Attention and memory

Early processing

shapes and colors

late processing

letters and details

selective attention

focusing on one specific stimulus while ignoring the rest- spotlight attention

divided attention

processing or doing one or more things at a time- driving and listening to music

Alternating attention

switching focus between different tasks- driving, cooking

Sustained attention

vigilance

overt 

where your eyes are looking

covert

Where you are internally focusing

feature

ability to filter based on object characteristics- color, shape, or motion

object 

attend to objects rather than a point in space 

temporal attention

ability to pay attention to a point in time- change from baseline

late selection

process everything before we select one

early selection

looking for something based on features then processing

preattentive selection

extent to which we process information before selection- prediction

serial processing

taking in stimuli one at a time- reading

parallel processing

taking in stimuli all at once- walking into a room

feature integration

focusing on an object allows us to connect all of the features letting us see the object as a whole

load theory

capacity for processing information is based on how much mental energy a task takes

Individual zone of optimal functioning

the optimal level of arousal for peak performance in tasks.

Energy

attention,mood, physiology

cognitive control

can you do what you want to do when you want to do it

working memory

storage for usable memory 

executive function

response inhibition, updating working memory, task switching

Cognitive overlap

how much the demands of simultaneous tasks compete for the same mental resources- high overlap, high interference

automatic processing

processing that doesn’t require cognitive effort

controlled processing

processing that requires cognitive effort and attention, typically involved in complex or unfamiliar tasks.

response inhibition

ability to stop thoughts and actions

central bottle neck model

only one stilmuli can be selected at a time 

resourse sharing

both stilmui can be selected at the same time but priority is given to the first

working memory

what the mind can temporarily store and manipulate

components of the Baddeley model 

include the phonological loop, visuospatial sketchpad, central executive, and episodic buffer.

episodic buffer

integrates information from multiple sources

method of loci

using locations within a familiar space as a place holder for information you want to remember- retrieval cue

Encoding 

multistep process that allows memory to be transferred to LTM

meta cognition

thinking about thinking

flashbulb memories

memories that are emotionally charged and remembered in great detail

source monitarry 

internal thoughts or external actions

source conffusion

internally generated or externally observed- was it a dream

bias paradox

we believe we have a better memory than we do and the more we recall a memory the fussier it becomes

explicit memory

conscious or declarative

episodic 

what when or where something happened 

semantic memory

knowledge that can be stated or recounted over time

implicit memory 

non-conscious non-declarative 

procedural learning

muscle memory

priming

exposure to a related concept or idea before the introduction of the intended stimulus

types of priming

include perceptual, conceptual, and associative priming.

statistical learning

known regularities- prediction

primacy effect

the tendency to remember the first items in a list better than those in the middle. -LTM

recency effect

the tendency to remember the last items in a list better than those in the middle. - STM

Consolidation 

stabilizing memories 

Egocentric

knowing where an object is in space relative to yourself

allocentric

knowing where an object is in space relative to other objects

top down processing

using existing knowledge to interpret sensation

bottom up processing

processing that builds from the initial sensation