AP Psychology Unit VII and XI for ACHS

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

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

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

long-term potentiation

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

representative heuristic

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

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

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

factor analysis

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person's total score.

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

reliability

the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting

validity

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to

crystallized intelligence

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age

fluid intelligence

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood