ap psych ch 7 vocab

concept

concept

a mental category of objects, relations, activities, abstractions, or qualities having common properties

prototype

an especially representative example of a concept

proposition

a unit of meaning that is made up of concepts and expresses a single idea

cognitive schema

an integrated mental network of knowledge, beliefs, and expectations concerning a particular topic or aspect of the world

mental image

a mental representation that mirrors or resembles the thing it represents; mental images occur in many and perhaps all sensory modalities

subconscious processes

mental processes occurring outside of conscious awareness but accessible to consciousness when necessary

nonconscious processes

mental processes occurring outside of and not available to conscious awareness

implicit learning

learning that occurs when you acquire knowledge about something without being aware of how you did so and without being able to state exactly what it is you have learned

reasoning

the drawing of conclusions or inferences from observations, facts, or assumptions

algorithm

a problem-solving strategy guaranteed to produce a solution even if the user does not know how it works

deductive reasoning

a form of reasoning in which a conclusion follows necessarily from certain premises; if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true

inductive reasoning

a form of reasoning in which the premises provide support for a conclusion, but it is still possible for the conclusion to be false

heuristic

a rule of thumb that suggests a course of action or guides problem solving but does not guarantee an optimal solution

dialectical reasoning

a process in which opposing facts or ideas are weighed and compared, with a view to determining the best solution or resolving differences

affect heuristic

the tendency to consult one's emotions instead of estimating probabilities objectively

availability heuristic

the tendency to judge the probability of a type of event by how easy it is to think of examples or instances

hindsight bias

the tendency to overestimate one's ability to have predicted an event once the outcome is known; the "I knew it all along" phenomenon

confirmation bias

the tendency to look for or pay attention only to information that confirms one's own belief

mental set

a tendency to solve problems using procedures that worked before on similar problems

cognitive dissonance

a state of tension that occurs when a person simultaneously holds two cognitions that are psychologically inconsistent or when a person's belief is incongruent with his or her behavior

postdecision dissonance

in the theory of cognitive dissonance, tension that occurs when you believe you may have made a bad decision

justification of effort

the tendency for individuals to increase their liking for something that they have worked hard or suffered to attain; a common form of dissonance reduction

intelligence

an inferred characteristic of an individual, usually defined as the ability to profit from experience, acquire knowledge, think abstractly, act purposefully, or adapt to changes in the environment

factor analysis

A statistical method for analyzing the intercorrelations among various measures or test scores; clusters of measures or scores that are highly correlated are assumed to measure the same underlying trait, ability, or aptitude (factor)

g factor

a general ability assumed by many theorists to underlie specific mental abilities and talents

psychometrics

the measurement of mental abilities, traits, and processes

mental age (MA)

a measure of mental development expressed in terms of the average mental ability at a given age

intelligence quotient (IQ)

a measure of intelligence now derived from norms provided for standardized intelligence tests

stereotype threat

a burden of doubt a person feels about his or her performance, due to negative stereotypes about his or her group's abilities

triarchic theory of intelligence

A theory of intelligence that emphasizes information-processing strategies, the ability to transfer skills to new situations, and the practical application of intelligence

metacognition

the knowledge or awareness of one's own cognitive processes, and the ability to monitor and control those processes

tacit knowledge

strategies for success that are not explicitly taught but that instead must be inferred

emotional intelligence

the ability to identify your own and other people's emotions accurately, express your emotions clearly, and regulate emotions in yourself and others

heritability

a statistical estimate of the proportion of the total variance in some trait that is attributable to genetic differences among individuals within a group

cognitive ethology

the study of cognitive processes in nonhuman animals