Myers 9 + ? AP Psychology

memory

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

encoding

The processing of information into the memory system.

storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

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 before the information is stored or forgotten.

long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system, including : knowledge, skills, and experiences.

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.

parallel processing

The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions.

automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information.

effortful processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

rehearsal

The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.

spacing effect

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

serial position effect

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

visual/iconic encoding

The encoding of picture images.

acoustic/echoic encoding

The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.

semantic encoding

The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.

imagery

Mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing.

mnemonics

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

chunking

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

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.

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.

long-term potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

amnesia

The loss of memory.

implicit memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection (nondeclarartive or procedural memory).

explicit memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (declarative memory).

hippocampus

A neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.

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 for a second time.

priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

déjà vu

That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger the retrieval of an earlier experience.

mood-congruent memory

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

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 (source misattribution).

cognition

The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

insight

A sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem.

episodic memory

the memory of autobiographical events that can be explicitly stated or conjured. It is the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place.

flashbulb memory

a highly detailed, exceptionally vivid 'snapshot' of the moment and circumstances in which a piece of surprising and consequential (or emotionally arousing) news was heard.

learning

a relatively permanent change in an organism's behavior due to experience

habituation

an organism's decreasing response to a stimulus with repeated exposure to it

classical conditioning

a type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events

behaviorism

psychology: (1) should be an objective science that (2) studies behavior without reference to mental processes.

unconditioned response (UR)

the unlearned, naturally occurring reaction to US, such as salivation when food is in the mouth

unconditioned stimulus (US)

a stimulus that naturally and automatically triggers a reaction (like food)

conditioned response (CR)

the learned reaction to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus (CS)

conditioned stimulus (CS)

an originally irrelevant stimulus that, after association with an US, comes to trigger a conditioned reaction

acquisition

the "learned" behavior or response

higher-order conditioning

a procedure in which the CS in one conditioning experience is paired with a new NS, creating a second (often weaker) CS.

extinction

the diminishing of a CR; when a response is no longer reinforced

spontaneous recovery

the reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished CR

generalization

the tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the CS to elicit responses

discrimination

the learned ability to distinguish between a CS and stimuli that do not signal an US

learned helplessness

the hopelessness and passive resignation an animal or human learns when unable to avoid repeated aversive events

operant conditioning

a type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforcer or diminished followed by a punisher

law of effect

Thorndike's principle that behaviors followed by favorable consequences become more likely, or where behaviors followed by unfavorable consequences become less likely

shaping

reinforcers guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior

reinforcer

any event that strengthens the behavior it follows

positive reinforcement

increasing behaviors by presenting positive stimuli, such as food.

negative reinforcement

increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli, such as shock.

primary reinforcer

an innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need

continuous reinforcement

reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs

partial (intermittent) reinforcement

reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement

fixed-ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses

variable-ratio schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses

fixed-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed

variable-interval schedule

a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals

punishment

an event that decreases the behavior that it follows

cognitive map

a mental representation of the layout of one's environment. (For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it)

latent learning

learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it LATER

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem

intrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior effectively for its own sake; INSIDE

extrinsic motivation

a desire to perform a behavior to receive promised rewards or avoid threatened punishment, OUTSIDE

modeling

the process of observing and imitating a specific behavior

Little Albert

subject in John Watson's experiment, proved classical conditioning principles, especially the generalization of fear

Albert Bandura

researcher famous for work in observational or social learning including the famous Bobo doll experiment

Ivan Pavlov

Russian physiologist who observed conditioned salivary responses in dogs (1849-1936)

B.F. Skinner

he is famous for use of his operant conditioning apparatus which he used to study schedules of reinforcement on pidgeons and rats.

John Watson

behaviorist; famous for Little Albert study in which a baby was taught to fear a white rat

biofeedback

a technique that trains people to improve their health by controlling certain bodily processes that normally happen involuntarily, such as heart rate, blood pressure, muscle tension, and skin temperature.

aversion theory

an aversive (causing a strong feeling of dislike or disgust) stimulus is paired with an undesirable behavior in order to reduce or eliminate that behavior.

neutral stimulus (NS)

environmental factor that doesn't elicit a CR until it is repeatedly paired with the US (ex/ bell in Pavlov experiment)

systematic desensitization

a treatment for phobias in which the patient is exposed to progressively more anxiety-provoking stimuli and taught relaxation techniques with the goal of "unlearning" fearful behavior

Robert Rescorla

learning- developed contingency model of classical conditioning

Wolfgang Kohler

researcher who studied insight learning in chimps

insight learning

The process of learning how to solve a problem or do something new by applying what is already known

Edward Tolman

Latent learning; cognitive maps

retrograde amnesia

inability to retrieve past information

anterograde amnesia

inability to form new explicit mimemories

mirror neurons

frontal lobe neurons that may fire when performing actions or watching another perform said action

pro-social effects

positive influences in learning

anti-social effects

negative influences in learning

observational learning

learning by observing others behavior

internal locus of control

a person is in control of their own fate with their own efforts and hard work

external locus of control

a persons fate is controlled by external forces and chance

problem-focused coping

focus of changing the stressor or the way one interacts with the stressor to reduce stress

emotion-focused coping

avoidance or ignoring of a stressor and instead focusing on self-soothing and attending to feelings regarding the stressor