Psychology in everyday life Study Guide Chapter 7&8

Achievement test

measures how much a person has learned in a given subject or area

Encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

Flashbulb memory

A clear and vivid long-term memory of an especially meaningful and emotional event.

Semantic memory

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life; varies from mild to profound

Divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

Amnesia

partial or total loss of memory

anterograde amnesia

is the inability to make new memories

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

retrograde amnesia

is not being able to recall past or prior memories

Down syndrome

a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Iconic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, express, understand, and regulate emotions

Declarative Memories are also called what?

explicit memories

Reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Language

A system of communication through the use of speech, a collection of sounds understood by a group of people to have the same meaning.

Functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

Implicit memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

What do intelligence tests assess?

an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

Babbling

stage of language development at about 4 months when an infant spontaneously utters nonsense sounds

Regarding children's eyewitness recall, know what professional psychologists could not reliably separate

cannot reliably separate real memories from consistently suggested ones; first interview most reliable.

Working Memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

Know about Gardner's Multiple Intelligence

Naturalist, linguistic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial.

What did Noam Chomsky argue about grammar?

argued all languages share basic elements called a universal grammar. Theorized humans are born with a predisposition learn grammar rules: not a built-in specific language

Retrieval cues

Stimuli that are used to bring a memory to consciousness or into behavior

Convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

Episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

Explicit Memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Know about Sternberg's Intelligences

expertise, imaginative, thinking skills, venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, creative environment

Echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

One-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

Concept

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

Short term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Long term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn