AP Psych Unit 2: Cognition

Inception is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced it with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets. He is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased as payment for the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious. The ensemble cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger, Dileep Rao, and Michael Caine.

Perception

Process where sensory information is organized, interpreted, and consciously experienced 
How YOU interpret the environment

Bottom-up Processing

Relying on EXTERNAL sensory information. Uses senses to build up a complete perception

Top-Down Processing

Relying on INTERNAL prior expectations. Previous experiences influence your perception

Schemas

Your own cognitive framework that helps you organize and interpret info. Includes your mental generalizations.

Perceptual Set

Mental predisposition to perceive things in a certain way. Influenced by expectations, experiences, emotions, context, and culture.

Gestalt Psychology

Theoretical approach that emphasizes how our brains tend to perceive objects as part of a greater whole. 

“The sum is greater than the whole of its parts”

Closure

Our mind fills in incomplete gaps to perceive it as a whole

Figure

Main object of focus

Ground

Background of surrounding space

Proximity

When objects are placed or appear together, we tend to perceive them as part of a group or pattern

Similarity

When objects look alike, we tend to perceive them as part of the same group

Attention

The interaction of sensation and perception sculpted by internal and external process. Involves concentration on a certain task while ignoring other stimuli. 

Cocktail Party Effect

Ability to focus your attention in a noisy environment, filtering out background noise. However, your attention can shift if something personally relevant is brought up. 

Demonstration of selective attention 

Inattentional Blindness

Someone doesn’t notice something that is clearly visible due to their focus being on something else

Change Blindness

Someone doesn’t notice a change in their environment after their attention is interrupted.

We don’t notice what’s not important.

Depth Perception

Ability to perceive the world in 3 dimensions. Also helps to understand how far away things are from us.

Visual Cliff Study (1960)

First major study on how depth perception operates.

Found that human infants hesitated to cross the glass part of the table, that appeared to have a steep drop-off.

Linear Perspective

Monocular Cue

Things begin to merge together in the distance 

Relative Size

Monocular Cue

Smaller objects are perceived as further away

Interposition

Monocular Cue

If one object blocks another, we perceive that one to be in front

Relative Clarity

Monocular Cue

The further away an object is, the hazier it will appear due to tiny dust particles in the air

Texture Gradient

Monocular Cue

Noticing texture of things that are close by, but not noticing texture on things that are far away.

Retinal Disparity

Binocular Cue

Difference between the images projecting onto the retina vary for each eye

Convergence

Binocular Cue

Merging of the retinal images by the brain

Visual Perception Consistencies

Even though the way an object looks might change, your brain still knows its the same object.

People look like ants from far away, but you know they are still people.

Objects can appear to move despite being stationary

Concepts

Basis of thought, typically a class or category

Prototypes

Ideal example for any given concept

Assimilation

When we integrate new information or experiences into existing schemas (mental framework), those schemas don’t change

Fitting new information into existing knowledge

Accomodation

When we change existing schemas or create new ones in response to new information that doesn’t fit into our current understanding

Changing knowledge to fit new information

Algorithm

Well defined, step by step procedure or set of rules that guarantees the correct solution to a problem by considering every possible option.

Essentially providing a methodical approach to problem-solving. 

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts or “rule of thumb” that people use to make quick decisions and judgements based on past experiences.

Availability Heuristic

Using newly learned or readily available info to make a decision

Typically the info that first pops into your head when looking for a solution

Representative Heuristic

Decisions made by assessing how similar it is to an existing mental prototype

Can lead to stereotypes and profiling

Anchoring Heuristic

Given an “anchor” #, your guess will not stray far from the anchor

Mental Sets

Influences Decision Making

Prior experiences that were successful.

“If it ain’t broke don’t fix it”

Priming

Influences Decision Making

Activation of certain association in memory, often subconsciously, which influences how we respond

Seeing “green” and thinking “go”

Framing

Influences Decision Making

Refers to how things are presented, which significantly influences decision-making and judgements.

Ex: Replacing scary music with happy music

Gambler’s Fallacy

Belief something unlikely/likely is due because of a series of the opposite event

Sunk-Cost Fallacy

Refusing to back out because of time/money/effort already invested

#relatable 

Executive Functioning

Cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organize, plan, and carry out goal-directed behaviors and experience critical thinking. 

Includes ability to remember, show self-control, and shift between cognitive tasks

Critical Thinking

Ability to analyze info and form judgements based on it

Creative Thinking

Way of thinking that generates new ideas and engages in divergent/convergent thinking. Can be learned or passed down through genetics.

Divergent Thinking

Start with an idea and generate others from it

← →

Convergent Thinking

Use lots of diff info to come to one answer/idea

→ ←

Explicit Memory 

A type of memory that is more easily described or explained to others

Episodic Explicit Memory

Events of personal experiences

Semantic Explicit Memory

General knowledge not tied to personal experiences

Implicit Memories

Unconscious memory that influences thoughts and behaviors

Procedural Implicit Memory

Info on how to perform actions or skills that you can do on autopilot

Prospective Implicit Memory

Remembering to do something in the future

Sensory Memory

Memory Stage 1

Acts as a filter for what is/isn’t important. These “memories” aren’t really processed. 

Iconic Sensory Memory

Sensory memory of visual info

Duration: Milliseconds

Capacity: Unlimited

Echoic Sensory Memory

Sensory memory of auditory info

Duration: 4 Seconds

Capacity: Unlimited

Short Tern Memory

Memory Stage 2

Active, conscious memory that allows you to hold info for a short time before either forgetting it or committing to to long tern memory.

Duration: ~30 Seconds

Capacity: 5-9 Items (Magic number 7) 

Also called working memory

Central Executive 

Controls cognitive processes by direction attention, maintaining goals, ect.

Phonological Loop

Stores/controls verbal/auditory info
Ex: Mentally repeating a phone number

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Stores/manipulates visual and spatial information

Ex: remembering route to next class

Long Term Memory

Memory Stage 3

Contains memories from your entire life

When you remember something, you temporarily move it from long term to working memory. During this process, your memory is reconstructed.

Capacity: Unlimited

Duration: Unlimited

Maintenance Rehearsal 

Repeating information until you can commit it to memory. 

Less effective 

Elaborative Rehearsal 

Tying meaning to information, adding retrieval cues so that you can commit it to memory (more effective)

Retrieval

Memory Stage 4

The process of remembering. Most theories suggest this is constructive, leading to inaccuracies. Memory can be altered with misinfo

Recall

Retrieval with minimal cues

Fill-in-the-blank Questions

Recognition

Retrieval with help from cues

Multiple choice questions

Retrieval Cues

Any stimulus that can aid the retrieval process. Can be pictures, songs, smells, sounds, ect.

Effortful Processing

Consciously trying to commit something to memory. We often engage in this when studying for classes, we need to put forth effort.

Automatic Processing

Memories committed without any effort.

These memories are often emotionally significant or intense: called Flashbulb memories.

Encoding Error

1 of 2 reasons we struggle to remember

We don’t pay attention

Retrieval Error

1 of 2 reasons we struggle to remember

Forgetting is made up term, we have all of our memories forever, but sometimes struggle to access them.

Level of Processing Model

The way in which something is encoded determines how easily it can be recalled

Shallow Processing 

Structural

Looking at the structure of the written word. Not effective at transfer. 

Intermediate Processing

Phonemic

Thinking about the sound of the word. Somewhat effective at transfer.

Deep Processing

Semantic.

Thinking about the meaning of the word. Effective at transfer.

Long Term Potentiation

Process by which synaptic connections between neurons become stronger with frequent activation.

Repeated stimulation of the same neurons will strengthen those synaptic connections.

Aids our memory for leaning.

Encoding

All the processes and strategies involved in committing things to memory.

Mnemonic Devices

Strategy to encode

Any technique used to enhance memory and recall. Example: PEMDAS

Method of Loci

Strategy to encode

Technique where individuals associate information with a specific part of an environment, real or fake (Wall vocabulary)

Chunking

Strategy to encode

Large amounts of info is split into smaller groups to take some of the strain on your short term memory (CC#)

The Spacing Effect

Differences in encoding and memory consolidation will depend on whether the info is encoded all at once or distributed overtime.

Both are aspects of effortful processing

Massed Practice

Trying to encode many things in a short time. Effective in short term, but not long term 

Distributed Practice

Trying to encode many things over a long period of time. Takes more time but leads to high retention rates. 

Serial Position Effect

Tendency for people to best remember items at the start and end of a sequence

Primacy Effect

Part of the Serial Position Effect

Info at the start of a sequence is remembered.

Recency Effect

Part of the Serial Position Effect

Info at the end of a sequence is remembered. 

Autobiographical Memories

Person’s recollection of memories from their own life. Contains episodic and semantic memories.

Amnesia

Partial/total loss of memory

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to recall past memories.

Caused by traumatic injury, disease, and truama

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories.

Caused by traumatic injury, disease, and trauma

Infantile Amnesia

Inability of adults to recall personal memories from childhood before ages 3-4 

Context Dependent Memory

Memory retrieval can be enhanced when people are in the same

environmental space

as they were when they encoded the info to be retrieved

Mood Congruent Memory

Memory retrieval can be enhanced when people are in the same

mood

as they were when they encoded the info to be retrieved

State Dependent Memory

Memory retrieval can be enhanced when people are in the same

physical state 

as they were when they encoded the info to be retrieved

Testing Effect

Actively recalling info through testing enhances long term retention better than re-studying or passively reviewing material. 

Metacognition

Awareness and understanding of one’s own thought processes

Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve

Forgetting increases exponentially. 50% of info will be lost unless its reviewed. Shows time is a significant factor in forgetting.

Proactive Interference

When older memories interfere with the recall of newer info.

Retroactive Interference

When newer memories interfere with the recall of older info.

Repression

Psychoanalytic theorists believe that memories can be forgotten to defend the ego from stress

ID

Pleasure, pain, primitive

Basic impulses: hunger, thirst, sex 

Operates on pleasure

Ego

Reality principle, mediator

Seeks to satisfy the ID’s desires while minimizing negative outcomes

Superego

Morality principle

Moral center of personality, tells you why you inhibit bad decisions

Contains your conscience and defense mechanisms