U2b AP Psych In-Class Notes

Perception

The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information.

Selective Attention

The focus of conscious awareness on a specific stimulus.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus one's hearing on a particular stimulus, like a conversation, in a noisy environment.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice a visual change or visual cue that is obviously present.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Figure-Ground Relationship

The visual perception process of distinguishing an object (the figure) from its background.

Gestalt Psychology

A theory emphasizing our tendency to organize pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Closure Principle

Objects that form a continuous form are perceived as part of the same group.

Similarity Principle

Objects that are similar in appearance are perceived as part of the same group.

Proximity Principle

Objects that are close together are perceived as being part of the same group.

Depth Perception

The ability to see objects in three dimensions and judge distance.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues that require the use of only one eye.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that require the use of both eyes.

Retinal Disparity

The difference in image between the two eyes that helps perceive depth.

Convergence

The extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging despite changes in illumination and retinal image.

Phi Phenomenon

An illusion of motion perceived when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession.

Recall

Retrieving information from memory without cues.

Recognition

Identifying target information among possible options.

Memory Process: Encoding

The processing of information into the memory system.

Memory Process: Storage

The retention of encoded material over time.

Memory Process: Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

Sensory Memory

A brief holding tank for all sensory information.

Echoic Memory

A type of sensory memory involving a brief retention of sound.

Short-Term Memory

The capacity for holding a small amount of information for a short duration.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units to aid memory.

Long-Term Memory

An unlimited storehouse of information.

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know.

Episodic Memory

Memory of personal experiences and specific events.

Semantic Memory

Memory of facts and knowledge about the world.

Implicit Memory

Memory that does not require conscious recall.

Procedural Memory

Memory of how to perform tasks and skills.

Long-Term Potentiation

The lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons after stimulating them together.

Metacognition

Thinking about thinking and one’s own thought processes.

Concepts

Mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Heuristic

A problem-solving strategy that uses shortcuts to generate solutions.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging situations based on how similar they are to prototypes.

Availability Heuristic

Judging based on readily available examples in memory.

Belief Perseverance

Maintaining a belief even when it has been proven wrong.

Framing

The way a problem is presented that affects perception.

Functional Fixedness

The inability to see a new use for an object.

Confirmation Bias

The tendency to search for evidence that confirms one’s beliefs.

Intelligence

The ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and adapt to new situations.

Crystalized Intelligence

Accumulated knowledge and verbal skills that remain stable with age.

Fluid Intelligence

The ability to solve new problems, independent of any knowledge from the past.

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences

Theory proposing different kinds of intelligence in 7 distinct categories.

Savant Syndrome

Low cognitive functioning accompanied by exceptional talent in a specific area.

Mental Age

An individual's level of mental development relative to others.

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

The most widely used intelligence test, assessing both verbal and performance skills.

Flynn Effect

The observed rise in IQ scores over time.