AP sych terms quick and ez version

Memory

Learning that lasts over time (encode → store → retrieve)

Recall

Pull information out (fill-in-the-blank)

Recognition

Identify information (multiple choice)

Relearning

Faster learning the second time

Encoding

Put information in

Storage

Keep information

Retrieval

Get information out

Parallel Processing

Brain does many things at once

Sensory Memory

Super brief sensory information

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Small amount, short time

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Unlimited, long-lasting

Working Memory

STM + active thinking

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

Conscious memories (facts/events)

Implicit (Nondeclarative) Memory

Unconscious skills & habits

Effortful Processing

Needs attention

Automatic Processing

Happens without effort

Iconic Memory

Visual snapshot (~½ second)

Echoic Memory

Sound memory (3–4 seconds)

Chunking

Group information

Mnemonics

Memory tricks

Spacing Effect

Spread out studying

Testing Effect

Remember more by self-testing

Shallow Processing

How it looks/sounds

Deep Processing

Meaning (BEST memory)

Semantic Memory

Facts & knowledge

Episodic Memory

Personal experiences

Hippocampus

Forms new explicit memories

Memory Consolidation

Making memories permanent

LTP (Long-Term Potentiation)

Neurons fire better → learning

Flashbulb Memory

Vivid emotional memory

Priming

Unconscious memory activation

Encoding Specificity

Match context to remember

Mood-Congruent Memory

Mood affects recall

Serial Position Effect

Remember first & last best

Anterograde Amnesia

Can’t make new memories

Retrograde Amnesia

Can’t recall old memories

Proactive Interference

Old blocks new

Retroactive Interference

New blocks old

Repression

Push painful memories out of awareness

Reconsolidation

Memories can change when recalled

Misinformation Effect

Memory altered by false information

Source Amnesia

Forget where information came from

Déjà Vu

Feels familiar but isn’t

Cognition

Thinking, knowing, remembering

Concept

Mental category

Prototype

Best example of a category

Convergent Thinking

One correct answer

Divergent Thinking

Many possible answers

Creativity

New + useful ideas

Algorithm

Step-by-step, guaranteed solution

Heuristic

Quick shortcut (error-prone)

Insight

Sudden 'aha!' moment

Confirmation Bias

Look for what agrees

Fixation

Can’t see new solution

Mental Set

Same method every time

Intuition

Fast, automatic thinking

Representativeness Heuristic

Match the prototype

Availability Heuristic

Easy to remember = common

Overconfidence

Too sure, often wrong

Belief Perseverance

Stick to beliefs despite evidence

Framing Effect

Wording changes decisions

Language

System for communication

Phoneme

Smallest sound

Morpheme

Smallest meaning unit

Grammar

Language rules

Semantics

Meaning

Syntax

Word order

Babbling

Random sounds (~4 months)

One-Word Stage

Single words (1–2 yrs)

Two-Word Stage

Simple phrases (~2 yrs)

Telegraphic Speech

Short, content words

Aphasia

Language loss

Broca’s Area

Speech production

Wernicke’s Area

Language understanding

Linguistic Determinism

Language controls thought

Linguistic Influence

Language affects thought