APPSYCH UNIT 2 Part 1

selective attention

Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

inattentional blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

change blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.

perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

gestalt

An organized whole; Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

figure-ground

The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

grouping

The perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

depth perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions; allows us to judge distance.

visual cliff

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

binocular cue

A depth cue that depends on the use of two eyes.

convergence

A cue to nearby objects’ distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images.

retinal disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

monocular cue

A depth cue available to either eye alone.

stroboscopic movement

An illusion of continuous movement experienced when viewing a rapid series of slightly varying still images.

phi phenomenon

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

autokinetic effect

The illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room.

perceptual constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

color constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

perceptual adaptation

The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.

cognition

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

metacognition

Cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and evaluating our mental processes.

concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

prototype

A mental image or best example of a category.

schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

accommodation

Adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information.

creativity

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas.

convergent thinking

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

divergent thinking

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions.

executive functions

Cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior.

algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

heuristic

A simple thinking strategy or mental shortcut that allows judgments and problem-solving efficiency.

insight

A sudden realization of a problem's solution.

confirmation bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and ignore contradictory evidence.

fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

mental set

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way.

intuition

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought.

representativeness heuristic

Judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent particular prototypes.

availability heuristic

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

overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct.

belief perseverance

The persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after they have been discredited.

framing

The way an issue is posed; it can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

nudge

Framing choices in a way that encourages beneficial decisions.

memory

Persistence of learning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval.

recall

A measure of memory where a person retrieves information learned earlier.

recognition

A measure of memory in which a person identifies previously learned items.

relearning

A measure of memory assessing the amount of time saved when learning material again.

encoding

The process of getting information into the memory system.

storage

The process of retaining encoded information over time.

retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

parallel processing

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously.

sensory memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information.

short-term memory

Briefly activated memory of a few items.

long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system.

working memory

Conscious, active processing of incoming sensory information and retrieved long-term memory.

central executive

A memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

phonological loop

A memory component that briefly holds auditory information.

visuospatial sketchpad

A memory component that briefly holds information about objects’ appearance and location.

neurogenesis

The formation of new neurons.

long-term potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

explicit memory

Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare.

effortful processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information.

implicit memory

Retention of learned skills or associations independent of conscious recollection.

iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli that can be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

mnemonics

Memory aids that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

spacing effect

The tendency for distributed study to yield better long-term retention.

testing effect

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

shallow processing

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words.

deep processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words.