AP Psychology Unit 5- Cognition (Memory, Intelligence, and Problem Solving)

memory

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

Encoding

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

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

information processing model

A cognitive understanding of memory, emphasizing how information is changed when it is encoded, stored, and retrieved.

sensory memory

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

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

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

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

working memory

active maintenance of information in short-term storage

maintenance rehearsal

A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself without attempting to find meaning in it

long-term memory

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

elaborative rehearsal

a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way

non-declarative (implicit) memory

type of long-term memory including memory for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned responses. These memories are not conscious but are implied to exist because they affect conscious behavior

declarative (explicit) memory

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

semantic memory

memory for knowledge about the world

episodic memory

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

retrieval cues

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

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

encoding specificity

phenomenon of remembering something better when the conditions under which we retrieve information are similar to the conditions under which we encoded it

state-dependent learning

superior retrieval of memories when the organism is in the same physiological or psychological state as it was during encoding

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

retrieval failure

the inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues

serial position effect

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

primacy effect

tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well

recency effect

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

automatic encoding

tendency of certain kinds of information to enter long-term memory with little or no effortful encoding

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Curve of forgetting (Ebbinghaus)

a graph showing a distinct pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then tapers off gradually

encoding failure

failure to process information into memory

storage decay

poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay

proactive interference

the forward-acting 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

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory from the point of some injury or trauma backwards, or loss of memory for the past

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

infantile amnesia

the inability to remember events from early childhood

cognition

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

Concepts

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

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

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

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Fixation

In cognition, the inability to see a problem form a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving.

mental set

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

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Syntax

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

Semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

one-word stage

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

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

telegraphic speech

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

Critical Period Hypothesis

theory of language development that states language must be learned by a certain age, otherwise, we will experience continual difficulty learning language

Intelligence

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

general intelligence (g factor)

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

intelligence test

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

aptitude test

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

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests

Standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

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

Validity

The ability of a test to measure what it is intended to measure

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

predictive validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

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

stereotype threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype