AP psych unit 2 quizlet import

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

concepts

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototypes

a mental image or best example of a category

algorithims

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

heuristics

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgment and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier, but more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

mental set

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

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

representativeness heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

explicit memories

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

implicit memories

retention independent of conscious recollection

procedural memory

a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits

sensory memory

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

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

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; tends to yield the best retention

flashbulb memories

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentiation

an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

context dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.

state-dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

mood congruent

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

hippocampus (role in memory)

helps process explicit memories for storage

cerebellum (role in memory)

forms and stores implicit memories created by classical conditioning

basal ganglia (role in memory)

deep brain structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills

amygdala (role in memory)

Emotionally charged memories, seems to boost activity in brain's memory forming areas

recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

deja vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

imagination inflation

the increased confidence in a false memory of an event following repeated imagination of the event

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Encoding Failure

failure to process information into memory

Storage Decay

the course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels off with time

Retrieval Failure

the inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues

Freud's Theory of Memory Repression

we repress painful memories to protect our self-concept and to minimize anxiety; submerged memory will linger, to be retrieved by some later cue or during therapy

intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

general intelligence (g)

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

Gardner's view of multiple intelligences

intelligence was multiple abilities that come in different packages

Spearman's theory of general intelligence

proposed that general intelligence (g) is linked to many clusters that can be analyzed by factor analysis

Sternberg's Triarchic Theory

analytical intelligence, creative intelligence, practical intelligence

analytical intelligence

the ability to break problems down into component parts, or analysis, for problem solving

creative intelligence

the ability to deal with new and different concepts and to come up with new ways of solving problems

practical intelligence

the ability to solve everyday problems through skilled reasoning that relies on tacit knowledge

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

a child's mental age divided by chronological age, multiplied by 100

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

standardization

defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

normal curve

the symmetrical bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes. Most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes.

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

predictive validity

The success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.

cohort

a group of people from a given time period

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life. (Formerly referred to as mental retardation.)

down syndrome

a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

cross-sectional studies

a study in which people of different ages are compared with one another

longitudinal studies

A research method that studies the same participants multiple times over a period of time

heritability

The proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied.

epigenetics

the study of environmental influences on gene expression that occur without a DNA change