AP Psych Unit 2: Perception

Perception

The process by which we interpret & organize sensory information

Bottom-up processing

Bulding up to perception from the individual pieces of sensory information; post knowledge. It is slower, but more accurate.

Top-down processing

Our prior knowledge & expectations interpreting sensory information; pre-knowledge. It is faster, but less accurate.

Schemas

Concept/framework for thinking; internal factors that filter perceptions of the world

Perceptual sets

Mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another; internal factors that filter perceptions of the world

Gestalt psychology principles

Describe how we perceive objects as whole forms rather than just a collection of parts; help explain how humans organize their perceptual world

Closure

The first Gestalt principle: where we fill in missing parts of a figure to see it as complete

Figure & ground

The second Gestalt principle: involves distinguishing an object fomr its background

Proximity

The third Gestalt principle: objects close to each other are perceived as a group

Similarity

The fourth Gestalt principle: objects that are similar in appearance are grouped together

Attention

An interaction of sensation and perception that is affected by internal & external processes

Cocktail party affect

Paying more attention and tuning in to tings we consider important (names, certain topics, etc.) despite being in loud/distracting environments ; selective experiences of attention

Inattention

A failure to notice or attend to stimuli in the environment, often due to distractions or focusing on other tasks; can lead to a type of “blindness” to aspects of the environment

Change blindness

Occurs when changes to the environment are not perceived due to inattention

Retinal disparity

Binocular depth cue; difference between the images projecting onto the retina

Convergence

Binocular depth cue; merging of the retinal images by the brain

Monocular depth cues

Give the illusion of depth on flat or two-dimensional surfaces

Linear perspective

First monocular depth cue; objects located away from the point where 2 parallels seem to come together are closer

Texture gradient

Second monocular depth cue; objects that have a detailed, distinct surface are closer, objects that have a less detailed surface are farther away

Relative clarity

Third monocular depth cue; objects that appear clear within atmospheric elements (dust, fog, clouds) are closer. Objects that appear blurry within atmospheric elements are farther away.

Interposition

Fourth monocular depth cue; objects that block the view of another object are closer, objects being blocked by another object are farther away.

Relative size

Fifth monocular depth cue; objects that are larger compared to other similar sized objects in the visual field are closer. Objects that are smaller compared to other similar sized objects in the visual field are farther away.

Visual perceptual constancies

Maintain the perception of an object when the images of the object in the visual field change

Apparent movement

When things aren’t moving, we can still perceive them as though they are

Concepts

Form the basis of thought

Prototypes

The ideal example of any given concept

Assimilation

Forming & modifying schemas; taking in new information but not changing the schema in light of it

Accomodation

Forming & modifying schemas; taking in new information and changing the schema to incorporate the new information

Algorithms

Addressing problems by attempting all possible solutions until the correct one is found

Heuristics

Addressing problems by using mental shortcuts to make judgements

Representativeness heuristic

Decisions made according to prior expectations or stereotypes

Availability heuristic

Recalling the first/most vivid example that comes to mind

Where is decision making done?

Frontal lobe

Mental set

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

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations that predisposes perception, memory, or response

Framing

The way an issue is posed

Gambler’s fallacy

A hinderence to decision making; failure to recognize independence of chance events, leading to the mistaken belief that one can predict future outcomes based on the past

Sunk cost fallacy

A hinderence to decision making; continuing to invest time/money/effort into a situation even when there is not clear benefit

Creativity

A way of thinking that includes generating novel ideas & engaging in divergent thinking; hindered by functional fixedness

Executive functions

Cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organize, plan, & carry out goal-directed behaviours and experience critical thinking

Functional fixedness

A tendency to only think of an object’s most common use when presented with a problem

Working memory

The small amount of information that can be held in mind and used in the execution of cognitive tasks

Long term memory

Relatively permanent, limitless memory system

Prospective memory

Long term memory; Remembering to do something in the future

Explicit memory

Long-term memory; declarative memory for facts/experiences

Episodic memory

Explicit memory; memory of specific, personal events

Semantic memory

Explicit memory; general/factual/conceptual knowledge we have about the world

Implicit memory

Nondeclarative memory

Procedural memory

Implicit memory; is involved with the performance of different actions and skills

Encoding

Processing of information into memory

Structural encoding

Encoding for physical characteristics such as font or size

Phonemic encoding

Encoding for sounds or words

Semantic encoding

Encoding for meaning, personal relevance

Storage

Retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval

Process of getting information out of memory

Recall

Type of retrieval; remembering without cues

Recognition

Type of retrieval; relies on retrieval cues

Sensory memory

Automatic processing of sensory information; lasts less than a second & is very precise

Echoic

Type of sensory memory; auditory information

Iconic

Type of sensory memory; visual information

Eidetic memory

Photographic memory

Short term memory

Briefly stored information (15-30 seconds); can hold 7 ± 2 chunks of information

Autobiographical memory

Memory for one’s personal history

Long term potentiation

Biological process for memory; learning results in physical change with an increase in the synapse’s firing potential

Which part of the brain processes explicit memories for long term storage?

Hippocampus

Infantile amensia

Happens during the first 3-4 years of life since the hippocampus isn’t fully developed

Which part of the brain stores implicit memories?

Cerebellum

Alzheimer’s disease

Low levels of ACh leading to memory loss

Misinformation effect

Inaccurate/misleading information can alter or distort an individual’s memory or past event

Source amnesia

Inability to remember origin of information

Constructive memory

Recall is based on current knowledge, beliefs and perceptions

Memory consolidation

Taking short term memory to long term

Imagination inflation

Imagining an event took place can lead to a false memory

Decay

Due to not using a memory for a long time, but doesn’t disappear completely

Relearning effect

Able to learn more quickly the second time

Interference

Disruption of retrieval due to other information in memory

Proactive

Type of interference; old information interferes with the recall of new information

Retroactive

Type of interference; new information interferes with recall of old information

Amnesia

Memory loss

Retrograde amnesia

Memory loss for past events

Anterograde amnesia

Unable to form new memories due to damage to the hippocampus

Inadequate retrieval

“Tip-of-the-tongue” phenomenon

Forgetting curve

Shows that time is a significant factor in forgetting; forgetting occurs rapidly after initial learning and levels off overtime

Spacing effect

Distributed practice is better than cramming to help encode

Serial position effect

Recall of list affected by order of the items; we tend to remember the beginning of a list (primary effect) and the end of a list (recency effect)

Imagery

Mental pictures

Mnemonics

Memory aids to help incode

Acronyms

Abbreviations from the first letters of words

Method of loci

Using known locations to imagine items (memory palace)

Chunking

Meaningful groups/units of information

Hierarchies

Category/subcategories

Context dependent memory

Environmental similarities/differences; remembering best when in a similar environment as when information was learned (deja vu)

Mood congruent memory

Emotionsl similarities/differences; remembering best when in a similar emotional mood as when information was learned

State dependent memory

Physiological similarities/differences; remembering best when in a similar physiological state (tired, drunk, etc.) as when information was learned

Rehearsal

Conscious repetition of information; overlearning

Maintenance rehearsal

Rehearsing over & over

Elaborative rehearsal

Rehearsing in ways that promote meaning

Retrieval cues

Mentally recreating situation, mood, etc. to remember

Testing effect

Enhanced memory retention that occurs when information is actively retrieved (tested) compared to just restudying itMet

Metacogntion

Knowledge and awareness of your own cognitive processes