AP Psychology Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology

Memory

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

Encoding

the processing moving information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

Storage

the retention of encoded information over time

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory 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. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

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, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Long-Term Memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes 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

Rehearsal

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

Connectionism

a type of information-processing approach that emphasizes the simultaneous activity of numerous interconnected processing units

Explicit Memory

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

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

Associations

A mental connection or relation between thoughts, feelings, ideas or sensations.

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

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Mnemonics

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

Hierarchies

Complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories

Spacing Effect

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

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

state-dependent learning

superior retrieval of memories when the organism is in the same physiological or psychological state as it was during encoding

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

Semantics

the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning

Self-Reference Effect

tendency to better remember information relevant to ourselves

Hermann Ebbinghaus

the first person to study memory scientifically and systematically; used nonsense syllables and recorded how many times he had to study a list to remember it well

Noam Chomsky

studied language development; disagreed with Skinner about language acquisition, stated there is an infinite \# of sentences in a language, humans have an inborn native ability to develop language

Wolfgang Köhler

Did experiment with a chimpanzee to show that other animals have insight

Elizabeth Loftus

Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony

George A Miller

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

Hippocampus

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

Frontal Lobes

the portion of the cerebral cortex lying just behind the forehead; involved in speaking and muscle movements and in making plans and judgments

Explicit-Memory System

frontal lobes and hippocampus

Cerebellum

a structure in the hindbrain involved in controlling coordination and balance

Implicit Memory System

cerebellum and basal ganglia

Basal Ganglia

a set of subcortical structures that directs intentional movements

Amnesia

partial or total loss of memory

Amygdala

A limbic system structure involved in memory and emotion, particularly fear and aggression.

flashbulb memories

detailed recollections of when and where we heard about/experienced shocking events

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.

Electro convulsive therapy (ECT)

a biomedical therapy for severely depressed patients in which a brief electric current is sent through the brain of an anesthetized patient (can affect memory)

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

External cues

Stimuli in the outside world that serve as triggers for recall/recognition

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus allowing a person to more easily access memory

Context-Dependent Memory

The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.

state-dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

mood congruence effect

Tendency to retrieve experiences and information that are congruent with a person's current mood.

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

Primacy effect

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

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Retrograde Amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Encoding Failure

failure to process information into memory

Ebbinghaus's Forgetting Curve

rapid forgetting in the beginning, forgetting slows down after a while

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

Positive Transfer

when old information facilitates the learning of new 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

Memory Construction Errors

Memory is not precise. We infer our past from stored information plus what we later imagined, expected, saw, and heard. We don't just retrieve memories, we reweave them. Information acquired after an event alters memory of the event. We often construct memories as we encode them, and every time we relay a memory, we replace the original with a slightly modified version.

Imagination Inflation

a memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an event markedly increases confidence that the event actually occurred

source amnesia (source misattribution)

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

Déjà vu

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

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 than algorithms

Insight

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

confirmation bias

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

mental set

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

Intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

Representative Heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category

Availability 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

Overconfidence

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

belief perseverance

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

Framing

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

Intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

Charles Spearman

creator of "g-factor", or general intelligence, concept

g factor

the ability to reason and solve problems, or general intelligence

novel problems

A problem that a person has never encountered before.

Howard Gardner

devised theory of multiple intelligences: logical-mathematic, spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, intrapersonal, linguistic, musical, interpersonal, naturalistic

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

Multiple Intelligences

idea that people vary in their ability levels across different domains of intellectual skill

Robert Sternberg

intelligence; devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative)

Triarchic Theory (Three Intelligences)

proposes that intelligence can be divided into three ways of processing information: Academic problem-solving, practical, creative intelligences

Emotional Intelligence

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

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

mental age

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance

Alfred Binet

1857-1911; Field: testing; Contributions: general IQ tests, designed test to identify "slow learners" in need of remediation-not applicable in the U.S. because too culture-bound (French)

Stanford-Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet's original intelligence test.

intelligence quotient (IQ)

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ \= (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.

Achievement Test

a test designed to assess what a person has learned

Aptitude Test

a test designed to predict a person's future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn

Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)

the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests