Unit 5: Cognition

memory

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

recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person identifies previously learned

relearning

a measure of memory that assess the amount of time saved when learning material again

encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system, extracting memory

storage

the process of retaining encoding information over time

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

parallel processing

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experience

implicit memory

retention of learned skills of classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information and of information retrieval from long-term memory

insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based

instinctive drift

the tendency of learned behavior to gradually revert to biologically predisposed patterns

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a picture-imagery memory lasting no more than a few times 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

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it

chunking

organizing items into familiar, mangeable units; often occurs automatically

mnemonics

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

spacing effect

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

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 word's; tends to yield the best retention

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts, and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

flashbulb memory

a clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentation

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular association in memory

serial position effect

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

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before stored again

misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined

déjà vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced that before"; cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

cognition

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

concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

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

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

heuristic

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

insight

a sudden realization of problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

confirmation bias

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

fixation

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

mental set

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

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

representative heuristic

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

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based in their availability in memory; if instances 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 judgements

belief perserverance

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

framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgement

language

our spoken, written, assigned words and the ways we combined them to communicate meaning

phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enable us to communicate with and understand others

babbling stage

beginning around 4 months, the stage of speech development in which an infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram, using mostly nouns and verbs

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speakers) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)

Broca's area

helps control language expression- an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke's area

a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

linguistic determinism

the strong form of Wharf's hypothesis- that language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us

linguistic influence

the weaker form of "linguistic relativity"; the idea that language affects thought (thus our thinking and world views is "relative to" our cultural language)

intelligence

the ability to learn from experience, solve, problems, and use knowledge to adapt new situations

general intelligence (g)

according to spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task and an intelligence test

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that ratifies cluster of related items (called factors) on a test used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

grit

in psychology, grit is passion and perservance in the pursuit if long-term goals

emotional intelligence

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

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numeral scores

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the level of performance typically associated with children of a certain chronological age

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision of Binet's original intelligence test

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally at the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronicle age (ca) multiplied by 100

Wechsler Adult Intelligence scale (WAIS)

the WAIS and its companion versions for children and the most widely used intelligence tests; they contain verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests

standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

normal curve

the bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychosocial attributes; most scores fall near the average, and fewer and fewer scores lie near the extremes

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, an alternative form of the test, or a retesting

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

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

cohort

a group of people sharing a common characteristics, such as from a given time period

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease with age, especially during late adulthood

cross-sectional study

research that compares people of different ages at the same point in time

longitudinal study

research that follows and retests the same people over time

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence test score of 70 or below and difficulty adapting to the demands of life

down syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders

heritability

the proportion of variation amoung individuals in a group that we can attribute to genes

stereotype threat

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