Unit 2 - Cognition

Memory

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

Alzheimer’s Disease

a progressive neurodegenrative and fatal condition

Recall

retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time

Recognition

identifying items previously learned

Relearning

learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time

Parallel Processing

considering many aspects of a problem simultaneously

Sensory Memory

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

Short-term Memory

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

Long-term Memory

relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

Working Memory

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

Central Executive

a memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

Phonological Loop

a memory component that briefly hold auditory information

Visuospatial Sketchpad

a memory component that briefly holds information about objects appearance and location in space

Explicit Memory

retention of facts and experiences from long-term memory that I've can consciously know and declare

Implicit Memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations in long-term memory independent of conscious recollection

Prospective Memory

your ability to do something in the future

Iconic Memory

a fleeting sensory memory of visual stimuli

Echoic Memory

impeccable, though fleeting, sensory memory for auditory stimuli

Long-term Potentiation

an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units

Mnemonics

memory aids

Hierarchies

organize words or concepts into hierarchical groups

Method of Loci

a memory technique in which one visualizes a physical location and creates memories as objects within this place

Spacing Effect

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

Maintenance Rehearsal

the repetition of information in its original or unaltered form in your working memory to memorize it

Elaborative Rehearsal

utilize existing memories to relate the new information to

Serial Position Effect

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

Recency Effect

briefly recalling last items because they were still in working memory

Primacy Effect

after delay, recall best for first items, likely due to enhanced rehearsal of the first items

Semantic Explicit Memories

facts and general knowledge

Episodic Explicit Memories

experienced events

Flashbulb Memory

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

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories due to injury or illness

Retrograde Amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one’s past due to injury or illness

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in long-term implicit memory

Context-dependent Memory

putting yourself back in the context where you earlier experienced something you can prime your memory retrieval

State-dependent Memory

what we learn in one physiological state may be more easily recalled when we are again in that state

Encoding Specificity Principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

Mood-congruent Memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad emotional state

Proactive Interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive Interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

Motivated Forgetting

people may forget unwanted memories

Motivated Forgetting

people may forget unwanted memories

Repression

the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Re-consolidation

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

Misinformation Effect

occurs when misleading information has disturbed one’s memory of an event

Imagination Inflation

repeatedly imagining nonexistent actions and events can create false memories

Source Amnesia

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

Deja Vu

cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Bottom-up Processing

starting with the sensory input, the brain attempts to understand

Top-down Processing

guided by experience and higher-level processes, we see what we expect to see

Perceptual Set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings

Proximity

a Gestalt law of grouping that states we group nearby figures together

Continuity

a Gestalt law of grouping that states we perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones

Closure

a Gestalt law of grouping that states we fill in gaps to create a complete, whole object

Selective Attention

our tendency to focus on just a particular stimulus among the many that are being received

Selective Inattention

at the level of conscious awareness, we are only in one place at a time and so we miss salient objects

Inattentional Blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention or focus is directed elsewhere

Change Blindness

failing to notice the changes in the the visual environment

Depth Perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two dimensional; allows us to judge different

Binocular Cues

depth cues such as retinal disparity and convergence that depend on the use of two eyes

Retinal Disparity

by comparing retinal images from the two eyes the brain computes distance

Convergence

the inward angle of the eyes focusing on a near object

Monocular Cues

depth cues available to each eye separately

Relative Site

if we assume two objects are similar in size most people perceive the one that casts the smaller retinal images as further away

Interposition

if one object partially blocks our view of another we perceive it as closer

Texture Gradient

a gradual change from a course distinct texture to a fine, indistinct texture signals increasing distance

Linear Perspective

parallel lines appear to meet in the distance; the sharper the angle of convergence, the greater the perceived distance

Relative Clarity

because light from distant objects passes through more atmosphere, we perceive hazy objects as further away than sharp, clear objects

Stroboscopic Movement

our brain perceives a rapid series of slightly varying images as continuous movement

Phi Phenomenon

a succession of lights creates an impression

Autokinesis

a visual illusion that makes a stationary object appear to move in a dark or featureless environment

Perceptual Constancy

a top-down process that recognizes objects without being deceived by changes in their color, shape, brightness, or size

Color Constancy

perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing

Brightness Constancy

we perceive an object as having a constant brightness even as illumination varies

Relative Luminance

the amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings

Shape Constancy

we perceive an object as having an unchanging shape, even while our distance from it varies

Size Constancy

we perceive an object as having an unchanging size even while our distance from it varies

Perceptual Adaptation

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input

Cognition

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

Metacognition

cognition about our cognition

Concepts

mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

Schema

an idea or model

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

Functional Fixedness

a kind of cognitive bias or roadblock that causes us to only see an object as being capable of/used for its traditional purpose

Algorithm

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

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

Insight

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution

Confirmation Bias

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

Fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective

Mental-set

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

Intuition

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

Representativeness Heuristic

estimating the likelyhood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, prototypes

Availability Heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

Planning Fallacy

overestimating our future leisure time and income

Planning Fallacy

overestimating our future leisure time and income