Unit Two: Cognition

accommodation

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

inadequate retrieval

The inability to recall long-term memories due to a breakdown in the process of remembering.

retroactive interference

The disruption effect of new information on the recall of old information.

retrograde amnesia

A phenomenon in which a person suffers a brain injury from a stroke or an accident and loses the ability to remember events immediately before the injury is called

schemas

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.

semantic encoding

Cognitive encoding of new information that focuses on its meaningful aspects as opposed to its perceptual characteristics.

semantic memory

A category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of ideas, concepts, and facts commonly regarded as general knowledge.

sensory memory

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

serial position effect

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

shallow encoding/processing

Cognitive processing of a stimulus that focuses on its superficial, perceptual characteristics rather than something more meaningful.

short-term memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.

source amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

spacing effect

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention that is achieved through massed study or practice

state-dependent memory

The phenomenon through which memory retrieval is most efficient when an individual is in the same state of consciousness as they were when the memory was formed.

storage

The process of maintaining information in memory over time.

structural encoding

(appearance) which is when we encode only the physical qualities of something; form of shallow processing

sunk-cost fallacy

A framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation

testing effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.

tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

The temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach.

visuospatial sketchpad

efers to our ability temporarily to hold visual and spatial information, such as the location of a parked car, or the route from home to a grocery store

working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on information retrieved from long-term memory.