Unit 2 Vocab

Bottom-up Processing

when you feel something first and then recognize the feeling second (Ex. not experienced, a kid touching a hot stove even though their parents said not to touch, now they know how that burn felt like)

Top-down Processing

when you remember the feeling from the first time and recognize it (Ex. experienced, a kid getting a shot and they already know how it feels)

Schemas

The way to help us organize and interpret information from mental frames (Ex. a child schema meets a dog for the first time which is an animal with four legs and a tail, if they see a cat they will say that's a dog)

Perception

Having the sensory knowledge of the world by processing information with two processes called bottom-up and top-down processing

Perceptual Sets

Expectations that influenced how we perceive the world

Cultural Experiences and Expectations

(Ex. like a peace sign or a thumbs up)

Gestures or Expressions

Different from cultural experiences and expectations depending on cultural norms

Gestalt Psychology

Principles that explain how we organize our perceptions

Closure

Seeing incomplete figures as complete (Ex. seeing a cloud in the sky but your mind percepts it as an elephant)

Figure and Ground

Differentiate objects from their background (Ex. like an optical illusion images)

Proximity

Objects that's close together are seen as a group (Ex. a cluster of dots but perceiving it as a single shape)

Similarity

Similar objects are perceived as a group

Selective Attention

Focusing on specific information or conversations while ignoring others

The Cocktail Party Effect

In a noisy room, you can't hear anything to you unless someone directly says your name and still hear that (Ex. listening to different people's conversations like if you talk to your friend you ONLY focus on your friend and not what other people are talking about)

Inattention

Not paying attention to their environment (Ex. going into your class but your busy listening to music or watching a tiktok, next thing you know you didn't pay attention to what your teacher is saying)

Change Blindness

This occurs when we fail to notice certain changes or things in our environment due to inattention (Ex. moving your friends things around until they notice)

Binocular Depth Cues

Depth perception that relies on visual information from both eyes

Retinal Disparity

The slight difference between the images that project onto each retina helps us perceive depth

Convergence

The brain merging images from both eyes to create a single, three dimensional perception (Ex. something that goes closer and closer to you)

Monocular Depth Cues

Allows us to perceive depth even with one eye (Ex. pair of binoculars)

Relative Clarity

Objects that's closer appear clearer than those farther away

Relative Size

Larger objects are perceived as closer than smaller objects even if it's the same size

Texture Gradient

The surfaces with detailed texture appear closer while smoother textures seem farther away

Linear Perspective

Parallel lines that appear to converge in the distance (Ex. railroad tracks meeting at the horizon)

Interposition

When one object overlaps another so the overlapping object is perceived as closer

Visual Perceptual Constancies

Maintains a consistent perception of objects even when their images change

Size Constancy

Perceiving an object as having a constant size even from a distance from us changes

Shape Constancy

Perceiving an object having a constant shape even when its angle of view changes

Color Constancy

Perceiving familiar objects having a consistent color even under varying lighting conditions

Apparent Movement

Refers to the perception of movement in stationary objects

Concepts

The building blocks of thought, helps us categorize and understand the world

Prototypes

Most typical example of a concept

Assimilation

Incorporating new information into existing schemas without changing them.

Accommodation

Changing schemas to incorporate new information.

Algorithms

A step-by-step process procedures to complete a task by trying possible options (ex. When your teacher tells you to do your assignment, you have to login, go to google classroom, etc.).

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts that simplify decision-making but can lead to errors.

Representativeness Heuristic

Making judgements based on how well you know something that matches a prototype (ex. A gangster with tattoos).

Availability Heuristic

Basing judgements on most available information (ex. Overestimating the danger of flying after hearing about one plane crash).

Memories

Learning knowledge, events, and experiences that differs based on how their processed, stored, and retrieved by the brain.

Explicit Memory

Easily described or explained, hard to explain but easy to do.

Implicit Memory

Challenging to describe or explain.

Episodic Memory

Memories of personal experiences and events, episode something you can visualize/watch (ex. First day of school).

Semantic Memory

General knowledge and facts.

Procedural Memory

Memory for procedures and skills (ex. Tying your shoes).

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform future actions (ex. Taking meds).

Long-Term Potentiation

A biological process where synaptic connections between neurons become stronger with frequent activation.

The Working Memory Model

How to process information for short-term use and transfer it to long-term memory.

Central Executive

The control center of the working memory system.

Phonological Loop

This processes verbal and auditory information, hearing things over and over again (ex. Falling for ya by Teen Beach Soundtrack).

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Visual and spatial information (ex. Going to the americana or your house).

Multi-Store Model

Memory consists of three systems that interact with each other.

Sensory Memory

Holding sensory information, remembering a certain sound or feeling (Ex. remembering the school bell sound).

Short-Term Memory

Holds information temporarily for processing (ex. Your old phone number).

Long-Term Memory

Stores information for extended periods (ex. names, certain memories like past traumatic events).

Automatic Processing

Information that's encoded without conscious effort (ex. Going to your classes).

Effortful Processing

Requires attention and conscious effort.

Levels of Processing Model

Memory that's encoded at three levels from shallow to deep.

Structural Encoding

Focuses on physical structure of information.

Phonemic Encoding

Focuses on how information sounds.

Semantic Encoding

Focuses on the meaning of the information.

Encoding

Involving processes and strategies used to get information into memory.

Mnemonic Devices

Techniques that help with encoding and information into working and long-term memory (Ex. a trick to remember something like learning the abcs in song form).

Method of Loci

A mnemonic device that associates information with specific locations, imagining a location having specific things to remind yourself certain information (Ex. twinkies on the ceiling to remind you to go grocery shopping).

Chunking

Breaking up information into smaller, manageable units.

Categories and Hierarchies

Organizing information into categories or a structured hierarchy (Ex. grouping animals by their types).

Spacing Effect

The encoding and memory consolidation being more effective when information is spread out over time.

Distributed Practice

Information that spreads out over time.

Massed Practice

Cramming information all at once.

Serial Position Effect

Information that's presented affects encoding.

Primacy Effect

Information presented at the beginning of a list that's more likely to be remembered, the first thing you're going to notice.

Recency Effect

Information presented at the end of a list that's more likely to be remembered, the last thing you're going to notice.

Working Memory

Active processing of information in short term memory (Ex. Solving a math problem by keeping certain numbers in mind).

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information to keep in short-term memory, practice or repetition (Ex. Repeating a phone number to remember temporarily).

Elaborative Rehearsal

Connecting new information to existing knowledge to promote long-term retention (Ex. Relating new vocabulary to personal experiences).

Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory

Allowing to recall personal experiences with remarkable detail.

Amnesia

Memory loss due to brain injury or disease.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of old memories from the past, can't remember the past but can make new memories (Ex. Forgetting events before car accident).

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories, remembering the past but can't make new memories (Ex. Not remembering what happened after a brain injury).

Alzheimer's Disease

A progressive disease that destroys memory or other mental functions (Ex. Gradual loss of memory and cognitive abilities in older adults).

Infantile Amnesia

Inability to recall memories from early childhood (Ex. Not being able to remember the first few years of life like birth).

Memory Retrieval

The process of accessing information stored in memory.

Recall

Remembering information without cues (Ex. Being quizzed on easy math problems like 2 + 2).

Recognition

Identifying information using retrieval cues (Ex. Recognizing the correct answer in a multiple-choice question).

Context-Dependent Memory

Retrieval is effective when in the same environment where information was encoded (Ex. Studying in the same room where you'll take the test).

Mood-Congruent Memory

Retrieval is enhanced when in the same mood as information was encoded (Ex. Remembering happy memories more easily when you're in a good mood).

State-Dependent Memory

Retrieval is effective when in the same physical state as encoding.

Testing Effect

Frequent testing of learned material improves long-term retention (ex. Self quizzing on study material instead of re-reading notes repeatedly)

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of their own thought processes can improve memory (ex. Reflecting on which study methods work best for you)

The Forgetting Curve

This illustrates how time impacts memory retention

Encoding Failure

Information never properly encoded into long-term memory (ex. Not remembering someone's name because you never fully paid attention to it)

Proactive Interference

Old information hinders the recall of new information (ex. Trying to remember your new phone number but you keep remembering your old one)

Retroactive Interference

New information makes it hard to recall old information (ex. Forgetting an old password after creating a new one)

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

Knowing that you know something but unable to recall it at the moment (ex. Trying to remember a song you know but can't figure out the name)

Psychodynamic Psychology

A branch of psychology rooted in the ideas of Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud

He believed the impact of an unconscious mind and its motives on our behavior

Repression

According to psychodynamic theorists, some memories are forgotten to protect the ego from distress (ex. Forgetting a traumatic childhood event as a defense mechanism to avoid emotional pain, basically blocking out that trauma)

Misinformation Effect

Remembering wrong information about a certain event

Source Amnesia

Not being able to remember where, when, or how previously learned information was acquired (ex. Recalling an event happening at school but someone asks you where you got that info from but you're unable to recall)

Constructive Memory

Creating partly false memories (ex. Telling someone about a dream you had)

Memory Consolidation

The process where memories become stable in the brain