intro to psych exam 2 flashcards

chapters 6-10

Memory

Retention of information/experience over time

Three steps in memory

Encoding, Storage, Retrieval

Encoding

The process by which info gets into memory storage

Selective attention

Focusing on a specific thing while ignoring others

Divided attention

Multitasking; focusing on 2 things at once

Sustained attention

Able to focus on one thing for a long time

Levels of processing

How we encode information; deeper processing leads to better memory

Shallow processing

Noticing physical features of a stimulus

Intermediate processing

Recognizing a stimulus

Deep processing

Making meaningful connections with information

Elaboration

Connecting new info to old knowledge to make it easier to remember

Storage

How information is retained over time and represented in memory

Atkinson-Shiffrin theory

Three systems: Sensory memory, Short term memory, Long term memory

Sensory memory

Holds information in its original sensory form for a fraction of a second to several seconds

Echoic memory

Auditory sensory memory lasting multiple seconds

Iconic memory

Visual sensory memory lasting 0.25 of a second

Short-term memory

Memory that we pay attention to from sensory memory, lasting about 30 seconds

Chunking

Grouping things to remember them easier, making large amounts more manageable

Working memory

Combination of components that allow us to temporarily hold info as we perform tasks

Phonological loop

Component of working memory that handles hearing things and repeating them

Visuospatial sketchpad

Component of working memory that handles visual info, like looking at a map

Central executive

Directs attention and selects strategies to process info in working memory

Long-term memory

Relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of info for a long time

Explicit memory

Memory about facts and past events that can be consciously recalled

Semantic memory

Memory for facts and general knowledge

Episodic memory

Memory for personal experiences and specific events

Implicit Memory

Unconscious recall, automatic.

Procedural Memory

Memory for skills.

Priming

Activation of prior info that helps people learn info faster.

Retrieval

Info in storage comes out of it.

Serial Position Effect

Tendency to remember things at the beginning/end of a list easier than the middle.

Primacy Effect

Better recall of items at the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

Better recall of items at the end of a list.

Recall

Retrieve previously learned info.

Recognition

Identifying learned items, easier than recall.

Encoding Specificity Principle

You can remember things better if they are in the same situation or state when you first learned them.

Context Dependent Memory

Places/people are the same during encoding and retrieval.

Autobiographical Memory

Episodic memory, recollection of own life experiences.

Flashbulb Memory

Emotionally significant events are more accurate and vivid than other random events.

Motivated Forgetting

Forgetting that happens when it's so painful to remember.

Causes of Forgetting

Encoding failure, passage of time (decay theory), retrieval failure.

Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve

Most forgetting happens soon after learning occurs.

Interference Theory

People forget things not because memories are lost from storage but because of other info that gets in the way.

Proactive Interference

Things you learn before affect recall.

Retroactive Interference

Things learned after affect recall.

Decay Theory

Time affects memory; more time elapsed, you are more likely to forget.

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon (TOT)

When you think you know something, but can't pull it out of memory.

Amnesia

Memory loss.

Anterograde Amnesia

Affects memories after; retention of new memories becomes harder.

Retrograde Amnesia

Memory loss for past events; ability to learn new materials is not affected.

Marigold Linton, Ph.D.

First Native American to earn a Ph.D. in psychology and studied memory for over 50 years.

Cognition

How info is processed and manipulated

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Scientific field where machines that perform activities where the machines have to think like people

Thinking

Manipulating information mentally by forming concepts, solving problems, making decisions, and reflecting critically or creatively

Concepts

Mental categories that we used to group things

Prototype Model

The idea that we understand and recognize things by comparing them to the best or most typical example (called a prototype) we have in our mind.

Problem Solving

Finding a way to attain a goal when the goal is hard to achieve

Reasoning

Thinking logically to draw conclusions from evidence

Decision Making

Weighing benefits and costs and coming to a conclusion about what is best

Subgoals

Smaller immediate goals that eventually help us reach big goal

Algorithms

Strategy that guarantees a solution

Heuristics

Shortcut strategies that don't guarantee an answer

Functional Fixedness

People fail to solve an issue because they are only focusing on one possible solution

Inductive Reasoning

Specific to general

Deductive Reasoning

General to specific

Loss Aversion

You focus more on the bad than the good, the cons affect your decision more than the pros do

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to only listen to things that support your own ideas and ignoring things that refute them

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after something has happened, that you 'knew it all along' — even if you didn't.

Availability Heuristic

A mental shortcut where people judge how likely or common something is based on how easily they can remember examples of it.

Base Rate Neglect

We often overlook how common or rare something is in the general population and focus too much on specific information.

Representativeness heuristic

Making judgements based on stereotypes

Critical thinking

Using logic to go about your day

Mindfulness

The state of being alert and mentally present for one's everyday activities.

Creative thinking

Ability to come up with new out of the box ideas as solutions

Divergent thinking

Many solutions to the same problem, happens during brainstorming

Convergent thinking

Single best solution

Intelligence

Ability to do well in mental tasks, problem solving, and learning from experience

Validity

Measures the right thing

Reliability

Produces consistent results

Intelligence quotient (IQ)

Way to measure your intelligence, calculated as mental age/actual age x100

Normal distribution

Bell shaped curve, extremes on the outside; most scores in the middle = normal, some on outsides

Culture-fair tests

IQ tests that are designed to be culturally unbiased

Giftedness

Minimum IQ score required for giftedness is 130+ IQ and/or they are super talented in a particular area

Intellectual disability

Individuals who have a lower cognitive ability and have difficulty adapting to life

Triarchic theory of intelligence

Says that intelligence comes in 3 forms: Analytical intelligence, Creative intelligence, Practical intelligence

Analytical intelligence

Ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and contrast

Creative intelligence

Create, design, invent and imagine

Practical intelligence

Using, applying, and putting ideas into practice

Syntax

Basically like grammar, taking words to make correct sentences, is it grammatically correct

Semantics

More about the meaning of the words, like does it make sense

Noam Chomsky's theory of language development

Believes that humans come pre-wired to learn language at a certain time and in a certain way

Biological influences for language development

Broca's area and Wernicke's area are biologically involved in language comprehension

Environmental influences for language development

Language is learned through interaction with caregivers and the environment, including vocabulary, pronunciation, and social language rules

Herman George Canady, Ph.D.

A key figure in psychology who studied how race and environment affected intelligence test scores and promoted psychology education for Black communities.

Development

The pattern of continuity and change in human capabilities that occurs throughout life, involving both growth and decline.

Cross-sectional design

A bunch of people are assessed at one point in time; age differences matter.

Cohort effects

Social/historical time when people were born and developed affect differences.

Longitudinal study

Same people are assessed over a long period of time, showing change over time and causation.

Nature

Strictly biological, like genes.

Nurture

Environmental and social experiences, like upbringing and social circle.