Unit 2B - AP Psychology

Achievement Test

tests designed to assess what a person has already learned

Aptitude Tests

tests designed to predict a person's future performance; the capacity to learn

Chronological Age

the number of years one has been alive; one's age as determined by date of birth

Construct Validity

the extent to which a test accurately measures some abstract trait. For example, "hopelessness," "self-actualization"

Fixed Mindset

In Carol Dweck's model, a belief about intelligence that suggests it is not changeable

Flynn Effect

the rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations

G (General Intelligence)

a factor that underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

Growth Mindset

In Carol Dweck's model, a belief about intelligence that suggests it can expand based on learning, experience, or practice.

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

the SCORE that represents intelligence

Mental Age

a measure of intelligence test performance

Predictive Validity

the success with which a test forecasts the behavior it is designed to; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior

Psychometrics

scientific study or branch of psychology that deals with the design, administration, & interpretation of tests for the measurement of psychological variables

Reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results

Split-Half Reliability

A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two equal parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.

Standardization

the use of uniform procedures in test administration to ensure that all participants take the same test under the same conditions and are scored by the same criteria, which in turn ensures that results can be compared to each other.

Stereotype Lift

is the finding that performance can improve when individuals are aware that they do not belong to a group subjected to negative stereotypes

Stereotype Threat

a self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype; happens when an individual's expectation that negative stereotypes about their member group will negatively influence others' judgments of their performance, which undermines their ability to perform well.

Test-Retest Reliability

using the same test on two occasions to measure consistency

Validity

the extent to which a test measures what it is supposed to

Multiple Abilities of Intelligence

One theory that intelligence is not just a single ability, but rather several specific intelligences

Norming/Deviation IQ

The process of establishing a normal distrubtion of scores against which test-takers' results will be compared. For example, if designing a test for 3rd graders, one must obtain a normal distrubtion of test scores from representative 3rd graders that can be used to determine which levels of performance are low, middling, or high.

Percentile Rank

the location of a score in a distribution expressed as the percentage of cases in the data set with scores equal to or below the score in question; often used as a way of comparing an individual's score on a test or measure to the scores of others in the same population

In-Group Variations

the differences that exist within a group of people (i.e. women, men, a specific ethnicity); there is a greater difference between in-groups than there are when comparing one group to another (between groups)

Culture-Fair Test

a test based on common human experience and considered to be relatively unbiased with respect to special background influences.

Eugenics

was a movement in early 1900s to encourage those with good genes to reproduce, prevent other from reproducing.

Fluid Intelligence

the innate, inherited intelligence including reasoning and problem solving abilities, memory, and speed of info-processing- relatively independent of education. Ability to deal with novel problems, raw reasoning

Crystallized Intelligence

the specific knowledge and skills gained through experience, education, culture. Your acquired knowledge, previous knowledge

Emotional Intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

Triarchic Intelligence

consists of 3 types of intelligence; creativity, analytical, practical

Apparent Movement

an illusion of motion

Binocular Depth Cue

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

Bottom-Up Processing

Relies on external sensory information. It involves the basic elements or features to build a perception. We go from the individual elements to the whole.

Change Blindness

a type of inattentional blindness in which individuals don't notice a visual difference in their visual field after a brief interruption.

Closure

The tendency to fill in the gaps and complete figures that are incomplete.

Cocktail Party Effect

Ability to attend to only one voice among many. You also hear your name or key info from background while in a conversation.

Color Constancy

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.

Context

refers to the environment in which a stimulus event occurs (e.g., the location or circumstances surrounding the stimulus); this affects memory, learning, judgment and perception

Convergence

A binocular cue for perceiving depth; based on how much the eyes rotate inward. The brain interprets the tension.

Close = Eyes Must Rotate Inward More

and it creates a greater tension to focus on the object.

Far = Eyes Must Rotate Inward Less

(not outward) and it creates less tension to focus on the objects.

Figure and Ground

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

Gestalt Psychology

The whole experience is greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Inattentional Blindness

attention is focused on 1 part of the visual field and you may ignore/miss other parts. Miss something in our field of VISION because attention is directed somewhere else!

Interposition

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; based on the placement of the object. Close= partially blocks another object. Far= partially blocked

Linear Perspective

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; based on parallel lines converging or coming together into the distance.

Close = Near Where the Parallel Lines Do NOT Converge

Far = Near Where the Parallel Lines DO Converge

Monocular Depth Cues

The information in the retinal image that gives us information about depth and distance but can be inferred from just a single eye.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Proximity

Gestalt grouping principle; we group nearby or close figures together.

Relative Clarity

monocular depth cue; based on atmosphere moisture (rain, snow, fog, smog) and particles in the air (dust, dirt, smoke, pollen). Close= clear. Far= hazy due to …. (often bluish haze)

Relative Size

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; assumes that if two objects are about equal in size. Close= larger. Far= smaller

Retinal Disparity

A binocular for perceiving depth: by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance, when each retina gets a slightly different angle of the same object. Close= larger difference between what the eyes see

Far = Smaller Difference Between What the Eyes See

Schema

the building blocks of intellectual development or the mental structures that make organized, meaningful action possible. They are the generalizations we form about the world! Organize past experiences and provide a framework for understanding future experiences. For example, the schema "dorm room" suggests that a bed and a desk are probably part of the scene, that a microwave oven might or might not be, and that expensive Persian rugs probably will not be.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on one stimulus while excluding other stimuli that are present.

Shape Constancy

A type of perceptual constancy in which an object is perceived as having the same shape when viewed at different angles.

Similarity

Gestalt grouping cue; the tendency to perceive things that are alike as being part of the same group.

Size Constancy

The ability to perceive an object as being the same size despite the fact that the size of its retinal image changes depending on its distance from the observer.

Texture Gradient

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; based on the detail of the surface. Close= distinct, coarse, and have detailed surfaces. Far= indistinct, fine, and have undetailed surfaces

Top Down Processing

relies on internal prior expectations. It uses previous knowledge and experience to fill in the gaps and complete perception. It works in the opposite way- moving from the whole to the parts. Done when info is familiar

Perception

involves organizing and interpreting that sensory information.

Cultural Experiences

can also influence perception. People from different cultures may perceive the physical world differently. Learning influences perception. Muller-lyer illusion

Muller-Lyer Illusion

when 2 lines of the same length appear as different lengths. cultural differences

Depth Perception

allows us to judge distance from object to observer and the ability to see objects in 3-D

Phi Phenomenon

the illusion of movement created when 2 or more lights blink on and off in succession

Stroboscopic

illusion of movement created by a rapid series of slightly varying images

Accommodation

a process in which schemas are changed (updated or created) in response to new information

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

Assimilation

a process in which an old or existing schema is used to interpret information; information is forced to fit into that existing schema

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on how quickly they come to mind; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common

Cognition

The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Divergent Thinking

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions; associated with creativity

Executive Functions

Higher level cognitive processes of planning, decision making, problem solving, action sequencing, task assignment and organization, flexibility in goal selection, and goal-conflict resolution.

Framing

The way an issue is posed, which can significantly affect decisions and judgments

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to perceive an object only in terms of its most common use.

Gambler's Fallacy

The belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently; false belief that you can predict a chance event based on past chance events.

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; a short cut

Mental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Priming

The effect in which recent experience of a stimulus facilitates or inhibits later processing of the same or a similar stimulus.

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

Schemas

a collection of basic knowledge about a concept or entity that serves as a guide to perception, interpretation, imagination, or problem solving. For example, "dorm room" suggests that a bed and a desk are probably part of the scene, that a microwave oven might or might not be, and that expensive Persian rugs probably will not be.

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

A framing effect in which people make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation; the decision to continue to invest in something (undesirable behavior) simply because one has already invested in it and hope to recover the investment (time, money, or effort).

Concept

is a mental grouping/categories based on a shared feature that come from experience