Untitled Flashcards Set

Prototypes

The most typical example or 'best' representation of a category. Example: When you think of a bird, you likely picture a robin or sparrow, which represent typical traits associated with birds.

Schemas

Mental frameworks that organize and interpret information. Example: Your 'restaurant' schema includes being seated and ordering food, which can get confusing in a buffet setting where self-service is the norm.

Assimilation

Incorporating new information into existing schemas. Example: A child calls a zebra a 'striped horse' after only seeing horses, fitting the zebra into their existing horse schema.

Accommodation

Modifying existing schemas to incorporate new information. Example: After learning that a zebra is not a horse, a child adjusts their thinking to understand that there are different types of four-legged animals.

Algorithms

Step-by-step procedures that guarantee solving a problem. Example: Trying every key on a keyring to find the right one guarantees success but may take a long time.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making but may not always be accurate. Example: Choosing the most expensive brand of pasta based on the belief that a higher price means better quality.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the likelihood of something based on how well it matches a prototype. Example: Assuming someone with glasses reading a book is a librarian rather than a farmer, despite the statistical likelihood favoring farmers.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating likelihood based on how easily examples come to mind. Example: After seeing a plane crash in the news, you might wrongly think air travel is more dangerous than it is.

Mental Set

Approaching problems with a method that worked in the past. Example: Sticking to using a screwdriver to tighten screws, even when a flat coin could also do the job.

Priming

When exposure to one stimulus influences your response to another. Example: Reading 'bread' makes you faster to recognize 'butter' compared to unrelated words.

Framing

The way information is presented affects perception and decisions. Example: Feeling reassured by '90% of patients survive this surgery' but anxious by '10% of patients die during this surgery,' even though they're equivalent.

Gambler’s Fallacy

The belief that past random events affect future outcomes. Example: Assuming a roulette wheel will land on red after landing on black multiple times, despite the independence of each spin.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

Continuing a decision due to past investments, even when it's irrational. Example: Staying to watch a bad movie because you spent money on the tickets.

Executive Functions

Cognitive processes like planning, organizing, and problem-solving that help regulate thoughts and actions. Example: Choosing to finish homework before watching TV to prioritize time.

Creativity

The ability to think of new and original ideas. Example: An artist creating a sculpture from recycled materials demonstrates creativity.

Divergent Thinking

Generating multiple solutions or ideas for a problem. Example: Thinking of various uses for a paperclip, like a bookmark or keychain.

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing down multiple possibilities to find the single best solution. Example: Analyzing options in a math question to choose the correct answer.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to see objects only for their traditional purpose. Example: Unable to use a rock to hammer a nail because you're stuck thinking only a hammer can do that job.

Storage

The process of keeping information in the brain for future use. Example: Recalling biology terms on an exam that you studied and stored in memory.

Retrieval

The process of accessing stored information in the brain. Example: Naming the capital of France as 'Paris' demonstrates retrieval.

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences you can consciously recall. Example: Remembering your friend's birthday or a specific vacation.

Episodic Memory

A type of explicit memory for personal experiences and specific events. Example: Recalling your high school graduation day, including details and feelings.

Semantic Memory

A type of explicit memory for general knowledge and facts. Example: Knowing that Rome is the capital of Italy.

Implicit Memory

Memories we don’t consciously recall but influence our behavior. Example: Typing on a keyboard without focusing on the location of each key.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory involving skills and habits. Example: Riding a bike after years without practice due to muscle memory.

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform a future task. Example: Remembering to take your medication after lunch.

Long-Term Potentiation

A process where repeated activity strengthens neural connections, aiding learning and memory. Example: Practicing vocabulary leads to easier recall over time.

Working Memory Model

A model describing how information is temporarily held and processed. Example: Holding numbers in mind while solving a math problem.

Primary Memory System

The components involved in storing and retrieving short-term and working memory. Example: Dialing a phone number held in mind.

Working Memory

A system for temporarily holding and manipulating information for tasks. Example: Keeping track of ingredients while cooking.

Central Executive

The part of working memory that directs attention and processing. Example: Choosing to focus on reading or engaging in conversation.

Phonological Loop

The part of working memory that processes verbal and auditory information. Example: Repeating a phone number in your head until you can write it down.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

The part of working memory that processes visual and spatial information. Example: Visualizing room layout for rearranging furniture.

Long-Term Memory

The storage of information for extended periods, possibly indefinitely. Example: Remembering your native language.

Multi-Store Model

A theory that memory is composed of three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Example: Seeing a phone number, writing it down, and memorizing it.

Sensory Memory

The initial, very brief recording of sensory information. Example: Briefly recalling a sign's shape after glancing at it.

Iconic Memory

A type of sensory memory for visual information. Example: Remembering the image of a traffic light for a moment after looking away.

Echoic Memory

A type of sensory memory for auditory information. Example: Remembering the last few words spoken to you moments ago.

Automatic Processing

Encoding information unconsciously, without effort. Example: Remembering what you ate for lunch without trying to.

Effortful Processing

Encoding information intentionally and with effort. Example: Using flashcards to memorize vocabulary.

Encoding

The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory. Example: Transforming words into meaningful ideas while reading.

Levels of Processing Model

A theory that memory retention depends on the depth of information processing. Example: Deep processing involves understanding concepts, leading to better recall.

Shallow Encoding

Basic processing focused on surface-level features. Example: Remembering a word's capital letters but not its meaning.

Deep Encoding

Processing information based on meaning and connections. Example: Remembering 'justice' by associating it with fairness.

Structural, Phonemic, Semantic

Levels of encoding—structural focuses on appearance, phonemic on sound, and semantic on meaning. Example: Remembering 'CAT' by its appearance, sound, or meaning.

Mnemonic Devices

Techniques for improving memory by creating associations. Example: Using 'PEMDAS' to remember the order of operations in math.

Method of Loci

Associating information with specific physical locations. Example: Visualizing items from a shopping list in different rooms of your house.

Chunking

Grouping information into smaller, manageable units. Example: Remembering a phone number as 555-123-4567 instead of as a long string.

Categories

Mental groupings of similar objects, ideas, or events to simplify and organize information. Example: Categorizing animals into mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Hierarchies

Organizing information into levels, from broad concepts to specific details. Example: In the furniture category, furniture is broken down into chairs, which can include armchairs.

Spacing Effect

Learning is more effective when study sessions are spaced out over time rather than crammed. Example: Studying daily for 30 minutes is more effective than cramming for 10 hours.

Memory Consolidation

The process of stabilizing a memory after it is encoded, often during sleep. Example: Practicing a new song makes it easier to play the next day due to overnight memory strengthening.

Massed Practice

Cramming all learning into one session. Example: Memorizing an entire chapter the night before the exam.

Distributed Practice

Spreading learning over multiple sessions. Example: Reviewing material for 20 minutes each day for a week.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list better than the middle. Example: Remembering the first item 'milk' and last item 'bread' on a grocery list.

Primacy Effect

Better recall of items at the beginning of a list. Example: Remembering 'apples' as the first word on a list.

Recency Effect

Better recall of items at the end of a list. Example: Remembering 'bananas' as the last item heard.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repetition to keep information in short-term memory longer. Example: Repeating a phone number until you can write it down.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Connecting new information to existing knowledge to aid retention. Example: Remembering 'photosynthesis' by thinking of plants needing sunlight.

Memory Retention

The ability to maintain information over time. Example: Remembering your home address after years.

Autobiographical Memory

A type of memory for personal life events and experiences. Example: Recalling your first day at school.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memories from before an injury or trauma. Example: Forgetting everything from the year before a car accident.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories after an injury or trauma. Example: Remembering past events but not being able to remember what was just eaten for breakfast.

Alzheimer’s Disease

A progressive brain disorder leading to memory loss and cognitive decline. Example: Forgetting names of family members and daily tasks.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability to remember events from early childhood. Example: Not recalling memories before the age of 3.

Context-Dependent Memory

Improved recall when in the same environment where the memory was formed. Example: Remembering the location of keys when returning to the same room.

Mood-Congruent Memory

The tendency to remember memories that correspond to your current mood. Example: Feeling happy makes it easier to recall joyful experiences.

State-Dependent Memory

Better recall when in the same state as during learning. Example: Remembering information learned while caffeinated again when similarly caffeinated.

Testing Effect

Improved memory by actively retrieving information rather than passive rereading. Example: Taking practice quizzes enhances memory retention better than just reading notes.

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes. Example: Realizing you don’t understand material while studying, leading you to reread it.

Forgetting Curve

Graph showing how quickly information is forgotten over time without reinforcement. Example: Losing 50% of a lecture's detail within an hour without a review.

Encoding Failure

When information fails to enter long-term memory. Example: Forgetting the intricate details of a coin after never paying attention to them.

Proactive Interference

Old information interferes with learning new information. Example: Finding it hard to learn a new phone number due to recalling your old one.

Retroactive Interference

New information interferes with recalling old information. Example: Forgetting last semester's course details after starting the current semester's content.

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

Feeling of knowing something but being unable to recall it. Example: Struggling to name a song you know well but forgetting its title at the moment.

Repression (Psychodynamic)

Unconscious forgetting of distressing memories to protect oneself. Example: A person not recalling a traumatic childhood incident.

Misinformation Effect

Alteration of a memory due to misleading information. Example: Misremembering details about an accident after hearing incorrect descriptions.

Source Amnesia

Forgetting where or how you learned information. Example: Recalling a fact but unsure if you heard it from friends or read it.

Constructive Memory

Memories influenced or altered by new information. Example: Erroneously believing a friend attended your birthday after someone else mentioned them.

Imagination Inflation

Increased confidence in a false memory due to repeated imagining. Example: Believing you visited a famous place after visualizing it multiple times.

Intelligence

The ability to learn, solve problems, and adapt to new situations. Example: Successfully solving mathematical problems illustrates intelligence.

g (General Intelligence)

A broad ability influencing performance across intellectual tasks. Example: A person's high math skills may correlate with strong reading comprehension.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

A standardized score measuring intellectual ability. Example: Scoring above 100 on an IQ test indicates above-average intellect.

Stereotype Threat

Worry about confirming a negative stereotype that affects performance. Example: A female student performing worse on a math test after being reminded of gender stereotypes.

Flynn Effect

The observed rise in average IQ scores over time, likely due to improved education, nutrition, and technology. Example: A person scoring 100 on an IQ test in 1980 would likely score lower if they took the same test today due to rising standards.

Achievement Tests

Tests designed to measure what a person has learned in a specific subject or area. Example: A math final exam evaluates how well students understand the material taught during the course.

Aptitude Tests

Tests designed to predict a person’s ability to learn or perform in the future. Example: The SAT is an aptitude test that predicts a student’s likelihood of succeeding in college.

Fixed Mindset

The belief that intelligence and abilities are static and unchangeable. Example: A student who avoids challenging tasks because they think they’re 'just not good at math' demonstrates a fixed mindset.

Growth Mindset

The belief that intelligence and abilities can develop with effort and learning. Example: A student who practices difficult math problems because they believe they can improve shows a growth mindset.