Psychology: Memory, Perception, and Intelligence Key Concepts

selective attention

The process of focusing on a particular object in the environment for a certain period of time.

inattentional blindness

A psychological phenomenon where an individual fails to perceive an unexpected stimulus in plain sight.

change blindness

The phenomenon where a change in a visual stimulus goes unnoticed by the observer.

perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

gestalt

A concept in psychology that emphasizes that the whole of anything is greater than its parts.

figure-ground

The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings.

grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

depth perception

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge distances.

visual cliff

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

binocular cue

A depth cue that requires the use of both eyes.

convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.

retinal disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the greater the difference between the two images, the closer the object.

monocular cue

A depth cue available to either eye alone.

stroboscopic movement

The perception of motion produced by a series of still images presented in rapid succession.

phi phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

autokinetic effect

The perception of motion in a stationary point of light in a dark environment.

perceptual constancy

The ability to perceive objects as unchanging despite changes in sensory input.

color constancy

The ability to perceive colors as relatively constant under different lighting conditions.

perceptual adaptation

The ability to adjust to an altered visual field.

cognition

The mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses.

metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

prototype

A mental image or best example of a category.

Jean Piaget

A developmental psychologist known for his theory of cognitive development in children.

schema

A cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information.

assimilation

The process of incorporating new experiences into existing schemas.

accommodation

The process of adjusting existing schemas to fit new experiences.

creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

convergent thinking

A type of thinking that focuses on finding a single best solution to a problem.

divergent thinking

A type of thinking that generates multiple possible solutions to a problem.

Robert Sternberg

A psychologist known for his theories on intelligence, creativity, and wisdom.

executive functions

Cognitive processes that help manage and regulate thoughts and actions.

algorithm

A step-by-step procedure for solving a problem.

heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.

insight

A sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Wolfgang Köhler

A psychologist known for his work on insight learning in chimpanzees.

confirmation bias

The tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions.

fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

mental set

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

intuition

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought.

Amos Tversky

A psychologist known for his work in the field of judgment and decision-making.

Daniel Kahneman

A psychologist who won a Nobel Prize for his work on the psychology of judgment and decision-making.

representativeness heuristic

A mental shortcut that relies on the similarity to make judgments.

availability heuristic

A mental shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to mind.

overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct.

belief perseverance

The tendency to cling to one's initial beliefs even after they have been discredited.

framing

The way an issue is posed; it can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

nudge

A subtle policy shift that encourages people to make decisions that are in their broad self-interest.

memory

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

recall

The ability to retrieve information learned earlier.

recognition

The ability to identify previously learned information.

relearning

The process of learning information that was previously learned.

Hermann Ebbinghaus

A psychologist known for his work on memory and the forgetting curve.

encoding

The processing of information into the memory system.

storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

parallel processing

The ability of the brain to simultaneously process multiple aspects of information.

Richard Atkinson

A psychologist known for his model of memory that includes sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Richard Shiffrin

A psychologist who contributed to the model of memory alongside Richard Atkinson.

sensory memory

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

short-term memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.

long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming information.

central executive

The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.

phonological loop

The component of working memory that deals with verbal and auditory information.

visuospatial sketchpad

The component of working memory that deals with visual and spatial information.

neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons in the brain.

Eric Kandel

A neuroscientist known for his research on the biological mechanisms of learning and memory.

long-term potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.

effortful processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information.

implicit memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli.

echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

George A. Miller

A psychologist known for his work on cognitive psychology and memory.

chunking

The process of organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

mnemonics [nih-MON-iks]

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

spacing effect

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

testing effect

The enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.

shallow processing

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

deep processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words.

semantic memory

A type of explicit memory that involves facts and general knowledge.

episodic memory

A type of explicit memory that involves personal experiences and events.

hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

memory consolidation

The process by which memories become stable in the brain.

flashbulb memory

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

encoding specificity principle

The idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it.

mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current mood.

serial position effect

The tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

interleaving

The practice of mixing different topics or forms of practice to improve learning.

anterograde amnesia

An inability to form new memories after a brain injury.

retrograde amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from one's past.

proactive interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.

retroactive interference

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

repression

The defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

reconsolidation

The process of recalling a memory and then storing it again.

Elizabeth Loftus

A cognitive psychologist known for her research on the malleability of human memory.

misinformation effect

The incorporation of misleading information into one's memory of an event.