Psychology Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology

Storage

The retention of encoded info over time

Retrieval

The process of getting info out of memory storage

Sensory memory

An immediate and brief recording of sensory info

iconic memory

momentary sensory memory or visual stimuli

Echoic memory

Momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

Short-term memory

Conscious active processing of auditory and visual-spaatial info that holds a few items briefly

Long-term memory

Relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of knowledge, skills, and experiences

Encoding

The processing of info into the memory system

Working memory

A newer understanding of short term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory/ visual-spatial info and info retrieved from long term memory

Flashbulb memory

Clear memory of an emotionally significant event (flashback)

Episodic Memory

Memories of certain events/episodes

Semantic Memory

Fact-based jeopardy-like information about the world that we have acquired throughout our lives

Procedural memory

“how to” or implicit memory (walking, talking, riding a bike, etc)

Automatic Memory

Unconscious encoding of incidental info such as space, time, frequency, etc. (meaning of words)

Implicit Memories (nondeclarative)

Don’t have to think about (procedural); formed/stored in cerebellum; basal ganglia controls movement, forms and stores procedural memory and motor skills

Effortful processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort: explicit and declarative memories

Explicit Memories (declarative)

Facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare; directed by frontal lobe, encoding and storage is facilitated by the hippocampus

State-dependent memories

What we learn in one mental/physical state may be easily recalled when we are again in that state

Mood-congruent memories

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Serial position effect

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items on a list

Long term potentiation

An increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid simulation. Believed to be the neural basis for learning and memory

Retrograde Amnesia

The inability to remember anything before specific brain surgery or accident

Antrograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories after specific brain surgery or an accident

Retroactive interference

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old info; backward acting; new disrupts past learning

Proactive Interference

The disruptive effect past learning has on the recall of new info; forward acting; past disrupts new learning

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event

Source Amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard/read about, or imagined

Algorithm

A logical step-by-step procedure that, if followed correctly, will eventually solve for a specific problem

Concepts

Mental representations of categories of objects, events, or their properties

Convergent thinking

A type of thinking that uses logic and algorithms to solve problems; there is only one answer; don’t see multiple perspectives

Divergent thinking

A type of thinking in which problem solvers diverse a number of possible alternative approaches to problems and solutions; involves taking risks

Heuristics

A general rule of thumb or “shortcut” that is used to reduce the number of possible solutions to a problem

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category

Availability heuristic

Judging the likelihood of an event based on readily available personal experiences/ news reports

Belief perseverance

Holding onto a belief even after it’s been discredited

Confirmation bias

A preference of info that confirms preexisting beliefs, while ignoring or discounting contradictory evidence

Functional Fixedness

Tendency to think of an object as functioning only in its usual/customary way; Individuals often do not see innovative ways of familiar objects

Representative heuristic

Judging the likelihood of an event based on how well it matches a typical example (stereotype)

Language Acquisition device

Innate speech-enabling structures in the brain that allow us to learn language

Linguistic determinism

Thinking affects our language, which in turn affects our thoughts

Morpheme

Smallest units of meaning in a language

Phoneme

The smallest distinctive units of sound in a language

Semantics

The set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences

Syntax

The rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences

Telegraphic Speech

Form of communication consisting of simple two-word long sentences often composed of noun and verb; child speaks around 24 months

Achievement Tests

Measure of what you’ve already learned

Aptitude Tests

Attempt to predict your ability to learn new skills

Crystallized Intelligence

Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills

Fluid intelligence

The ability to think quickly and abstractly

Intelligence quotient

Standard measure of an individual’s intelligence level based on psychological tests; mental age/chronological age x 100

Stanford-Binet Intelligence Tests

Measures performance in 15 areas

Wechsler Intelligence scale

Contains subscores for verbal comprehension, processing speed, perceptual organization, waking memory (most widely used)

G-Intelligence

General intelligence factor; Underlies specific mental abilities and is measured by every task on an intelligence test

Stereotype Threat

Self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative sterepotype

Reliability

Test yields consistent results

Validity

Measures what it is intended to measure/predict

Down Syndrome

Condition of mild to severe mental disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21

Intellectual Disability

Condition of limited mental abilities indicated by intelligence score <70 or difficulty adapting to demands of life

Savant Syndrome

Condition in which a person otherwise is limited in mental ability but has an exceptional skill, such as computation or drawing