Active Recall and Distributed Practice in Learning Strategies

Active Recall

retrival based learning

Distributed practice

spacing out active recall

Contemporary Psychology

the scientific study of behavior and mental processes

Behaviorism

Looked at quantifiable outside behavior for scientific respectability but let to a wall because people couldnt dive into what was happening inside the mind so it kind of fell off

Structuralism

Breaking down experience into pieces

Functionalism

A school of psychology that focused on how our mental and behavioral processes function - how they enable us to adapt, survive, and flourish.

Psychanalytic

Frued; study of the unconscious, includes childhood and aggression issues, but he got almost everything wrong

Experiments

a technique that tests predicted relationships among variables in a controlled environment. ONLY WAY TO SHOW CAUSE AND EFFECT!!

Correlation Studies

a research method that describes and predicts how variables are naturally related in the real world, without any attempt by the researcher to alter them or assign causation between them

Random Sample

method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected

Random Assignment

assigning participants to experimental and control conditions by chance, thus minimizing preexisting differences between those assigned to the different groups

control groups

Groups of participants in a research experiment who do not receive the experimental treatment or intervention.

confounding variables

factors that cause differences between the experimental group and the control group other than the independent variable

Case Studies

studies that involve extensive, in-depth interviews with a particular individual or small group of individuals. Can show unique insights but it might not be typical for everyone.

Naturalistic Observation

observing and recording behavior in naturally occurring situations without trying to manipulate and control the situation

-70mV

nueron resting potential

Caffeine, Adenosine

_________ takes up space in receptors where __________ binds to delay being tired

Reuptake inhibitors

Drugs that interfere with the reuptake of neurotransmitters in the synapse so that a greater amount remains in the synapse

Agonist

Increases activity levels by blocking inhibitors and allowing binding cite to be more active (Reuptake inhibitors)

Antagonist

drug/ chemical that blocks action of neurotransmitters in the synapse area

Computerized axial Tomography (CT)

Dye injected to blood and then x-ray is passed through head

magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)

brain-imaging method using radio waves and magnetic fields of the body to produce detailed images of the brain

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

An amplified recording of the waves of electrical activity that sweep across the brain's surface. These waves are measured by electrodes placed on the scalp. Good measure of time waves are produces but bad at placing where it is in the brain.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG)

technique that measures brain activity by detecting tiny magnetic fields generated by the brain. Good time and spatial awareness but VERY expensive.

Position Emission Tomography (PET)

a visual display of brain activity that detects where a radioactive form of glucose goes while the brain performs a given task. Good spatial resolution but bad temporal resoluction.

Functional MRI (fMRI)

technique that uses magnetic fields to visualize brain activity using changes in blood oxygen level. Good spatial but bad temporal however temporal is improving.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)

a treatment that involves placing a powerful pulsed magnet over a person's scalp, which alters neuronal activity in the brain by either stimulating or paralyzing nuerons

Frontal Lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex that has specialized areas for movement, abstract thinking, planning, memory, and judgement

temporal lobe

A region of the cerebral cortex responsible for hearing and language.

Occipital Lobe

vision

Sensory Cortex

area at the front of the parietal lobes that registers and processes body touch and movement sensations

Limbic System

neural system located below the cerebral hemispheres; associated with sensory and motivational systems

Thalamus

the brain's sensory switchboard, located on top of the brainstem; it directs messages to the sensory receiving areas in the cortex and transmits replies to the cerebellum and medulla

Hippocampus

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

Amygdala

two lima bean-sized neural clusters in the limbic system; linked to emotion.

Pituitary gland

The endocrine system's most influential gland. Under the influence of the hypothalamus, the pituitary regulates growth and controls other endocrine glands.

Corpus Collosum

the large band of neural fibers connecting the two brain hemispheres and carrying messages between them

Right Brain

creative and spatial

Left Brain

language and logic

endogenous attention

attention that is directed voluntarily

exogenous attention

automatic attraction of attention by a sudden visual or auditory stimulus (ex: car alamr going off and attention getting pulled to that)

inattentional blindness

failing to notice something when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindess

failing to notice changes in the environment but involving memory

chronotype

Individual differences in circadian activity

Sleep 1

state between awake and asleep... hypogenic sensations

Sleep 2

memory transfer and to term memories to important

sleep spindles

short bursts of brain waves detected in stage 2 sleep

K-complex

very high amplitude pattern of brain activity associated with stage 2 sleep that may occur in response to environmental stimuli

Sleep 3

relay and consolidation of long term memories. Brain areas that dont normally talk communicate during this stage (growth, immune, lymphatic, etc.)

Slow Wave Sleep

consists of NREM sleep stages 3 and 4; also called delta-wave sleep

REM Sleep

Rapid eye movement sleep, a recurring sleep stage during which vivid dreams commonly occur. Also known as paradoxical sleep, because the muscles are relaxed (except for minor twitches) but other body systems are active.

hindsight bias

the tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it

confirmation bias

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

disinformation

false information purposely disseminated, usually by a government, for the purpose of creating a false impression

illusionary correlation

the perception of a relationship where none exists

Superchaismatic Nucleus

Cells near hypothalamus that essentialy shut down the brain during sleep (make up the SCN)

Optic Nerve

the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain

Parallel Processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Perceptual Set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

Transduction

converting one energy to another

absolute threshold

the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time

difference threshold

the minimum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time