Psych: chapter 8

components of memory

encoding (taking in a memory), storage (storing memory), retrieval (recalling memory)

automatic processing

familiar stimuli and their space (location and surroundings), time (when something happened), and frequency ( of times something has happened)

cognitive maps

mental representation of ones environment, connected to learning and latent learning

effortful processing

requires attention → rehearsal, the spacing effect (spreading out info over time), maintenance rehearsal (simple repetition, ineffective), elaborative rehearsal (connect to existing knowledge, effective)

shallow processing

structural encoding (physical structure)

Intermediate processing

phonetic encoding (phonetic sounds)

Deep processing

semantic encoding (meaning)

Self-referent encoding

deciding how or whether the information is personally relevant

Combining visual imagery with meaning

easier to form images of concrete objects than abstract concepts which affect memory

Mnemonic devices

acronyms (SOH CAH TOA), acrostics (Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally), method of loci (associating items with places and memory palaces)

Serial position effects

primacy and recency, we can remember certain things more than others because of order

Primacy

tendency to recall stimuli introduced first

Recency

tendency to recall most recently introduced stimuli

Memory storage

sensory input → sensory register (forgetting) → short term memory + rehearsal (forgetting) → long-term memory (after 20 seconds)

sensory memory

preservation of memory in its original sensory for a fraction of a second, haptic (touch), echoic (sound), iconic (sight), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste)

short-term memory

working memory, lasts 20 seconds, small capacity (7 items, increased by chunking)

chunking

grouping familiar stimuli together

prospective memory

remembering to do something, a flaw of short term memory that makes this hard

Flashbulb memories

unusually vivid and detailed recollections of momentous events, long-term memories (LTM) permanence

Long-term memory

unlimited capacity, explicit/declarative and implicit, LTM

Explicit and declarative memory

long-term, hippocampus, general knowledge/semantic memory and personal events/episodic memory

Implicit memory

long-term, cerebellum, skills and procedures/procedural memories and conditioning

hierarchal theory of memory storage

memories are stored in superordinate (broad) and subordinate (narrow) categories

long-term potentiation

memories exist in neural connections, and repeatedly activating neurons strengthens their connections and improves memories, LTP

Memory trace

physical evidence of memory, eric Kandels sea slug study found that CREB and serotonin are linked to long-term memory

retrieval

getting information out of long-term memory, the measure of retrieval ability → recognition, recall

Context-dependent memory

Baddeley and Godden, memory is enhanced when we encode and retrieve info in the same place/context

State-dependent memory

encoding and retrieving in the same "state of mind" and mood enhances memory

schemas

an organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object/event based on previous experience

Confirmation bias

Brewer and Treyens, people are more likely to remember things consistent with their schemas and expectations

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

evidence of memory stored but not retrieved, retrieval failure

Storage decay

memory loss over time, forgetting is initially rapid, but levels off with time (Herman Ebbinghaus)

retrograde amnesia

trouble remembering the past, could result from a stroke

anterograde amnesia

difficulty making new memories and absorbing new information

Infantile amnesia

cant remember events prior to age 3-4

Eyewitness memory

Elizabeth Loftus and the misinformation effect

the Misinformation effect

recall of episodic events changes after post-event information is presented, often caused by leading questions or framing

source amnesia

attributing an event to the wrong source

Metacognition

thinking about thinking, solving problems, and making decisions

Prototype

the visual mental image of a concept, speeds up thinking

algorithms

step-by-step procedures that lead to a solution

Heuristics

mental shortcuts used to make a quick decision

insight

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

convergent thinking

taking logical steps to find a single solution to a problem, might lead to fixation (inability to approach a problem from a new perspective)

divergent thinking

capacity to generate creative ideas by exploring multiple solutions

functional fixedness

tendency to only think of familiar functions for objects without thinking of alternative uses

representativeness heuristic

similarity to a prototype dictates a decision, leads to base rate fallacy (ignoring statistics)

The availability heuristic

basing judgments on information that is more readily available in our memory, explains the fear factor

Framing

cognition fallacies, the way something is proposed/framed can affect decisions and judgments

The sunk cost fallacy

the false belief that one is better off continuing to invest more resources (time, money, effort) in a cause that one has already invested in

The gamblers fallacy

the tendency to assume that one is "due" success after previous failures

Risks

people avoid risks when seeking gains but take risks when avoiding loss

Overconfidence

cognition fallacy, the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of ones beliefs and judgments, made worse by hindsight bias ("I knew it all along")

Prelinguistic events

receptive language → babbling stage (phonemes) → one-word stage (morphemes) → two-word stage

Receptive language

4 months, understanding but not speaking

Babbling stage

4-12 months, sounding but not speaking words, using phonemes

Phonemes

smallest unit that makes a sound

One-word stage

12-18 months, small words with few syllables, morphemes

Morphemes

smallest unit that carries meaning (word or prefix/suffix)

two-word stage

2 years, a few words spoken, telegraphic speech

Wernickes area

understanding language

Brocas area

producing language

Aphasia

impairment of language due to damage in either area

B.F. Skinner

language acquired by operant conditioning

Noam Chomsky

Inherent language device, universal grammar rules

Eric Lenneberg

critical period hypothesis, birth-puberty

Syntax

rules of grammar used in sentences, children often exhibit overregulation and overgeneralization of grammar rules, Noam Chomskys belief that our brains are wired for this

Surface vs deep

the actual words versus their meaning, transformation is essential and happens around age 3

Benjamin Whorf

language=thinking, linguistic determinism

Linguistic determinism

language can limit or enhance human knowledge and thought

Psychometrics

field in psychology devoted to testing, measurement, and assessment of personality and intelligence

Projective test

psychologists use them to analyze hidden emotions, attitudes, feelings, rorsarch ink blots, and thematic apperception tests

general intelligence

overall intelligence, those who score highly in certain areas (math) tend to score high in others (verbal), Charles Spearman

savant syndrome

contradicts general intelligence, an individual of overall limited intelligence has a single, exceptional ability

Phrenology

1700s-1800s, bumps on the head reveal traits and intelligenceC

Alfred Binet

1905, the first intelligence test to identify mentally deficient children in schools

Stanford-Binet test

Lewis Terman, 1916, first IQ test

The Flynn effect

IQ scores have increased from one generation to the next for all the countries for which data existed, largest gains appear in fluid intelligence

Howard Gardner

critic of “traditional” notions of intelligence, believed in multiple intelligences (MI)

Robert sternberf

multiple intelligence, analytical intelligence, practical intelligence, creative intelligence

Emotional intelligence

self awareness, empathy, motivation, self regulation, social skills