AP Psychology: Prelude/Unit 0

Recognition

A measure of memory in which a person need only identify terms previously learned

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier

Relearning

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning something again

Forgetting Curve

An illustration created by Hermann Ebbinghaus which shows the decline of memory retention over time. It showed that information is lost quickly over time if no effort is made to retain i

Spacing Effect

Distributed study/practice yields better long-term retention/results than massed study/practice

Testing Effect

Pulling a concept out of memory instead of re-reading information. Aka “retrieval practice"“

Elaborative Rehearsal

The best way to commit something to long-term memory is to connect it to something already known or meaningful

Psychodynamic

Thumb; the idea that our unconscious drives and childhood conflicts influence our behavior

Cognitive

Pointer finger; scientifically studying the mental activities associated with thinking/knowing/remembering/communicating/etc.

Behavioral

Middle finger; the idea that psychology should be an objective science, and focus on our observable behaviors

Social-cultural

ring finger; the study of how situations and cultures affect our behavior and thinking

Evolutionary

Pinky; the idea that we behave the way we do because we inherited behavioral and mental traits that helped ensure our ancestors’ survival

Humanistic

Open hand; focuses on helping people achieve ‘positive growth’ and reach their full potential

Biological/Neuroscience

Fist/brain; studies how the physical body and brain create our emotions, memories, and sensory experiences

The Scientific Attitude

Curiosity, skepticism, and humility

Critical Thinking

Mental effort that doe snot blindly accept arguments and conclusions, but instead examines assumptions, assesses the sources, discerns hidden values, and avaluates evidence and conclusions

Hindsight Bias

The tendency to believe, after learning an outcome, that one would have foreseen it. (“I knew it all along!”)

Overconfidence

The tendency to be more self-assured than correct-to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgements

Perceiving order in random events

Our inherent desire to make sense of the world around us can lead us to perceive patterns/order when they’re not here