Psychology Test #2 Cognitive Psychology

Memory

The Persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Shorty-term memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such that the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

automatic processing

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

Recognition

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

Serial Position Effect

Our tendency to recall best and last and first items in the list

Von Restorff Effect

the proven psychological theory that the more something stands out from the crowd the more likely it is to be seen.

Flashbulb Memories

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Implicit Memories

Retention independent of conscious recollection

Explicit Memories

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

Hippocampus

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

Recall

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

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Mood-congruent Memory

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

Failure to Encode

When information does not get into memory

Failure to Retrieve

Where the information is in the long-term memory, but cannot be accessed

Forgetting Curves

the rate at which information is forgotten over time if we don’t attempt to retain it

Proactive Interference

The effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive Interference

The distributive 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 and event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. This, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories

Cognition

The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category. matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. contrast with the usually speedier–but also more error-prone–use of heuristics

Insight

A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; a contrast with strategy-based solutions

Heuristic

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

Confirmation Bias

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

Fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

Functional Fixedness

Cognitive bias that limits a person’s ability to use and object in more ways than it is traditionally used and affects an individual’s ability to innovate and be creative when solving challenges.

Mental Set

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

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 and memory; if this is come readily to mind, 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 bases on which they were formed has been discredited

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 three or four seconds

Long-term Memory

The relatively permanent and Limitless to our house of the memory system. includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Recall

the act of retrieving information or events from the past while lacking a specific cue to help in retrieving the information

Mnemonics

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

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

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

Stanford-Binet Test

Standard measure of intelligence since 1916 that documents the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of children, adolescents, and adults

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

Defined originally as the ratio of mental age to chronological age multiplied by a hundred. on contemporary intelligence test, the average performance for a given ages assigned a score of 100

Content Validity

The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of Interest

Norms

the rules of a group of people that mark out what is appropriate, allowed, required, or forbidden for various members in different situations.

Hindsight Bias

a psychological phenomenon that allows people to convince themselves after an event that they accurately predicted it before it happened.

Sternberg’s Three Intelligences Theory

Identifies three types of intelligence: practical, creative, and analytical.

Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences Theory

suggests human intelligence can be differentiated into the following modalities: visual-spatial, verbal-linguistic, musical-rhythmic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal, interpersonal, naturalistic and bodily-kinesthetic.

General Intelligence (g)

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

Encoding

The processing of information into the memory system–for example, by extracting meaning

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Working Memory

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

Rehearsal

The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

Spacing Effect

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

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Mental Age

A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. thus, a child who does as well as the average 8 year old is said to have a mental age of eight

WAIS

The most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests

Standardization

Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pre-test group

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

Stereotype Threat

A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype

Limits to Intuition

Not always good at evaluating options and solutions. This may be because people tend to fixate on their first idea.

Framing (Wording Effect)

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

Linguistic Determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way you think

Intelligence

the ability to derive information, learn from experience, adapt to the environment, understand, and correctly utilize thought and reason.