Cognition Test

Selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

Inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

Change blindness

failing to notice changes in the enviornment

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive things one way and not another

Gestalt

an organized whole of pieces of information

Figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground)

Grouping

the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups

Depth perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions; allows us to judge distance

Visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

Binocular cues

a depth cue that depends on the use of both eyes

Convergence

a cue to a nearby object’s distance enabled by the inward angle of the eyes

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; the greater the disparity between two images, the closer the object

Monocular cue

a depth cue available to either eye alone

Stroboscopic movement

an illusion of continuous movement experienced when viewing a rapid series of slightly varying still images

Phi phenomenon

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

Autokinetic effect

the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room

Perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change

Color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if the changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

Perceptual adaptation

the ability to adjust changed sensory input

Cognition

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

Metacognition

cognition about our cognition; thinking about thinking

Concept

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 new and novel ideas

Convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

Schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Assimilation

interpreting new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Accommodation

adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information

Executive functioning

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior

Algorithm

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

Heuristics

a mental shortcut that allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

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

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective

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

Representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

Availability heuristic

judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

Overconfidence

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

Belief perserverance

the persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after they’ve been discredited

Framing

the way an issue is posed

Nudge

framing choices in a way that encourages people to make beneficial decisions

Memory

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

Recall

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

Recognition

a measure of memory in which a person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice question

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Parallel processing

processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

Sensory memory

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

Short-term memory

briefly activated memory of a few items that is later stored or forgotten

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent, limitless archive of the memory system

Working memory

conscious, active processing of both incoming sensory information and information retrieved from long-term memory

Central executive

a memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

Phonological loop

a memory component that briefly holds auditory information

Visuospatial sketchpad

a memory component that briefly holds visual information

Neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

Long-term potentation

an increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

Explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare”

Effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental (space, time) and familiar information (sounds, smells, words)

Implicit memory

retention of learned skills or conditioned associations without conscious awareness

Iconic memory

a photographic memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units

Mnemonics

memory aids that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study/practice to lead to better long-term retention

Testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than 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

explicit memories of facts and general knowledge

Episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events

Hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

Memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

Flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of associations in memory

Encoding specificity

the idea that cues and context 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 good or bad mood

Serial position effect

our tendency to best recall the last items in a list initially (recency effect) and the first items in a list after a delay (primacy effect)

Interleaving

a retrieval strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics

Anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Retrograde amnesia

an inability to remember information from one’s past

Proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

Repression

the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Reconsolidation

a process by which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

Misinformation effect

occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

Source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined

Deja vu

that eerie sense of having experienced something before caused by cues from the current situation that may unconsciously trigger the retrieval of an earlier experience