Psychology Unit 2 (Cognition)

Cognition

Every mental activity that is connected to thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes

Concept

Mental grouping of similar objects, people, ideas or events

Prototype

Best example that clearly identifies a category, helps group and identify objects

Assimilation

Connecting new information to existing schemas (Bottom-Up Processing) (Child calling indigo Purple because similar)

Accomodation

Adapting current schemas to include new info (Child learning that indigo is separate than Purple but is still a kind or related to it)

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing current solutions to the best one

Divergent Thinking

Expands the number of solutions that leads to may directions from creative thinking

Expertise

Knowing a lot about a subject enough to find many ways to use it to find many solutions

Venturesome Personality

Willingness to seek new opportunities or take on new risks

Imaginative Thinking

Ability to see things in a new way and make connections

Intrinsic Motivation

The drive to partake in something based on interest, satisfaction, and challenge

Creative Environment

A place that sparks innovation and collaboration

Executive Functions

Thinking processes that help regulate behavior (towards goals) and achieve goals

Algorithm

A procedure that guarantees a solution to a problem through analysis and thinking

Heuristic

Shortcuts that give quick decisions but can have errors in judgement

Representative Heuristic

Judging events based upon a stereotype/representation they get

Availability Heuristic

Judging events based upon how quick an example comes to mind

Insight

Sudden realization of a solution

Confirmation Bias

Finding information that supports existing beliefs

Fixation

Can’t see/approach a problem from a new view

Intuition

Immediate decision on something without conscious thinking (Gut-Feeling)

Belief Perseverance

Keeping the same view on someone based upon initial meetings/knowledge even with counter information

Overconfidence

Tendency to be more confident than correct, overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs

Framing

The way a problem/sentence is posed (What college are you going to? or Are you going to college?)

Nudge

Placing framing choices in a way that persuades people to make certain decisions

Semantic

A part of Explicit (Declarative) long-term memory of facts and general knowledge

Episodic

A part of Explicit (Declarative) long-term memory of personal experiences

Implicit (Non-declarative) Long-Term Memory

Unconscious recalling of memories (Motor skills & Classical Conditioning) and Important for survival since from infancy

Classical Conditioning

A type of learning where an object that doesn’t illicit a response gets associated with a stimulus that has a response. Eventually the object starts getting a response due to the association. (Dog trained to hit a buzzer for a treat)

Memory Consolidation

Neural storage of a long-term memory

Hippocampus

Neural center in the Limbic system, helps process explicit memories and long term memories

Cerebellum

Forms & stores implicit memories and carries out/balances movements (classical conditioning)

Basal Ganglia

Motor movement, controls the formations of skill memories

Consciousness

Place that holds Memories that were recalled and processed

Infantile Amnesia

First 4 years are blank of memories, but the Limbic system is strong

Flashbulb Memories

Snapshots of learning shocking events (9/11)

Retrieval Cue

The brain connecting spoken and implied data (more cues better retrieval)

Retrospective Memory

Recalling memories from the past

Prospective Memory

Doing an action and imagining a future action

Priming

Exposed to a stimulus that helps recall another stimulus (Brain looks for that stimulus or similar stimuli) (Ex. Slowly learning about functions in math until you learn derivatives)

Encoding Specificity Principle

Cues connected to a memory helps recall it (Better recall if same location as info learned)

Mood Congruent

Recall info better when in same mood as learned

State Dependent Memory

Higher recall if in same state as learned (Substances)

Serial Position Effect

Tendency to recall the first and last things on a list

Recency Effect

Recall recently learned things

Primary Effect

Recall first things learned

Metacognition

Thinking about one’s one thoughts (Testing confidence on material, planning tasks)

Testing Effect

Self-testing and rehearsal & Getting info from brain activity (Ex. Pop quiz in psychology)

Interleaving

Mixing studies of different topics

Memory

A thing held in the mind by constantly learning over time by encoding, storing and retrieving info

Recall

Retrieving info that isn’t currently in the consciousness but has been learned before

Recognition

A measure of the memory on info that was previously taught by a cue/choices

Relearning

Measure of how long it takes to learn something again in a new way

Ebbinghaus’ Retention Curve

A curve that shows how over a few days, our memory of something, without trying to relearn it, fades in our memory

Parallel Processing

Processing multiple things at once

Encoding

Getting info to our brains

Storage

Retaining info

Retrieval

Getting info from the mind

Explicit Memories (Semantic & Episodic memory)

Memories holding onto facts and experiences (Ex. Tallest mountain in the world? and memories of Mt Everest)

Effortful processing

Actually trying to learn and memorize info

Automatic Processing

Subconsciously sorting info to be used again (Cook so much you just know)

Implicit Memories

Retainined learned skills or associating info to other info

Sensory Memory

Immediate and brief recording of sensory info in memory

Short Term

Briefly activated memory of a few things that is remembered when doing actions but soon forgotten about

Long Term Memory

Basically permanent and unlimited library of memories (skills, knowledge and experiences)

Short Term (Working) Memory

Active processing of just learned info or info from long term memory

Central Executive

A component of memory that looks over and decides on actions for the Phonological Loop and Visuospatial Sketchpad

Phonological Loop

Memory that briefly holds auditory info

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Memory that briefly holds visual and spatial info

Neurogenesis

Increased actions in specific brain pathways may form new neurons (interconnections), good things and serotonin help this

Long-term Potentiation

Neurons fire together that strengthens their connections after quick stimulation, how memory gets into the brain (Ex. ice bath)

Iconic Memory

fading memory of visual stimuli that happened for a few seconds

Echoic Memory

Fading memory of auditory stimuli that happened for a few seconds

Shallow Processing

Basic Level Encoding/Remembering (T-O-Y is toy)

Deep Processing/Elaborative Rehearsal

Encoding from meanings (Carpe diem - seize the day)

Chunking

Breaking info into smaller parts to remember it (Ex. Phone #’s)

Mnemonics

Organized imagery that helps in learning info (Ex. ROYGBIV)

Hierarchies

Adding new info or learned lessons to established info, info of other items are ranked based upon some criteria

Spacing Effect

Studying materials with breaks in between (Longer time = better memory)

Selective Attention

Placing focus awareness on specific stimuli (Internal factors alter reality like hormones, attention, expectations, motivations,and emotions)

Cocktail Party Effect

Ability to hear 1 Voice in a crowded room

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when your attention is elsewhere

Change Blindness

Form of Inattentional blindness, failing to notice changes in an environment

Perceptual Set

Expectations to see one thing and not another

Schemas

Concepts you form to organize and interpret unknown info (Usually gained from Parents)

Gestalt

Organized Whole - Tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful unified information

Figure Ground

A tendency that organizes the visual field into objects that stand out from the background

Grouping

A tendency that organizes stimuli into groups (Proximity, similarity, and Closure)

Depth Perception

Ability to see objects in 3D, even if it’s a 2D object

Visual Cliff

Lab device for testing depth perception of infants and young animals (Smile = Babies cross the cliff, Fear = Babie don’t cross)

Critical Period

If babies aren’t introduced to stimuli in the first 3 years, they never gain that knowledge/experience

Binocular Cue

A Depth Cue that depends on the two eyes (Ex. Retinal Disparity)

Retinal Disparity

Binocular cue for perceiving depth, compares retinal images from both eyes while the brain computes the distance (Greater disparity = Closer object)

Convergence

Retinal images combined by the brain (All but split brain)

Monocular Cue

Good for seeing distance, depth cue for either eye

Relative Clarity

Light through objects that are far look hazy to the eyes

Relative Size

Larger objects look closer than they are

Texture Gradient

Perception of texture changes with distance

Linear perspective

Parallel lines look to converge at a distance