Unit 2 Cognition

selective attention

focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

cocktail party effect

your ability to attend to only one voice within a sea of many as you chat with a party guest

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

proximity

grouping nearby figures together

similarity

grouping objects according to how similar they are to each other

closure

filling in gaps to create a complete whole object

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

binocular cue

depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

convergence

acute nearby objects distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images

retinal disparity

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

monocular cue

depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

relative clarity

because more light passes through objects that are farther away, we perceive these objects as hazy, blurry, or unclear. nearby objects, by contrast, appear sharper and more clear

relative size

if we assume two objects are similar in size, most people perceive the one that casts the smaller rental image as farther away

texture gradient

moving toward or away from an object changes our perception of its smoothness or texture. when a wall is viewed from a distance we will perceive it as smooth. viewing the same wall up close will reveal greater texture and detail

linear perspective

parallel lines appear to meet in the distance. the sharper the angle of convergence the greater the perceived distances.

interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceived it as closer.

apparent movement

as we move, stable objects may also appear to move. if, while riding on a bus, you fix your gaze on some point— say, a house— the objects beyond the fixation point will appear to move without you. objects in front of the point will appear to move backwards

perceptual constancy

perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change

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. matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a crow)

schema

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

accommodation

adopting our current schemas (understanding) to incorporate new information

creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas

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

functional fixedness

when our prior experiences inhibit our ability to find creative solutions

executive functions

cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior

algorithm

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

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy - a mental shortcut - that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more air prone than an algorithm

insight

a sudden realization of a problem solution; contrast with strategy based solutions

confirmation bias

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

mental set

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

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represented, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

gambler’s fallacy

if people observe random events happening repeatedly they may unconsciously use the representativeness heuristic when judging the likelihood of future events

availability heuristic

judging 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 judgements

sunk-cost fallacy

when we stuck to our original plan because we’ve invested our time even when switching to a new approach could save us time

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

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

alzheimer’s disease

a disease beginning with a difficulty to remember new information, progressing to an inability to do everyday takes. complex speech become simple sentence; family and friends become strangers; the brains memory centers become weak and wither away

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 identifies items preciously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

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

multi-store model

1. record to-be-remembered information as fleeting sensory memory

2. process information into short-term memory, where we encode it through rehearsal

3. information moves into long-term memory for later retrieval

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 archive of the memory system. includes knowledge, skills, and experinces

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory; conscious, active processing of both (1) incoming sensory information, and (2) information retrieved from long-term memory

maintenance rehearsal

prolonging memory storage through rehearsal over time

elaborative rehearsal

rehearsing information in ways that promote meaning

central executive

a memory component that coordinated 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 we can consciously know and “declare” (also called declarative memory)

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection (also called non-declarative memory)

automatic processing

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

procedural memory

implicit memories for automatic skills

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 families, manageable units; often occurs automatically

mnemonics

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

method of loci

adding vivid details to memories of a familiar place to create a clear mental image to remember specific information

hierarchies

something divided into concepts going from broad to narrow

spacing effect

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

massed practice

(cramming) producing speedy short-term learning. those who learn quickly forget quickly

distributed practice

distributing studying over a period of time to better learn it and cement it in memory

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

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 told the best retention

structural encoding

encoding words letters

phonemic encoding

encoding words sounds

semantic encoding

encoding based on the meaning of information

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory stems (the other is episodic memory)

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory)

infantile amnesia

the inability of adults to recollect early episodic memories