FCPS AP Psych Unit 5

Memory

Learning that has continued over time.

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information and well-learned information.

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Deep Processing

Involves elaborative rehearsal and meaningful analysis of ideas and words being learned.

Shallow Processing

Simple memorization without attaching meaning to the information.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Linking new information with existing memories and knowledge.

Metacognition

Awareness of our thinking processes and understanding of what we know.

Information-processing model

A three-step process of encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Sensory Memory

Processing everything we sense.

Iconic Memory

Fleeting visual images.

Echoic Memory

Auditory signals.

Short-term Memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly.

Working Memory

Focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming information.

Long-term Memory

Relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of memory.

Prospective Memory

Remembering to perform actions in the future.

Retrospective Memory

Remembering events from the past or previously learned information.

Implicit Memory

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences that can be consciously known and declared.

Episodic Memories

Stories of our lives and experiences that we can recall and tell someone.

Semantic Memories

Impersonal memories drawn from everyday knowledge.

Flashbulb Memories

Emotionally intense events that become vivid-seeming memories.

George Miller

Seven, Plus or Minus Two is the amount of meaningful information one can hold in short-term memory.

Hermann Ebbinghaus

Pioneered the experimental study of memory and discovered the forgetting curve and spacing effect.

Noam Chomsky

Psychologist and linguist known for his theory of innate grammar.

Wolfgang Kohler

Created the idea of insight learning.

Elizabeth Loftus

Studied eyewitness testimony and memory reconstruction.

Semantic Encoding

Using past events or items to organize thoughts and learn new material.

Encoding Failure

Ineffective attention given to material.

Storage Decay

Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay.

Relearning

A measure of memory that assesses the time saved when learning material again.

Recognition

Correct identification of previously learned material.

Recall

Direct retrieval of facts or information.

State-dependent Memory

Remembering more information when in the same physical or mental state as during encoding.

Mood-dependent Memory

Retrieving information while in a similar mood as when it was acquired.

Context-dependent Memory

Easier retrieval of memories when the context is the same during encoding and retrieval.

Priming

Triggers associations that bring us to a concept.

Retrieval Failure

Inability to access retained information.

Serial Position Effect

Tendency to recall first and last items in a list more easily.

Mnemonics

Memory aids that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Chunking

Grouping related information to aid memory.

Method of Loci

Strategy using visualizations of familiar spatial environments to enhance recall.

Peg Word System

Mnemonic device for memorizing lists in order.

Spacing Effect

Distributed study or practice yields better long-term retention.

Testing Effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving information rather than rereading.

Self-reference Effect

Encoding information differently based on personal relevance.

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to remember previously stored information.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form memories from new material.

Proactive Interference

Prior learning disrupts recall of new information.

Retroactive Interference

New learning disrupts recall of old information.

Repression

Defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into memory of an event.

Source Amnesia

Attributing an event to the wrong source.

Long-term Potentiation

Increase in a cell's firing potential after rapid stimulation, believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Basal Ganglia

Plays a role in memory retrieval and procedural memory.

Amygdala

Primary processor of emotional reactions and social behavior.

Hippocampus

Associated with emotions and transfer of information from short-term to long-term memory.

Cerebellum

Responsible for procedural memories and motor skills.

Concept

Mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Prototype

mental image or best example of a category.

Algorithm

methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantee solving a particular problem because it explores every possibility

Heuristic

simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently (rule of thumb)

Insight

sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem, such as suddenly seeing a cause and effect relationship

Creativity

Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas (expertise, imagination, venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and creative environment)

Convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions

Confirmation Bias

 A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.

Divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions

Mental Set

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

Functional Fixedness

Inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose

Belief Perseverance

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

Representative heuristic

when we judge how something represents, or matches, certain prototypes we have

Availability heuristic

likelihood of event based on their availability in memory

Fluid intelligence

recognizing patterns, seeing relationships, using logic to solve novel problems

Crystallized intelligence

one’s accumulated knowledge

Flynn Effect

 says that people are either getting smarter or at least better at taking standardized tests

Stereotype threat

when worry about conforming to a negative stereotype leads to underperformance on a test or other task by a member of the stereotyped group

Savant Syndrome

condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an amazing specific skill (Computation, drawing)

Mental age

age-level at which you function mentally

Intelligence Quotient (IQ)

take the mental age (provided by the exam) divided by the chronological age (actual age) multiplied by 100

Emotional Intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

Gardner's multiple intelligences

 Our abilities are best classified into eight independent intelligences, which include a broad range of skills beyond traditional school smarts.

Stemberg's triarchic theory

Our intelligence is best classified into three areas that predict real-world success: analytical, creative, and practical.

Sir Francis Galton

became interested in individual differences. From his work emerged the concept of measuring intelligence.

Alfred Binet

invented the first practical IQ test. Stanford-Binet Test - First intelligence test in the United States

Lewis Terman

 revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children; tested group of young geniuses and followed in a longitudinal study that lasted beyond his own lifetime to show that high IQ does not necessarily lead to wonderful things in life

David Wechsler

developed intelligence test

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) -most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests

Performance scale

measured processing speed, Abstract tasks - matching visual patterns, Verbal scale - verbal comprehension

Achievement Test

 a test designed to assess what a person has learned

Aptitude Test

 a test designed to predict a person's future performance

Reliability

 the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

Test-retest reliability

having same individual take the same two test at two different times

Split-half reliability

checking for consistency between the scores on two halves of the same test

Validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what is is supposed to

Content Validity

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest

Construct Validity

whether a test is really evaluating an abstract psychological or theoretical idea

Criterion or Predictive Validity

 how well test results relate to another measure of what you are evaluating

Standardization

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group

Phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carried meaning; may be a word or part of a word

Semantics

 set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences