AP Psychology Unit 2 (Part 2)

Self-Reference Effect

The tendency to remember self-relevant information

Misinformation Effect

Occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

Flashbulb Memory

A really vivid memory of an emotional event

Confirmation Bias

When one seeks information that aligns with his/her beliefs, sometimes ignoring contradictory information

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

Spacing Effect

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

Heuristics

Availability - judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory (e.g. plane crashes)

Representativeness - judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

Short-Term Memory

Temporary memory storage space; holds 7+-2 items

Long-Term Memory

Where information goes after being encoded for long term storage; essentially limitless

Belief Perseverence

The persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Context-Dependent Memory

When environmental factors are associated with memories; these serve as retrieval cues

State-Dependent Memory

What we learn in one state may be more easily recalled when we are again in that state (e.g. being drunk)

Prototype

The best example/mental image of a category; compared with new items to sort them into categories

Concept/Category

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Levels of Processing

Automatic - unconscious encoding of incidental information; used to form implicit memories

Effortful - encoding that requires attention and conscious effort; used to form explicit memories

Parallel Processing

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

Steps of Memory

Encoding, storage, and retrieval

Mnemonics

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

Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

The course of forgetting is initially rapid, then levels out with time

Echoic Memory

The auditory sensory memory; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Iconic Memory

The visual sensory memory; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Overconfidence

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

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to best remember the last items in a list initially (recency effect), then the first items after a delay (primacy effect)

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically (e.g. organizing strokes into characters in Chinese)

Retroactive Inteference

The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information (e.g. learning French causing you to forget Spanish)

Proactive Interference

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information (when you get a new password, you keep entering your old password initially)

Repression

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

Working Memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory; conscious, active processing of both (1) incoming sensory information, and (2) information retrieved from long-term memory

Creativity (Sternberg)

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas

Five components: expertise, imaginative thinking skills, a venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and a creative environment

Mood-Congruent Memory

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

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution (tested by standardized tests)

Divergent Thinking

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

Algorithms

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

Explicit Memory

Learned facts/general knowledge (semantic) and experiences (episodic) that we can consciously know and “declare”

Implicit Memory

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection

Brain Parts Involved in Memory

Frontal Lobe (explicit) - many brain regions send input to your prefrontal cortex for working memory processing

Hippocampus (explicit) - hippocampus acts as a loading dock where the brain registers and temporarily holds the elements of a to-be-remembered episode that are later transferred to the cortex for storage (aided by NREM 3 sleep)

Cerebellum (implicit) - helps form and store implicit memories created by classical conditioning

Basal Ganglia (implicit) - involved in motor movement and facilitates the formation of our procedural memories for skills

Long Term Potentiation

An increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

Semantic Encoding

Encoding of words based on their meaning, as opposed to their structure or sound; leads to better retention

Framing

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