Vocab Set | U-2 Final Exam | AP Psych Unit 2

Not for entire AP course, just for EHS Unit 2 final exam.

Short-Term Memory

A temporary storage system that holds a small amount of information for a brief period, typically around 20-30 seconds.

Example: Remembering a phone number just long enough to dial it.

Algorithm

A step-by-step, logical method that guarantees a solution to a problem when correctly applied.

Example: Following a detailed recipe to bake a cake ensures it will turn out as intended.

Intelligence Test

A standardized assessment designed to measure a person's mental aptitudes and compare them with others using numerical scores.

Example: The IQ test evaluates reasoning, problem-solving, and other cognitive skills.

Prototype

The most typical or best example of a category, used to help sort and identify new information quickly.

Example: When thinking of a bird, many people picture a robin because it fits the common image of a bird.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

The tendency to continue investing in a decision or resource because of previously invested resources, even when it no longer makes sense.

Example: Continuing to watch a boring movie just because you paid for the ticket.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut used to estimate the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.

Example: Believing plane crashes are common after hearing about one in the news.

Achievement Test

An assessment designed to measure what a person has learned in a specific subject or skill.

Example: A math final evaluates your understanding of the material covered during the course.

Representative Heuristic

A mental shortcut used to judge the likelihood of something by comparing it to a prototype or typical example.

Example: Assuming a quiet, bookish person is more likely a librarian than a farmer, ignoring the actual number of farmers.

Aptitude Test

An assessment designed to predict a person's future performance or capacity to learn a new skill.

Example: The SAT aims to predict college readiness and success.

Divergent Thinking

A cognitive process used to generate many possible solutions to an open-ended problem, often linked to creativity.

Example: Brainstorming multiple uses for a paperclip, such as a bookmark, a tool for resetting electronics, or a small hook.

Priming

The process by which exposure to one stimulus influences the response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious awareness.

Example: After reading a list of words related to kindness, a person is more likely to interpret ambiguous behavior as friendly.

Retroactive Interference

A memory phenomenon where new information interferes with the ability to recall previously learned information.

Example: After learning a new phone number, you forget your old phone number.

Retrieval Failure

The inability to access stored memories, often due to insufficient cues or interference, despite the memory being available.

Example: Trying to recall the name of someone you just met, but not being able to retrieve it, even though you know you know it.

Proactive Interference

A memory phenomenon where previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information.

Example: You struggle to remember your new email password because you keep typing your old one.

Encoding Failure

The inability to store information in long-term memory due to insufficient attention or lack of effective encoding processes.

Example: Not remembering the exact details of the appearance of a coin because you don’t pay attention to it regularly.

Primacy

The tendency to better recall items presented at the beginning of a list or sequence due to more rehearsal and attention.

Example: You are more likely to remember the first few words in a list of vocabulary words you studied for a test.

Functional Fixedness

The cognitive bias that limits a person’s ability to use an object in a new way, based on its traditional or common use.

Example: Using a hammer only to drive nails, rather than using it to break open a door or as a weight to hold something in place.

Gestalt Principles

A set of principles that explain how humans tend to organize visual elements into groups or unified wholes, based on their inherent tendency to perceive patterns and structures.

Example: When seeing a set of dots arranged in a circle, we perceive them as a whole shape, rather than as individual dots.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability to recall events from early childhood, typically before the age of 3-4 years.

Example: Most people cannot remember their first birthday or events from when they were toddlers.

Anterograde Amnesia

A memory disorder characterized by the inability to form new long-term memories after the onset of the condition, while past memories remain intact.

Example: A person with anterograde amnesia may not be able to remember new events or people they meet, but they can recall events from before the onset of the condition.

Retrograde Amnesia

A memory disorder characterized by the inability to recall past memories or information that was acquired before the onset of the condition.

Example: A person with retrograde amnesia may forget events from their past, such as childhood memories, but still be able to form new memories after the onset of the condition.

Long Term Potentiation

A long-lasting strengthening of synapses between nerve cells, believed to be a key mechanism for learning and memory formation.

Example: Repeatedly practicing a new skill, like playing a musical instrument, can strengthen the neural connections involved, making the skill easier to perform over time.

Metacognition

The awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes, including the ability to monitor, control, and evaluate cognitive strategies.

Example: When studying for a test, a student might reflect on whether their study method is effective and adjust it if they feel it isn't helping them retain information.

Monocular Cues

Visual information that can be processed by one eye alone, used to perceive depth and distance.

Example: The relative size of objects is a monocular cue, where objects that appear larger are perceived as closer than those that appear smaller.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus on a single conversation or stimulus while filtering out other distractions, such as background noise, especially in a crowded environment.

Example: At a party, you can focus on a conversation with a friend despite the loud music and chatter happening around you.

Sensory Memory

The brief storage of sensory information, allowing the brain to process and determine whether it should be moved to short-term memory.

Example: When you see a flash of light and the image lingers in your mind for a moment before fading away.

Iconic Memory

A type of sensory memory that holds visual information for a very brief period, typically less than a second, immediately after it is perceived.

Example: After seeing a flash of lightning, the image of the bright light lingers for a brief moment before fading away.

Echoic Memory

A type of sensory memory that holds auditory information for a brief period, typically a few seconds, immediately after it is perceived.

Example: After someone says something to you, you may briefly "hear" their words in your mind even after they've stopped speaking.

Short-Term Memory

A system that holds a small amount of information for a brief period, usually around 15-30 seconds, before it is either forgotten or transferred to long-term memory.

Example: Remembering a phone number long enough to dial it, but forgetting it shortly afterward.

Working Memory

A system for temporarily storing and manipulating information needed for complex cognitive tasks such as learning, reasoning, and comprehension.

Example: Solving a math problem in your head by keeping track of numbers while performing calculations.

Long-Term Memory

A system responsible for storing vast amounts of information for an extended period, ranging from hours to a lifetime.

Example: Recalling your first day of school or remembering your best friend's phone number from years ago.

Explicit Memory

The type of long-term memory that involves conscious recollection of facts and experiences, including knowledge of personal events and general facts.

Example: Remembering your last birthday party or recalling the capital of France.

Implicit Memory

A type of long-term memory that involves unconscious recollection of skills, habits, and conditioned responses, without conscious awareness.

Example: Knowing how to ride a bike or automatically tying your shoes without thinking about the steps.

Semantic Memory

A type of explicit memory that involves the storage and recall of general knowledge, facts, and concepts that are not tied to personal experiences.

Example: Knowing that the capital of Japan is Tokyo or understanding that water boils at 100°C.

Episodic Memory

A type of explicit memory that involves the recollection of personal experiences and specific events in one's life, including the context in which they occurred (time, place, emotions).

Example: Remembering your high school graduation day or a family vacation to the beach.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory that involves the unconscious recall of skills, habits, and actions learned through practice, such as riding a bike or typing.

Example: Being able to drive a car without consciously thinking about the steps involved, like shifting gears or using the pedals.

Autobiographical Memory

A type of explicit memory that involves the recollection of personal experiences and events from one's own life, forming a narrative or story about who we are.

Example: Remembering the details of your childhood home or the first time you traveled abroad.