Unit 5 AP Psychology

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time.

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare.”

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection.

iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimulus

echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words

hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

long-term potentiation

an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned

relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list.

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories.

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.

source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

deja vu

that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category.

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions).

algorithm

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

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

insight

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.

mental set

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

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning.

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.

availability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

belief perseverance

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

framing

the way an issue is posed

language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix).

grammar

a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

babbling stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

one-word stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in two-word statements

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—“go car”—using mostly nouns and verbs

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left-hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).

Broca’s area

controls language expression—an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

Wernicke’s area

controls language reception—a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

intelligence

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

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.

general intelligence (g)

a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

grit

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

emotional intelligence

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

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100

achievement test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

aptitude test

a test designed to predict a person’s future performance

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

normal curve

the symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes

reliability

he extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

content validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

predictive validity

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

cohort

a group of people from a given time period

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.

intellectual disability

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.

down syndrome

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

heritability

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes.

stereotype threat

a selfconfirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.