Ap Psychology Unit 2 Topic 1-3

Bottom-up processing

data-driven mental processing where an individual builds a perception from the raw sensory input of the environment, without relying on prior knowledge, expectations, or past experiences

Top-down processing

a cognitive process where the brain uses prior knowledge, expectations, context, and past experiences to interpret incoming sensory information.

Perceptual set

a mental predisposition or readiness to perceive one thing and not another based on expectations, context, culture, emotions, or past experiences.

Gestalt psychology

a school of thought in AP Psychology stating that the human brain naturally perceives objects, patterns, and sensory inputs as organized, unified wholes rather than a collection of separate parts, famously summarized by the maxim: "the whole is different (or greater) than the sum of its parts"

Closure

the Gestalt principle where the brain automatically fills in missing information in an incomplete visual stimulus to perceive a complete, unified whole

Figure and ground

a Gestalt principle of perceptual organization in which the brain automatically separates a visual scene into a main focal object (the figure) and everything else surrounding it (the ground)

Proximity

a Gestalt principle of perceptual organization stating that we tend to group objects that are close to one another together into a single, unified perceptual unit.

Similarity

a Gestalt principle of perception stating that the human brain naturally groups together individual elements that share visual or physical characteristics.

Selective attention

the cognitive process of focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus or task while filtering out other competing environmental information

Cocktail party effect

the psychological ability to focus one's auditory attention on a single conversation or voice while filtering out a cacophony of other background sounds

Inattentional blindness

the psychological phenomenon of failing to notice a fully visible, unexpected object or event because your attention is intensely focused on something else

Change blindness

a psychological phenomenon where a person fails to notice a large or obvious change in their visual environment.

Binocular depth cues

visual information and distance signals that require the use of both eyes working together to perceive three-dimensional space and judge distance

Retinal disparity

the slight difference between the visual images projected on the retinas of the left and right eyes because of the separate positions and viewing angles of our eyes.

Convergence

a binocular depth cue—an automatic physical process where your eyes turn inward toward each other when you focus on a nearby object

Monocular depth cues

visual signals of distance and depth that can be perceived using only one eye. They allow a flat, two-dimensional surface (such as a painting, photograph, or movie screen) to look three-dimensional.

Relative clarity

a monocular depth cue—a visual signal that allows you to judge distance and depth using only one eye.

Relative size

a monocular depth cue (a depth cue that requires only one eye) in which, if two objects are assumed to be of similar size, the object casting the smaller retinal image is perceived as being farther away.

Texture gradient

a monocular depth cue—a visual signal that requires only one eye—in which a surface's pattern appears coarse and distinct up close, then gradually becomes finer, denser, and less distinct as it recedes into the distance. Your brain interprets this steady shift from rough to smooth as an indicator of distance and depth.

Linear perspective

a monocular depth cue in AP Psychology where parallel lines (such as railroad tracks or the edges of a road) appear to come together and meet at a single point in the distance

Interposition

a monocular depth cue—a visual signal that allows you to perceive depth and distance using only one eye.

Apparent movement

a perceptual illusion where the brain perceives motion in stationary objects or images that are not actually moving/

Prototype

the best or most typical example of a mental category or concept

Schema

a mental framework, blueprint, or organized pattern of thought that helps you organize, interpret, and make sense of information and experiences

Assimilation

a cognitive process—defined by Jean Piaget—where an individual incorporates new experiences, objects, or information into existing mental schemas (frameworks or categories of knowledge) without changing the core framework

Accommodation

the process of altering an existing schema (mental framework) or creating a new one to fit new information or experiences that do not fit into current beliefs

Algorithm

a methodical, step-by-step procedure or set of rules that guarantees a correct solution to a problem if followed accurately

Heuristics

a mental shortcut or "rule of thumb" that simplifies problem-solving and decision-making, allowing you to reach a quick conclusion without doing an exhaustive analysis

Representativeness heuristic

a mental shortcut where you judge the probability or category of something by how closely it matches a familiar mental prototype, stereotype, or average

Availability heuristic

a mental shortcut (heuristic) where you judge the likelihood, frequency, or importance of an event based on how easily examples of it come to mind

Mental set

the tendency to approach a new problem using a strategy that has worked on previous problems, even when a simpler or more effective method is available

Priming

the unconscious activation of particular associations in memory, where exposure to one stimulus (the prime) influences how a person responds to a subsequent stimulus

Framing

the way an issue, question, or choice is presented or structured, which can significantly influence people's decisions and judgments.

Gambler's fallacy

a cognitive bias where a person mistakenly believes that past random events can affect the probability of future random events

Sunk-cost fallacy

a cognitive bias in AP Psychology where a person continues an endeavor, project, or relationship based on past, unrecoverable investments (such as time, money, or effort) rather than future benefits

Executive functions

higher-level cognitive processes managed by the prefrontal cortex in the frontal lobe that let a person plan, focus attention, control impulses, and manage goal-directed behavior

Creativity

the ability to produce ideas that are both novel (original) and valuable (useful or adaptive).

Divergent thinking

a cognitive process that expands outward to generate many different, creative solutions to a single problem or question.

Convergent thinking

is a cognitive process that involves narrowing down multiple options, ideas, or pieces of information to identify a single, best, or correct solution to a well-defined problem.

Functional fixedness

a cognitive bias (and a form of fixation) in AP Psychology where a person perceives an object solely by its usual, traditional function, which blocks creative problem-solving

Explict Memory

the conscious, intentional recollection of facts, events, and personal experiences that you can easily describe or "declare" in words

Episodic memory

a subtype of explicit (declarative) memory that involves the conscious recollection of personal experiences, life events, and specific episodes tied to a particular time and place

Semantic memory

a subdivision of explicit (declarative) memory that stores general world knowledge, facts, and meanings (like an encyclopedia or mental thesaurus) rather than personal life experiences

Implicit memory

a type of long-term memory that is retrieved and used without conscious awareness, influencing your behavior, thoughts, or motor skills automatically rather than through deliberate recall

Procedural memory

a subtype of implicit memory (non-declarative memory) that stores long-term information for how to perform specific motor skills, habits, and cognitive routines without conscious recall

Prospective memory

the ability to remember to perform a planned action or intention at some point in the future. In AP Psychology, it is often summarized as "remembering to remember"

Long-term potentiation

a lasting, biological strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons that occurs after brief, rapid, or repeated activation

Working memory model

an active, limited-capacity system that temporarily holds and manipulates information while performing cognitive tasks (such as mental math, reasoning, or language comprehension).

Primary memory model

short-term memory (STM) or working memory

Central executive

the control and attentional hub of Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch's model of working memory (introduced in 1974). It acts as the "boss" or supervisor of working memory rather than a storage unit. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Phonological loop

the subcomponent of Baddeley and Hitch's working memory model that temporarily holds and manipulates verbal and auditory (sound-based) information

Visuospatial sketchpad

a component of Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch's model of working memory that temporarily holds and manipulates visual and spatial information (often called the "inner eye")

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent, virtually unlimited-capacity storage system that holds information, experiences, skills, and knowledge over extended periods—ranging from a few minutes to a lifetime

Multi-store model

describes memory as a linear, three-stage information-processing system. Information moves sequentially through three distinct stores, managed by control processes like attention and rehearsal1.

Sensory Register (SR)

2. Short-Term Memory (STM / Working Memory)

3. Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Sensory memory

the initial, immediate, and very brief recording of sensory information (from sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch) in the memory system before it fades or is transferred to short-term memory

Iconic memory

is a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli—a photographic or picture-image memory of a scene that lasts for no more than a few tenths of a second (roughly 0.25 to 0.5 seconds, or 250 to 500 milliseconds) before fading away

Echoic memory

a type of sensory memory that briefly holds an exact, raw copy of auditory (sound) information in the primary auditory cortex just after it has been heard

Automatic processing

the unconscious, effortless, and fast encoding or execution of information and tasks that happens without conscious attention or intent

Effortful processing

the encoding of information into long-term memory that requires conscious attention, deliberate focus, and active mental work

Encoding

the first stage of memory where sensory information is converted into a mental representation that the brain can store and later retrieve

Levels of processing model

long-term memory retention depends on how deeply information is processed during encoding, rather than simply how long you rehearse it or which memory store it enters

Shallow encoding

the mental processing of information based on surface-level, perceptual, or physical characteristics rather than its meaning

Deep encoding

processing information by focusing on its meaning, context, and significance, rather than its surface-level physical or acoustic features