ap psych unit 2

selective attention

the focusing of 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, although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

visual cliff

a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object

retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth; by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

stroboscopic movement

an illusion of continuous movement (as in a motion picture) 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 (having consistent lightness, color, shape, and size) 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 understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

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--a mental shortcut-- that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution

confirmation bias

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

fixation

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

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

estimating the likelihood of events 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

the persistence of one's initial conceptions even 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.

nudge

framing choices in a way that encourages people to make beneficial decisions

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, 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

encoding

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

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 in the memory system

short-term memory

briefly activated memory of a few items (such as digits of a phone number while calling) that is later stored or forgotten

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

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

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 in space.

neurogenesis

the formation of new neurons

long-term potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a nerve cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

explicit memory

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

automatic processing

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

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

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

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

mood-congruent memory

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 (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

interleaving

a retrieval practice strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics.

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer 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

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

misinformation effect

occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined

deja vu

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

intelligence

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

general intelligence (g)

according to Spearman and others, underlies all 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.

fluid intelligence (Gf)

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

crystallized intelligence (Gc)

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

Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory

the theory that our intelligence is based on g as well as specific abilities, bridged by Gf and Gc

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

in psychology, passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

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

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)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.