Psychology 2.2-2.8

concept

mental grouping of similar things (objects, people, etc)

prototype

“best example” of a category

schema

concept/framework that organizes and interprets info

insight

sudden realization of a problem’s solution

mental set

tendency to approach a problem in a way that has been successful before

representative heuristic

judging the likelihood of events based off how well they match a prototype (pattern)

availability heuristic

assumption based on recent events

recall

retrieve info learned earlier (fill-in-the-blank)

recognition

identify items previously learned (mcq)

relearning

amount of time saved when learning again

measures of memory

recall, recognition, relearning

encoding

process of getting info into memory system

storage

retaining coded info over time

retrieving

process of getting info out of the memory system

sensory memory

brief recording of sensory info in the memory system

short-term memory

briefly activated memory of a few items that is later stored or forgotten

long-term memory

relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system

working memory

using short term info

central executive

memory component that coordinated the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

visuospatial sketchpad

briefly holds info about an object’s appearance and location in space

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons

long-term potentation

increased efficiency of potential neuron firing after brief, rapid stimulation

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that we consciously know

implicit memory

retention of learned skills independent of conscious retention

automatically processed info

space, time (sequence), frequency

iconic memory

a short burst of photographic memory

processing strategies

mnemonics, chunking and hierarchies

spacing effect

tendency for distributed study= better long-term than massed study

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge

memory consolidation

storage of a long-term memory

memory structures

explicit- frontal lobes and hippocampus

implicit - cerebellum and basal ganglia

flashbulb memories

clear memory of emotionally significant event

prospective memory

remembering to do something in the future- planning ahead

priming

activation of particular associations in memory

encoding specificity principal

idea that cues and contexts to a particular memory will help recall

serial position effect

tendency to recall last items in a list initially (recency) and first items after a delay (primacy)

anterograde amnesia

inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

inability to remember past info

proactive interference

the learning of new info is disrupted by old info (combination lock)

retroactive interference

remembering old info is disrupted by learning new info

reconsolidation

process by which memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

misinformation effect

occurs when memory has been corrupted by misleading information

source amnesia

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

memory construction

we reconstruct memories every time we recall them

confabulation

filling in missing details with plausible ones

imagination inflation

gaining of a false memory by merely imagining it

general ability (g factor)

ability to think and process info and solve problems

iq

ratio of mental age to chronological age x100

standardized test

tests to get consistent and comparable results

valid

measure of how well a test assesses what it claims

construct validity

how much a test measures a concept or trait

predictive validity

how well a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict

reliable

measure of consistency, dependability

test-retest

the same test is given to the same people twice at different times

split-half

consistency of test scores between two halves of the same test

flynn effect

intelligence test scores increase over time

achievement tests

ap exam- tests what you know

aptitude test

lsat-predict a person’s future performance or capacity to learn