Cognition

15-25% of the exam

Top-Down Processing

Information processing is guided by higher-level mental processing. Our brain uses prior knowledge, expectations, and context to interpret sensory data

Bottom-up Processing

Learning based solely on the stimulus, without drawing on past experiences or contextual information

Signal Detection

It explains why we are able to pick up or focus on things we're expecting and ignoring or minimizing everything else

Selective Attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimuli, so because you are focused on one stimulus, you don't take notice of details or surrounding

Cocktail Party Effect

Ability to focus attention on a single talker among a mixture of conversation and background noises

Inattentional Blindness

Failure to notice an unexpected item

Change Blindness

Failure to detect change in a visual stimuli

Binocular Cues

Judging the distance of nearby objects with two eyes

Retinal Disparity

The slight difference in the images received by each eye due to their different positions

Convergence

The inward movement of both eyes to focus on a close object

Stroboscopic Effect

A visual illusion where a rapid series of slightly different images is perceived as a moving image

ex: flip book

Phi Phenomenon

A visual illusion of movement is created when 2 or more lights next to each other blink on and off

ex: christmas light shows, animated signs

Autokinetic Effect

A visual illusion where a stationary point of light appears to move in a dark environment due to small movements

ex: illusions

Perceptual Adaption

The brain’s ability to become accustomed to new or unusual sensation

Perceptual Set

To perceive one thing and not the other— how we perceive things in one perspective

• context: external factors that can impact how we perceive info

• motivation: we see what we want to see— desires or needs

• emotions: they can alter what we experience

  ex: if two people see a gathering of people in the street several hundred yards ahead, someone who is in a happy emotional state will likely see this is some form of party. Someone who is worried or anxious may instantly perceive it as some form of disturbance

• expectations: we expect/predict certain results using prior beliefs

  ex: last time I had grapes, they were sour, so this grape will be sour

Habituation

We stop responding to a stimulus because we’re uninterested or we’ve become used to it

Memory

Learning that persists over time

Encoding (get info)

Storage (retain info)

Retrieval/recall (get the info)

Information Processing Mode of Human Memory

Recall: retrieving past info that was stored away, not in our conscious awareness

Recognition: identifying/recognizing items previously learned

Relearning: going over information more than once to learn it easily

Working memory

A cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information — you hold information AND work with it at the same time

Central Executive Functions

It decides what to focus on, what to ignore, and how to organize your thoughts.

It helps you switch tasks, plan, solve problems, and stay on track

tasks:

1. Focus attention

2. Divide attention between tasks

3. Switch attention from one thing to another

4. Connect working memory with long-term memory

Phonological Loop

Tendency to repeat over and over what you heard to help you remember

ex: phone number

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Mentally envisioning an image/event/scene

Explicit Memory

A type of long-term memory that involves conscious recollection of facts and events that requires intentional effort to recall

• Episodic: memory of personal experiences and specific events

• Semantic: memory of general knowledge and facts

Implicit Memory

Memory that enables you to perform tasks automatically after enough practice or exposure, without needing to actively recall how to do them — memory that influences behavior without conscious awareness

Automatic Processing

The subconscious encoding of information without active effort or conscious awareness. Allows for the absorption of information effortlessly, such as recognizing familiar faces or places

Auto processing leads to implicit memory formation

Effortful Processing

Active, conscious effort you put into encoding, storing, and retrieving information. It's essential for learning new, complex, or unfamiliar information — requires focused attention and concentration + often involves repetition and practice

Sensory Memory

A short-term memory system that holds information from what you see, hear, touch, smell, or taste for just a brief moment

• Iconic: visual memory — flashbacks

• Echoic: auditory memory that allows you to retain sounds for a short period even if you weren’t consciously paying attention

Short-term Memory

Helps store memory for up to 30 seconds and up to 5-9 items until we deem them as:

• important —> transfers over to long-term memory

• unimportant —> memory decays without active rehearsing or new information pushes out older information from short-term memory (displacement)

Long-term Memory

Can hold and retain memory over extended periods (from hours to decades)

due to its large and unlimited capacity

Chunking

A memory strategy that involves breaking down big pieces of information into smaller, easier-to-remember “chunks”

149217761812 —> 1492 - 1776 - 1812

Mnemonic Devices

Techniques that help you remember information more easily by using associations, patterns, or imagery. They work by making information more meaningful or easier to recall.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic device that uses spatial memory to aid in memorizing information

Hierarchies

A structure that organizes information from broad concepts to more specific details

animal —> mammal —> dog —> pug

Spacing Effect

Recalling memories by studying or practicing things in a distributed time — a learning strategy where you spread out your study sessions over time instead of cramming all at once.

Testing Effect

A phenomenon where testing yourself on previously learned material significantly improves long-term retention (the ability to remember information for extended periods) and learning compared to simply restudying the material — active recalling (actively trying to remember information from memory without looking at a reference)

Shallow Processing

A type of memory processing that involves focusing on surface-level features (appearance/sound) of information — leads to STM

Deep Processing

A type of memory processing that involves analyzing/focusing on the meaning of information and making connections to things — leads to LTM

Retrieval Cue

A hint or trigger that helps you access information stored in your memory

State Dependent Memory

We recall or learn better when we’re in a specific state

ex: If you study while feeling relaxed, you might remember better if you're also relaxed during the test

Mood Congruent Memory

Your mood can act as a cue to recall memories tied to that mood — helps us recall positive/negative memories

Context Dependent Memory

When you learn something in a particular place or situation—your surroundings or environment act as retrieval cues

Serial Position Effect

A psychological phenomenon where people tend to remember the first and last items in a list better than the items in the middle

• Primary effect: able to remember the first items better because you’ve had more time to rehearse/repeat them

• Recency effect: able to recall the most recent item because it’s still fresh in your STM — (higher than primary)

Retrograde Amnesia

Can not recall past (retro) memories

Anterograde Amnesia

Can’t form new long-term memories

Antero —> After

Encoding Failure

Failure to store information properly because the brain never processed the details deeply enough to store them because of:

• distraction

• lack of rehearsal

Storage Decay

Over time we forget things even if we encode it well due to lack of active recall

Forgetting Curve

A concept that shows how quickly we forget information over time if we don’t actively try to remember it

Proactive Interference

Prior information interferes with learning or remembering new information

Prior —> Pro

Retroactive Interference

New information interferes with recalling old information

Recent —> Retro

Motivated Forgetting (Repression)

A defense mechanism where the brain blocks out traumatic or distressing memories automatically