Unit 2: Memory & Intelligence

What is Memory?

The persistence of learning over time that is able to be recalled.

Procedural Memory

Memory for skills and actions learned through practice, such as how to play soccer or volleyball.

Visual Memory

Memory for the things one has experienced visually.

Declarative/Semantic Memory

Memory for facts and knowledge acquired through study.

Episodic Memories

Memories of significant events in personal history, often with strong emotional ties.

Flashbulb Memories

Highly detailed and vivid memories of dramatic events.

Atkinson-Schiffrin Model

A model of memory that includes sensory input, working memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

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

Working Memory

A short-term memory system that temporarily holds and processes information.

Long-Term Memory

The relatively permanent storage of information, with a vast capacity.

Primacy Effect

The tendency to remember the first items in a list better than those in the middle.

Recency Effect

The tendency to remember the last items in a list better than those in the middle.

Mnemonics

Memory aids or techniques that enhance encoding and recall.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

The strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity.

Retrieval Failure

The inability to recall information from memory, sometimes known as 'tip of the tongue'.

Anterograde Amnesia

The inability to form new memories after a certain event.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memories from before an event, often due to brain injury.

Charles Spearman

Psychologist who proposed the existence of general intelligence ('g').

L.L. Thurstone

Psychologist who identified multiple primary mental abilities, rather than a single intelligence.

Howard Gardner's Theory

Theory of multiple intelligences, suggesting individuals excel in different areas.

Robert Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

Theory of intelligence that includes analytical, creative, and practical intelligence.

Heuristic

Mental shortcuts that simplify decision making.

Availability Heuristic

Judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

Representativeness Heuristic

Categorizing based on how similar something is to a typical case.

Divergent Thinking

A thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to see objects as only working in a particular way, limiting creativity.

Phonemes

The smallest units of sound in a language.

Morphemes

The smallest units of meaning in a language.

Grammar

The system of rules that govern the structure of sentences.

Semantics

The study of meaning in language.

Syntax

The arrangement of words to create well-formed sentences.

Alfred Binet

Psychologist who developed the first intelligence test to identify children needing help.

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Test

An adaptation of the Binet test, developed by Lewis Terman, to measure inherited intelligence.

IQ Formula

IQ = (mental age / chronological age) x 100.

Reliability in Testing

The consistency of a test in measuring what it is intended to measure.

Validity in Testing

The extent to which a test measures what it claims to measure.

The Flynn Effect

The observed rise in average IQ scores over time.

Crystallized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that tend to remain stable or increase with age.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to reason quickly and abstractly, which tends to decline with age.

Stereotype Threat

The risk of confirming negative stereotypes about one's group, affecting performance.

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

A retrieval failure that occurs when we feel we know something but cannot access it at the moment.

Emotional Memory

Memories that are strengthened or impacted by emotional experiences.

Context Effects

The improved recall of specific information when the context present at encoding and retrieval matches.

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency.

Effortful Processing

Conscious encoding that requires attention and effort.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units to enhance memory.