Psychology 2.1-2.7

convergence

cue to nearby objects distance - enables by brain combining retinal images

monocular cues

each eye seperately

stroboscopic movement

rapid series of slightly varying images as continuous movement

Phi Phenomenon

adjacent stationary lights blinking on and off in sucession seen as one single light

autokinetic effect

illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanges even as illumination and retinal images change

color constancy

perceiving familiar objects as havig consistent color even if changing illumination alters wavelength reflected by the object

cognition

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

metacognition

cognition about our cognition, keeping track and evaluating our mental processes

prototype

mental image or best example of a category (helps to form concept)

schema

a concept or framework that organizes or interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accomodation

adapting our current schema (understanding) to incorporate new information

convergent thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible solutions to a problem, creative thinking

executive functions

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to implement a goal-directed behavior

algorithim

methodical step by step orocess that gaurentees solving a certain probelm.
ex - trying every locker combination til solution

heuristic

simple thinking strategy that allows us to make judgements and solve probelms efficiently (find the list of locker combinations)
usually speedier but more error prone than an algorithm

fixation

unability to see a problem from a new perspective

insight

sudden realization of a problems solutions

confirmation bias

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

fixation

inability to see a prblem from a new perspective

mental set

our tendency to approach a problem with the mind set of what has worked for us previously

intuition

effortless automatic feeling or thought

representative heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent or match particular protosypes, may lead us to ignore other relevent information

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

overconfidence

tendenct to be more confident than correct, overestimate the accuracy of our judgements

belief perserverance

persistance of ones initial coceptions even after the basis on which they were formed was discredited

framing

way an issue is posed - can significantly affect decisions and judgements

nudge

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

memory

persistance of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrival of memories

recall

retrieving information that is not currently in your concious awareness but was learned at some time (fill in the blanks)

recognition

identifying items previously learned (multiple choice, matching)

relearning

learning something quicker when you learn it a second time or later time

ebbinghaus retention curve

memory of nonsense words- more time on day one means more recall day 2

encode

put in new information to memory sytem

store

organize information - retaining encoded information over time

retrieve

pull out information from memory storage

parallel processing

considering many aspects of a problem simultaneiously

sensory memory

immediate, brief recordings of sensory information in the memory system

short term memory

memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten (working memory)

long term memory

relatively permenant and limitless storehouse of the memory system

woriing memory

new understanding of short term memory that adds conscious active processing of incoming auditory information

long term potentiation

increase in nerve cells firing potential after brief stimulation

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences from long term memory that someone can know and declare

implicit memory

retention of learned skills in long term memory (non declarative)

effortful processig

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

automatic processing

unconscious ecoding of incidental information such as space, time, and well learned information

echohic memory

auditory stimuli

iconic memory

momentary sensory of visual stimuli

george miller

we can store between 5 and 9 pieces of information in short term memory

chunking

organizing items in familiar, manageable units

mnemonic

memory aids

spacing effect

tendency for distributed studying to yield better long term retention

massed practice

cramming - produces speedy short term learning and a feeling of confidence

testing effect

repreated self testing is a form of learning

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level

deep processing

encoding semantically - yields good retention

semantic

facts and general knowledge - left frontal lobe

episodic

experienced events - right frontal lobe

infantile amnesia

concious memory of our first 4 years - explicit memory needs language and hippocampus is one of the last brain structures to mature

flashbulb memory

events trigger an emotional response - clear, sustained, long term memory of an emotionally significant event

priming

activation of particular associations in long term implicit memory

encoding specificity principle

idea that cues adn contents specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

context dependent

purring yourself back into the context where you earlier experienced something can prime your memory

state dependent learning

recall when in that state again (drunk v sober)

mood congruency

happy we recall happy events; depressed we call sad events which darkiens our interpretations of current events

serial position effect

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

metacognition

thinking about thinking

interleaving

retrival practice strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics

Henry molaison

hippocampus moved to stop seizures - later unable to form new concious memories

anterograde amnesia

inabiity to form new memories due to injury or illness (can still recall past)

retrograde amnesia

inabikity to retrive information from ones past

storage decay

forgetting is initially rapid then levels off with time

retrieval failiure

not forgotton but unretrieved

proactive interference

forward acting disruptive effect of older learning on ther ecall of new information (phone number interferes with remembering a new one)

retroactive interference

backward acting interference disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information (old music gets in the way of remembering original)

repression

banish memories and feelings that cause anxiety

reconsolidation

repeatedly replaying memories that alters them

source amnesia

faulty memory for how when or where information was learned

misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted ones memory of an event

deja vu

eerie sense that "experienced before"