AP Psych Unit 2

Bottom Up Processing

A method of perception that starts with the sensory input and builds up to the final perception.

Top Down Processing

A method of perception that starts with the brain's understanding and expectations, influencing how we perceive information.

Grouping

The process of organizing stimuli into meaningful groups or patterns.

Perceptual constancy

The ability to perceive objects as stable and unchanging despite changes in sensory input.

Perceptual adaptation

The ability of the body to adjust to changes in sensory input or perception.

Selective attention

The process of focusing on a particular object in the environment for a certain period.

Inattentional blindness

Failure to notice a fully visible, but unexpected object because attention was engaged elsewhere.

Change blindness

The phenomenon where a change in a visual stimulus is not noticed by the observer.

Perceptual set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Schema

A cognitive framework that helps organize and interpret information.

Gestalt Principles

The principles explaining how we perceive objects as organized patterns or wholes.

Figure-ground

The organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings.

Visual cliff

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

Depth perception

The ability to perceive the world in three dimensions and judge distances.

Binocular cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of both eyes.

Retinal disparity

A binocular cue for perceiving depth based on the difference between the images in each eye.

Convergence

The binocular cue that refers to the inward angle of the eyes when focusing on an object.

Monocular cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Relative Size

A monocular cue that indicates that larger objects are perceived as being closer.

Texture Gradient

A monocular cue that refers to the gradual change from a coarse, distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture which indicates distance.

Linear Perspective

A monocular cue that suggests that parallel lines appear to converge with distance.

Interposition

A monocular cue in which one object obstructs the view of another, indicating that the obstructed object is farther away.

Shape Constancy

The perception of an object's shape as constant, even when its shape changes on the retina.

Size Constancy

The perception of an object's size as constant, even when the distance from which it is viewed changes.

Color Constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if the illumination changes.

Apparent Movement

The perception of motion where none exists.

Stroboscopic movement

The illusion of movement that occurs when a series of still images are shown in rapid succession.

Phi phenomenon

The optical illusion of perceiving continuous motion between separate objects viewed rapidly in succession.

Autokinetic effect

A visual illusion in which a stationary point of light in a dark room appears to move.

Cognition

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

Metacognition

The awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.

Concept

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

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category.

Algorithm

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

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.

Representativeness heuristic

Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes.

Availability heuristic

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

Fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

Confirmation bias

A tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one's preconceptions.

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more confident than correct—overestimating the accuracy of one's beliefs.

Belief perseverance

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

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

Framing

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

Insight

A sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Intuition

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

Flashbulb memory

A clear, vivid memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

Jean Piaget

A developmental psychologist who is known for his theory of cognitive development in children.

Assimilation

The process of integrating new experiences into existing schemas.

Accommodation

The process of adjusting existing schemas to fit new information.

Convergent thinking

A problem-solving strategy that involves searching for a single best solution.

Divergent thinking

A type of creative thinking in which one generates many possible solutions to a problem.

Executive functions

Mental processes that help us plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks.

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

Mental set

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

Memory

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

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier.

Recognition

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

Relearning

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

Hermann Ebbinghaus

A German psychologist known for his work on memory.

Encoding

The processing of information into the memory system.

Sensory memory

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

Short-term memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.

Long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

Working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming information.

Visuospatial sketchpad

A component of working memory that holds visual and spatial information.

Central executive

The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.

Phonological loop

The component of working memory that deals with verbal and auditory information.

Wolfgang Kohler

A psychologist known for his contributions to the understanding of insight learning.

Long-term potentiation

An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

Iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli.

Echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.

Chunking

The process of organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

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 better retention.

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Memory consolidation

The process by which recent memories are converted into stable, long-term memories.

Explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.

Semantic memory

A type of explicit memory that involves the recall of facts and concepts.

Episodic memory

A type of explicit memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences.

Implicit memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

Autobiographical Memory

A memory system consisting of episodes recollected from an individual's life.

Mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood.

Serial position effect

The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list better than the middle items.

Anterograde amnesia

An inability to form new memories following an event.

Retrograde amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

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.

Reconsolidation

The process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again.

Elizabeth Loftus

An American cognitive psychologist known for her research on the malleability of human memory.

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.

Intelligence

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.

Charles Spearman

A psychologist who proposed the concept of general intelligence (g) as a measure of cognitive ability.

General intelligence (g)

A factor that 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 on a test.

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

A comprehensive theory of intelligence that includes both fluid and crystallized intelligence.