AP Psychology (2024-2025) Unit 2

sensation

the process by which we detect physical energy from our environment and encode it into signals

perception

the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting sensations, enabling you to recognize meaningful objects and events

sensory receptors

neurons that activate in response to stimuli

top-down processing

information processing guided by preexisting knowledge or expectations to construct perceptions; concept-driven

bottom-up processing

data-driven information processing that begins with sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information to construct perceptions

perceptual set

a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another (or notice some aspects of the sensory input while ignoring some others)

framing

the way an issue is stated or presented; the way an issue or question is posed/presented has a big impact on the views/opinions that people hold

schema

concepts or frameworks that help us organize and interpret information

context effects

how context (e.g., culture, motivation, emotion, etc.) affects individuals' perception

the cocktail party effect

the ability to attend to one particular voice in an environment full of chatter (usually because that voice calls out our name or mentions a specific topic)

grouping (Gestalt principle)

the tendency to perceive stimuli as part of coherent groups (i.e., interpret meaning from their organization)

proximity (Gestalt principle)

group nearby figures together

continuity (Gestalt principle)

perceive smooth, continuous patterns rather than discontinuous ones (i.e., an unbroken form)

closure (Gestalt principle)

fill in gaps to create a whole object

similarity (Gestalt principle)

group similar figures together

connectedness (Gestalt principle)

perceive spots, lines or areas as a single unit when uniform and linked

common fate (Gestalt principle)

elements that appear to move together will be grouped together

common region (Gestalt principle)

elements that appear to share the same territory will be grouped together

selective attention

focusing of awareness on a specific stimulus (while excluding others) in sensory memory

inattentional blindness

failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere

change blindness

when a subject fails to notice changes in an environment

choice blindness (Johansson et al., 2005)

when a subject fails to notice that the result of their choice does not conform to their original selection

signal detection theory

a theory that minimum threshold values for stimulus identification vary based on factors like fatigue, attention, expectations, motivation and emotional stress as well as from one person to another

depth perception

the ability to judge the distance of objects; in addition to some monocular cues, depth perception is largely the result of binocular cues (i.e., the function of both eyes working together)

binocular cues for depth

cues about the distance of stimuli that require two eyes

convergence

when two eyes move inward (towards the nose) to see near objects, and outward (away from the nose) to see far away objects; the object is perceived as closer the more the eyes turn inward (i.e., more muscular tension); the brain incorporates this information into the merging of the two retinal images

retinal disparity

difference in images from the two eyes; allows for "3D vision"

monocular cues for depth

cues about distance available to each eye independently

interposition

objects that block other objects tend to be perceived as closer

linear perspective

parallel lines, like railroad tracks, appear to converge with distance

relative size

when two objects have similar proportions/characteristics, we will perceive the smaller image as being farther away

relative clarity

because more light passes through objects that are farther away, we perceive these objects as hazy, blurry or unclear

texture gradient

indistinct (fine) texture signals increasing distance

relative motion (motion parallax)

objects in front of fixation point will appear to move backward (and more quickly); objects behind fixation point may appear forward (and slowly) à helps to perceive depth

light and shadow

shading creates the perception of depth (we work with the assumption that light comes from above)

the phi phenomenon

an illusion of movement created by two or more adjacent lights turning on and off at a rapid pace

the stroboscopic effect (stroboscopic motion)

the illusion of movement caused by viewing a continuous series of slightly differing images; alternative definition: still pictures move at a fast enough pace to imply movement

autokinetic effect

the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room

perceptual constancy

the ability to perceive objects as static constructs (e.g., having consistent properties like color, shape, texture, etc.), even when retinal images change

color constancy

perceiving an object as having consistent color, even if lighting conditions change

brightness constancy

perceiving an object as having consistent brightness (i.e., degree of lightness or darkness), even if lighting conditions change (e.g., we pay attention to the amount of light an object reflects relative to its surroundings)

shape constancy

perceiving an object as having consistent shape, even when angles change (e.g., even when a door takes a trapezoidal shape, we still perceive it as a rectangle)

size constancy

perceiving an object as having an unchanging size, even when our distance from it varies

perceptual adaptation

the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating information

concept (schema)

a mental grouping or category for similar objects; one of the basic elements of thought

accommodation

adjustments in cognitive organization in order to meet the demands of reality (i.e., change understanding of the world to suit one's environment)

assimilation

the process of fitting reality into one's current cognitive organization (i.e., using one's existing schema, one's current ways of understanding, to make sense of events in our world; interpreting new experiences using existing one's schemas); taking in new information but not changing the schema according to the new information

basic concepts

concepts that have the most easily identified features

superordinate concepts

the most general way of classifying new stimuli

subordinate concepts

the most specific way of classifying new stimuli

prototype

a mental image or "ideal/best example" that incorporates all the features one associates with a particular category; family resemblance

executive functions

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

algorithm

problem-solving strategy that involves a slow, step-by-step procedure that guarantees a solution to certain types of problems

heuristic

a problem-solving strategy used as a mental shortcut to quickly simplify and solve a problem yet does not guarantee a correct solution (e.g, "a rule of thumb")

representativeness heuristic

the tendency to judge the likelihood of things according to how they relate to a prototype; can occasionally lead to inaccurate conclusions

availability heuristic

a tendency to estimate the probability of certain events in terms of how readily they come to mind (i.e., its mental availability)

mental set

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

confirmation bias

a tendency to search for and use information that supports our preconceptions and ignore information that refutes our ideas; an obstacle to problem-solving

priming

activating specific associations in memory either consciously or unconsciously; a form of "memoryless memory" (i.e., memory without conscious awareness, yet it still affects how we perceive the world around us); priming has been shown to affect perception and decision-making processes

overconfidence (bias)

the tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments which can hinder problem solving

belief perseverance

the tendency for people to cling to a particular belief even after information that led to the creation of that belief (i.e., its evidence) has been proven false‬

framing

the way an issue is stated or presented‬

anchoring (aka the anchoring effect, anchoring bias)

the tendency for individuals to rely too heavily on an initial piece of information (the "anchor") when making decisions

sunk cost fallacy

the tendency to continue a course of action because of the time, money, or effort already invested, even if it is clear that persisting with that action might lead to undesirable outcomes

gambler's fallacy (aka the Monte Carlo fallacy)

the mistaken belief that if something happens more frequently than normal during some period of time, then it will happen less frequently in the future (in reality, each trial, e.g., a flip of a coin, is independent from each other)

intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought

creativity

the ability to generate ideas and solutions that are original, novel and useful

convergent thinking (typically assessed by standardized tests)

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

functional fixedness

(in problem solving) a type of cognitive bias that blocks people's ability to use an object for something other than what it should be used for (i.e., hinders potential for creative solutions)

memory

human capacity to encode, store and retrieve information over time; the persistence of learning

encoding

the process of converting information into some form that enables it to be stored in our memory system (i.e., allows us to get it into our memory system)

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

retrieval

the process of getting information out of storage

sensory memory

primitive, brief type of memory that holds incoming information just long enough for further processing

short-term (working) memory

stage of memory that can hold about seven unrelated items for about 20-30 seconds without maintenance rehearsal

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and unlimited capacity memory system into which information from short-term memory may pass

explicit (declarative) memory

long-term memory of facts and experiences we consciously know and can verbalize

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

implicit (nondeclarative) memory

long-term memory for skills and procedures (i.e., procedural memory) to do things as well as memory for classically conditioned associations

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of less apparent information, like space, time, and frequency, and additionally familiar information, such as symbols, concepts, non-visual/audio cues and word meanings

prospective memory

memory of an intention to do something

flashbulb memory

a kind of memory that, because of emotion-initiated hormonal changes, becomes deeply engrained in one's memory and appears to have a high degree of clarity / emotional intensity

long-term potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a synaptic gap's firing potential efficacy (more receptor sites) after brief, rapid stimulation; this is possibly the neural basis for learning and memory

central executive

a memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

phonological loop (i.e., auditory rehearsal)

a memory component that briefly holds auditory information

visuospatial sketchpad

a memory component that briefly holds information about objects' appearance and location in space

constructive memory

when bringing information out of long-term memory, it recreates the memory all over (constructive memory) based on what is stored in long-term memory; the recreated memory gets put into long-term memory again once information manipulation is complete

shallow processing

encoding at a very basic (i.e., superficial) level; typically processing information based on the appearance or sound of a word

structural processing (shallow processing)

when a person attends to (i.e., registers) the visual characteristics (i.e., attributes) of a stimulus, such as its shape, size or color

phonemic processing (shallow processing)

when a person attends to (i.e., registers) the auditory characteristics (i.e., attributes) of a stimulus, such as the tone, volume, and pronunciation of a word

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

semantic encoding (deep processing)

encoding based on the meaning of a word or concept; this type of processing aids in incorporating the new information into preexisting knowledge base

elaborative rehearsal (deep processing; used to commit information to long-term memory)

repetition that creates associations between the new memory and existing memories stored in LTM

the self-referential effect (self-referent encoding)

putting information into a personal context and therefore making it easy to remember (i.e., relating the information back to yourself / your own life)

encoding

processes and strategies to get information into (long-term) memory

chunking

putting individual units of information into larger units to overcome short-term memory limitations

pegging (or peg-word system)

memory device that trains us to associate new information with information we already know well (i.e., numbers 1-10)

vivid imagery

memory device where the user imagines a scene that is often humorous, absurd or unlikely to be encountered in reality