AP Psychlogy Unit 2

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

the cocktail-party effect

ability to focus one's attention on a particular stimulus while filtering out a range of other stimuli

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

failing to notice changes in the environment

What changes how we perceive things?

Expectations, context, motivation, and emotion

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Gestalt Psychology

a psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts

Proximity

group objects that are close together as being part of same group.

Similarity

objects similar in appearance are perceived as being part of same group

Continuity

objects that form a continuous form are more likely to be perceived as belonging in the same group

Connectedness

elements tend to be grouped together if they are connected by other elements and viewed as a single unit.

Closure

like top-down processing, we fill gaps if we can recognize it

Figure-ground

the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).

Depth Perception

the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance

What were visual cliff experiments used for?

depth perception experiments

Monocular cue

a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

Binocular cue

a depth cue that requires the use of both eyes

Retinal disparity

a binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.

Stroboscopic Effect

A rapid series of slightly varying images perceived as a moving image (flip book, old movies)

Phi Phenomenon

an illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

Auto kinetic Effect

a perceptual phenomenon in which a stationary point of light appears to move in a dark environment due to small eye movements

Perceptual Constancy

the ability to perceive objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Cognition

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

Forming Concepts

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

Forming Schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

Forming Prototypes

a mental image or best example of a category which provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories and can help organize unfamiliar items by finding an appropriate category

Assimilation

interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

Accommodation

adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information

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; usually speedier but also more error-prone.

Intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning (to make decisions)

Representative Heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

avaliability heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

What are the hurdles to problem-solving?

Mental set, priming, framing, gambler's fallacy, and sunk-cost fallacy.

Mental Set

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

Priming

a phenomenon in which exposure to a word or concept (called a prime) later makes it easier to recall related information, even when there is no conscious memory of the word or concept

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Gambler's Fallacy

The mistaken belief that, if a particular outcome has occurred several times in a row in a random event, the probability of that outcome happening again in the next trail is now lower

Sunk-cost fallacy

The tendency for people to continue investing time, money, or effort into something even when it is no longer beneficial, simply because they have already invested significantly in it, essentially feeling obligated to see it through despite negative outcomes.

Confirmation Bias

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

Overconfidence

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

Fixation

the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

Functional Fixedness

The inability to recognize novel uses for an item and only see it for its most common purpose.

Belief Perserverance

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

Executive Functioning

a set of cognitive processes that enable individuals to plan, organize, strategize, focus attention, regulate emotions, and manage time effectively.

What are the components of creativity?

Expertise, imagination, a venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and a creative environment.

Creativity

The ability to produce ideas that are both novel and valuable

Memory

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

What are the 3 stages of memory?

encoding, storage, retrieval

Encoding Stage

the first stage of memory during which events and other stimuli are noticed - getting information into the memory system

Storage Stage

the stage of memory processing when we integrate incoming information with existing data and store it until needed - retaining information over time

Retrieval Stage

the third stage in memory development in which consumers access desired information - getting information out of the memory storage.

Explicit/Declarative Memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

Semantic Memory

General knowledge - explicit

Episodic Memory

Memories of life events - explicit

Implicit/Nondeclarative Memories

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

Procedural Memory

the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things - implicit

Prospective Memory

remembering to do things in the future

Where are implicit memories processed?

cerebellum and basal ganglia

Where are explicit memories processed?

hippocampus and frontal lobes

Long-term Potentiation

an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory. (Practice makes perfect!)

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

Central Executive System

controls the deployment of attention, switching the focus of attention and dividing attention as needed

Phonological Loop

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

Visuospatial Sketchpad

A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information

Long-Term Memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Short-Term Memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

How long does short-term memory last?

10-30 Seconds.

Sensory Memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system: iconic = visual, echoic = auditory

Rehearsal

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

Parallel Processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision

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

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

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; tends to yield the best retention

What is an example of shallow processing?

Typing "there" instead of "their," focusing on a words sound.

What are the 3 levels of processing?

structural, phonemic, semantic

Mnemonic Devices

techniques for using associations to memorize and retrieve information

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Spacing Effect

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

Self-Referent Encoding

Connecting how or whether information is personally relevant thus making it more likely to be remembered.

Serial Position Effect

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

Recency Effect

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

Primary Effect

tendency to recall the first terms of list

How fast is information lost without rehearsal?

15-30 Seconds

George Miller

made famous the phrase: "the magical number 7, plus or minus 2" when describing human memory

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repetition of information for the immediate and temporary recall of information

Elaborative Rehearsal

a method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way

Autobiographical Memory

the memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story

Amnesia

loss of memory

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Retograde Amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Traumatic Amnesia

loss of memory due a to surgery, physical condition or a severe blow to the head - accident.

Hysterical/Fugue Amnesia

linked to severe psychological trauma - usually temporary.

Childhood/Infantile Amnesia

The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first two or three years of life.

Recall

retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time. - fill in the blank tests

Recognition

identifying items previously learned. - multiple choice tests

Retrieval Cues

stimuli that aid the recall or recognition of information stored in memory