

Autobiographical Memory 

memory of personal life events and experiences

Retrograde Amnesia 

loss of memories from before a brain injury - disorder

Anterograde Amnesia 

inability to form new memories after brain injury - disorder

Alzheimer’s Disease 

progressive disease causing memory loss and cognitive decline, mostly in older adults - disorder

Infantile Amnesia

inability to recall memories from early childhood (3-4) - phenomena

Recall 

retrieving info from memory without any cues or prompts

Recognition 

identifying info that you previously learned when you encounter it again

Retrieval Cues 

stimuli that help you recall information from long-term memory

Context-Dependent Memory 

activation of memory when one returns to the original encoding setting

Mood-Congruent Memory 

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s good or bad mood

State-Dependent Memory 

tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with the state in which a person was at time of encoding

Testing Effect 

enhances memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading info

Meta Cognition

thinking about thinking; ability to reflect on and understand your own thought processes/learning strategies

The Forgetting Curve 

graph that shows how info is lost over time when there is no attempt to retain it; rapid at first, then levels off

Encoding Failure 

occurs when info never enters long-term memory because we don’t pay enough attention to it or fail to process it deeply enough at time of learning