PSYCH Unit 2

apparent movement

an illusion of motion or change in size of a visual stimulus

attention

a state in which an individual is focused on certain aspects of the environment rather than on others

binocular depth cue

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

bottom-up processing

Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information.

change blindness

Failing to notice differences in the environment.

closure

The tendency to complete figures that are incomplete.

cocktail party effect

Ability to attend to only one voice among many.

color constancy

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

constancies

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.

context

refers to the environment in which a stimulus event occurs (e.g., the location or circumstances surrounding the stimulus); this affects memory, learning, judgment and perception

convergence

The ability to turn the two eyes inward toward each other to look at a close object, enabling the slightly different images of an object seen by each eye to come together and form a single image, allowing us to see depth with the use of both of our eyes.

figure and ground

The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings.

Gestalt psychology

The whole experience is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our focus is directed elsewhere.

interposition

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer.

linear perspective

Two objects appear closer together as the distance from them increases, as seen in the tracks of a railroad that appear to converge on the horizon.

monocular depth cues

The information in the retinal image that gives us information about depth and distance but can be inferred from just a single eye.

lightness constancy

the tendency to perceive a familiar object as having the same brightness under different conditions of illumination; for example, a piece of white paper appears to have similar brightness in daylight as it does at dusk, even though the energy it reflects may be quite different

perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

perceptual constancy

the phenomenon in which an object or its properties appear unchanged despite variations in the stimulus itself or in the external conditions of observation, such as object orientation or level of illumination.

proximity

Gestalt grouping principle; we group nearby figures together.

relative clarity

Objects that appear sharp, clear, and detailed are seen as closer than more hazy objects

relative height

We perceive objects higher in our field of vision as farther away; a visual and artistic perspective where distant objects are seen or portrayed as being smaller or higher in relation to items that are closer.

relative size

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the smaller retinal image is farther away.

retinal disparity

A binocular for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

schema

a collection of basic knowledge about a concept or entity that serves as a guide to perception, interpretation, imagination, or problem solving. For example, the schema "dorm room" suggests that a bed and a desk are probably part of the scene, that a microwave oven might or might not be, and that expensive Persian rugs probably will not be.

selective attention

The ability to focus on one stimulus while excluding other stimuli that are present.

shape constancy

A type of perceptual constancy in which an object is perceived as having the same shape when viewed at different angles.

similarity

The tendency to perceive things that look like each other as being part of the same group.

size constancy

The ability to perceive an object as being the same size despite the fact that the size of its retinal image changes depending on its distance from the observer.

texture gradient

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; a gradual change from a coarse distinct pattern to a fine, indistinct pattern signals increasing distance. Objects far away appear smaller and more densely packed.

top down processing

Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.

accommodation

a process in which schema are changed in response to new information

acoustic encoding

The encoding of sound, especially the sounds of words.

algorithm

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

Alzheimer's disease

A neurocognitive disorder marked by neural plaques, often with an onset after age 80, and entailing a progressive decline in memory and other cognitive abilities.

anterograde amnesia

A phenomenon in which a person suffers a brain injury from a stroke or an accident and loses the ability to form new memories since the injury is called

assimilation

a process in which old or existing schema are used to interpret information

autobiographical memory

a person's memory for episodes or experiences that occurred in their own life (may contain episodic and semantic memories that are personally relevant)

automatic processing

The unconscious and effortless process of encoding information such as space, time, and frequency.

availability heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability on memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common

capacity of short-term memory

The magical number 7 plus or minus 2 (5-9 items)

central executive

in Baddeley's model of working memory, this is the component that coordinates processes of working memory, including the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad; it focuses attention, switches attention between different tasks, and initiates long-term encoding and retrieval.

chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

cognition

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

context-dependent memory

memories are more easily retrieved when one is in the same physical location in which those memories were encoded; for example, remembering events from 1st grade more easily when again in one's elementary school classroom

convergent thinking

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

deep encoding/processing

Mental activity that requires deliberation and control and involves a sense of effort, or overcoming resistance.

distributed practice

a learning procedure in which practice periods for a particular task are separated by lengthy rest periods or lengthy periods of practicing different activities or studying other material, rather than occurring close together in time. In many learning situations, distributed practice is found to be more effective than massed practice. Also called spaced learning; spaced practice

divergent thinking

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

duration of short-term memory

20 seconds to 20 minutes

echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3-4 seconds.

effortful processing

Mental activity that requires deliberation and control and involves intentional work.

elaborative rehearsal

A memorization method that involves thinking about how new information relates to information already stored in long-term memory.

encoding

The processing of information into the memory system.

encoding failure

Failure to process information into memory.

episodic memory

the ability to remember personally experienced events associated with a particular time and place; in addition to recalling the facts of a past event, an individual has to engage in "mental time travel" and remember that they were the one who lived the event. The hippocampus plays a key role in episodic memory formation and retrieval

executive functions

higher level cognitive processes of planning, decision making, problem solving, action sequencing, task assignment and organization, flexibility in goal selection, and goal-conflict resolution.

explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare

forgetting curve

A graphic depiction of the amount of forgetting over time after learning has taken place. There is generally a sudden drop in retention shortly after learning, followed by a more gradual decline thereafter.

framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments

functional fixedness

The tendency to perceive an object only in terms of its most common use.

gambler's fallacy

The belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently

heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently

iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more that a few tenths of a second.

imagination inflation

the increased likelihood that a person will judge an event as having actually occurred (e.g., during childhood) when they imagine the event before making such a judgment.

implicit memory

Memory for information that is acquired and expressed unconsciously or automatically via facilitated performance on a related task.

infantile amnesia

The inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3.

levels of processing model

focuses on the depth of processing involved in memory, and predicts the deeper information is processed, the longer a memory trace will last; it includes structural, phenetic, and semantic processing

long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system, includes knowledge, skills and experiences.

maintenance rehearsal

Repeating items over and over to maintain them in short-term memory, although it does not effectively promote long-term retention because it involves little elaboration of the information to be remembered.

massed practice

Encoding information all at once - less effective that distributed practice

memory

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information is known as

memory consolidation

The neural processes through which new information from STM is stabilized to result in the storage of enduring memories within LTM.

constructive memory

The process of bringing up old memories, filling in any missing pieces of information to make our recall more clear.

memory retention

Holding on to information.

mental set

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

method of loci

A mnemonic technique that involves associating items on a list with a sequence or tour of familiar physical locations.

misinformation effect

Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

mnemonic device

A memory aid, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current emotional state.

multi-store model

Three stage memory model including sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

phonological loop

a component that holds and manipulates auditory information over short intervals of time. For example, if one tried to remember a telephone number by repeating it over and over in the few moments before dialing, this effort would take place in the phonological loop.

primacy effect

The tendency for facts, impressions, or items that are presented first to be better learned or remembered than material presented later in the sequence.

priming

The effect in which recent experience of a stimulus facilitates or inhibits later processing of the same or a similar stimulus.

proactive interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.

phonemic encoding

focuses on how words sound; form of shallow processing

procedural memory

A type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits.

prospective memory

One's ability to remember to do something in the future.

prototype

A mental image or best example of a category

recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information without the use of any cues to jog one's memory.

recency effect

a memory phenomenon in which the most recently presented facts, impressions, or items are learned or remembered better than material presented earlier.

recognition

A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned due to the presence of retrieval cues.

rehearsal

The repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.

representativeness heuristic

Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

repression

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.

retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

retrieval cues

stimuli that help people retrieve memories; can be present in the external environment, such as sounds, smells, and sights, and can also be internal to the person retrieving the memory, such as physical states or feelings