The process of organizing and interpreting sensory information to give meaning to our environment.
2
New cards
Bottom-up processing
An approach where perception starts with sensory input and works up to the brain's integration of this information.
3
New cards
Top-down processing
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, drawing on experience and expectations to construct perceptions.
4
New cards
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
5
New cards
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
6
New cards
Gestalt psychology
Emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts.
7
New cards
Closure
The perceptual tendency to mentally fill in gaps in a visual image to perceive objects as wholes.
8
New cards
Figure and ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (figures) that stand out from their surroundings (ground).
9
New cards
Proximity
The perceptual tendency to group together visual and auditory events that are near each other.
10
New cards
Similarity
The perceptual tendency to group together elements that seem alike.
11
New cards
Attention
The focusing of mental resources on select information.
12
New cards
Selective attention
The focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.
13
New cards
Cocktail party effect
The ability to focus auditory attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out other stimuli.
14
New cards
Inattentional blindness
Failing to see visible objects when attention is directed elsewhere.
15
New cards
Change Blindness
Failing to notice changes in the environment.
16
New cards
Binocular depth cues
Depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
17
New cards
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes.
18
New cards
Convergence
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by the extent to which the eyes converge inward when looking at an object.
19
New cards
Monocular depth cues
Depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
20
New cards
Relative clarity
A monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects are seen as farther away than sharp, clear objects.
21
New cards
Relative size
A cue that allows determining the closeness of objects to an object of known size.
22
New cards
Texture gradient
A gradual change from coarse to fine texture signaling increasing distance.
23
New cards
Linear perspective
Parallel lines appear to converge with distance.
24
New cards
Aptitude tests
Tests designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn.
25
New cards
Fixed mindset
The idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change.
26
New cards
Growth mindset
The belief that one's skills and qualities can change and improve through effort and dedication.
27
New cards
Explicit memory
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and 'declare.'
28
New cards
Episodic memory
The collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place.
29
New cards
Semantic memory
Memory for factual information.
30
New cards
Implicit memory
Retention independent of conscious recollection.
31
New cards
Procedural memory
A type of long-term memory of how to perform different actions and skills.
32
New cards
Prospective memory
Remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time.
33
New cards
Long-term potentiation
An increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
34
New cards
Working memory model
A model that suggests that memory involves a series of active, temporary memory stores that manipulate information.
35
New cards
Working memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
36
New cards
Central executive
The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.
37
New cards
Phonological loop
The part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information.
38
New cards
Visuospatial sketchpad
The part of working memory that holds visual and spatial information.
39
New cards
Multi-store model
A model of memory that suggests information passes through three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
40
New cards
Sensory memory
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
41
New cards
Iconic memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
42
New cards
Echoic memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
43
New cards
Short-Term Memory
Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.
44
New cards
Long-Term Memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
45
New cards
Automatic processing
Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information.
46
New cards
Effortful processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
47
New cards
Encoding
The processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.
48
New cards
Storage
The retention of encoded information over time.
49
New cards
Retrieval
The process of getting information out of memory storage.
50
New cards
Levels of processing model
The theory that deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting memory codes.
51
New cards
Shallow encoding
Processing information based on its surface characteristics.
52
New cards
Deep encoding
Processing information based on its meaning and the significance of the information.
53
New cards
Mnemonic devices
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
54
New cards
Method of loci
A mnemonic device that involves imagining placing items around a room or along a route.
55
New cards
Chunking-Grouping
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
56
New cards
Categories-Grouping
Grouping information into categories that share common attributes.
57
New cards
Hierarchies-Grouping
Organizing items into a hierarchy, starting with general categories and working down to specific examples.
58
New cards
Spacing effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
59
New cards
Massed practice
Cramming information all at once. It is less effective than spaced practice.
60
New cards
Distributed practice
Spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods.
61
New cards
Serial position effect
Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
62
New cards
Primacy effect
The tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows.
63
New cards
Recency effect
The tendency to remember information that is presented last.
64
New cards
Maintenance rehearsal
Repeating information over and over to keep it active in short-term memory.
65
New cards
Elaborative rehearsal
A method of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory by making that information meaningful in some way.
66
New cards
Memory retention
The ability to retain information over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
67
New cards
Autobiographical memory
The memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story.
68
New cards
Retrograde amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one's past.
69
New cards
Anterograde amnesia
An inability to form new memories.
70
New cards
Alzheimer's disease
A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.
71
New cards
Infantile amnesia
The inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3.
72
New cards
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
73
New cards
Recognition
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.
74
New cards
Retrieval cues
Stimuli that aid the recall or recognition of information stored in memory.
75
New cards
Context-dependent memory
The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.
76
New cards
Mood-congruent memory
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
77
New cards
State-dependent memory
The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., drunk, sober) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.
78
New cards
The forgetting curve
A graph showing retention and forgetting over time.
79
New cards
Encoding failure
The failure to process information into memory.
80
New cards
Proactive interference
The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
81
New cards
Retroactive interference
The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
82
New cards
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
The temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach.
83
New cards
Repression
The basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
84
New cards
Misinformation effect
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.
85
New cards
Source amnesia
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.
86
New cards
Constructive memory
The process by which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events.
87
New cards
Memory consolidation
The neural storage of a long-term memory.
88
New cards
Imagination inflation
The increased confidence in a false memory of an event following repeated imagination of the event.
89
New cards
Health Psychology
A branch of psychology that focuses on how physical activities, psychological traits, and social relationships affect overall health and illness.
90
New cards
Stress
The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging.
91
New cards
Hypertension
High blood pressure, often associated with stress, which can increase the risk of heart and kidney diseases and stroke.
92
New cards
Immune Suppression
Reduction in the effectiveness of the immune system, which can be caused by various forms of stress.
93
New cards
Stressors
Events or conditions in your surroundings that may trigger stress.
94
New cards
Daily Hassles
Everyday minor events that cause stress, such as traffic jams or overwhelming chores.
95
New cards
Significant Life Changes
Major life transitions like moving, leaving a job, or divorcing, which can be stressful.
96
New cards
Catastrophes
Unpredictable, large-scale events that cause significant stress and alter the lives of many people.
97
New cards
Eustress (motivating)
Positive stress which results from striving toward a challenging goal.
98
New cards
Distress (debilitating)
Negative stress that can make a person sick or keep a person from reaching a goal.
99
New cards
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
Potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood and can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being.
100
New cards
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
The three-stage process (alarm, resistance, exhaustion) that describes the physiological changes the body goes through when under stress.