AP Psychology - Cognition

AP Psychology Unit 2 flashcards.

Encoding

Getting information into memory.

Storage

Retaining information in memory.

Retrieval

Getting information out of memory.

Sensory Memory

Immediate, brief recording of sensory information.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Holds 7±2 items for approximately 20 seconds.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Unlimited capacity and duration for memory storage.

Working Memory

Active processing in STM; includes central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad.

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

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

Episodic Memory

Memory of personal events.

Semantic Memory

Memory of facts and general knowledge.

Implicit (Nondeclarative) Memory

Memory of skills and classically conditioned responses; processed in the cerebellum and basal ganglia.

Procedural Memory

Memory of skills and tasks.

Effortful Processing

Conscious encoding of information (e.g., studying).

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of information such as space, time, and frequency.

Mnemonics

Memory aids (e.g., acronyms, imagery).

Chunking

Organizing information into meaningful units.

Hierarchies

Dividing information into broad concepts and subcategories.

Distributed Practice

Spacing effect where spread out studying improves memory.

Testing Effect

Retrieval practice improves long-term retention.

Recall

Retrieving information without cues (e.g., essay test).

Recognition

Identifying information (e.g., multiple choice).

Relearning

Measures how much faster information is learned again.

Priming

Activation of associations in memory.

Context-Dependent Memory

Recall is better in the same environment.

State-Dependent Memory

Recall is better in the same physiological state.

Mood-Congruent Memory

Emotions influence memory retrieval.

Encoding Failure

Information never entered long-term memory.

Storage Decay

Memory fades over time (Ebbinghaus forgetting curve).

Retrieval Failure

Inability to access stored information (e.g., tip-of-the-tongue).

Proactive Interference

Old information blocks new information.

Retroactive Interference

New information blocks old information.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories.

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to recall old memories.

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into memory.

Source Amnesia

Misattributing the source of a memory.

False Memories

Memories constructed through suggestion, imagination, or schemas.

Concept

Mental group of similar objects, events, etc.

Prototype

Best example of a concept.

Algorithm

Step-by-step method for problem-solving (accurate, slow).

Heuristic

Mental shortcut for problem-solving (faster, more error-prone).

Insight

Sudden realization of the solution to a problem.

Confirmation Bias

Searching for information that confirms existing beliefs.

Fixation

Inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

Mental Set

Using past strategies that may not work for a current problem.

Functional Fixedness

Seeing objects only in their usual function.

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.

Overconfidence

Overestimating the accuracy of one's knowledge or judgment.

Belief Perseverance

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

Framing Effect

How an issue is presented affects decisions and judgments.

Phonemes

Smallest sound units in a language (e.g., 'ch', 'b').

Morphemes

Smallest units of meaning in a language (e.g., 'un-', '-ed').

Grammar

Rules for combining words and sounds in a language.

Babbling Stage

Language development stage at approximately 4 months.

One-Word Stage

Language development stage at approximately 12 months.

Two-Word Stage

Language development stage at approximately 18–24 months where telegraphic speech is used.

Nativist Theory (Chomsky)

Theory that language is innate, using a Language Acquisition Device (LAD) and universal grammar.

Behaviorist Theory (Skinner)

Theory that language is learned via reinforcement and imitation.

Interactionist Theory

Theory that language development is a combination of nature (biology) and nurture (environment).

Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

Language influences the way we think.

Atkinson & Shiffrin

Developed the 3-Stage memory model.

George Miller

Known for his work on STM capacity = 7±2 items.

Herman Ebbinghaus

Studied the forgetting curve.

Elizabeth Loftus

Researched false memories and the misinformation effect.

Noam Chomsky

Proposed universal grammar and the inborn Language Acquisition Device (LAD).

B.F. Skinner

Viewed language as learned behavior.

Wolfgang Köhler

Studied insight in problem-solving (chimps).

Benjamin Whorf

Proposed the linguistic determinism hypothesis.