ap psych - unit 5

effortful processing

active processing of information that needs sustained conscious effort and requires attention

automatic processing

the unconscious processing of well-learned material (basically muscle memory)

deep processing

processing information with consideration to its meaning which leads to better recall

shallow processing

uses surface characteristics to process information

structural shallow processing

encoding information with the use of visual and physical characteristics

phonemic shallow processing

encoding information using auditory characteristics

selective attention

the ability to focus on one particular stimuli while blocking out others

divided attention

* the ability to focus on multiple stimuli at the same time
* requires more automatic processing than selective attention

metacognition

the ability to be aware and control of your own thoughts and cognitive processes

short-term memory

* the type of memory that can only be stored for a brief period of time
* the capacity for short-term memory is seven plus/minus two

long-term memory

an unlimited capacity for memory that can store it for sustained periods of time

explicit memory

stored memory of facts that are made in the hippocampus

semantic explicit memories

memory of facts, ideas, and concepts

episodic explicit memories

memories of personal experiences

implicit memories

type of long-term memory that is remembered unconsciously

sensory implicit memories

the ability to retain sensory information even after the stimulus has ended

echoic sensory memories

memory of sound that lasts for about three to four seconds

iconic sensory memories

memory of visual stimuli that lasts for about 1/4th to 1/2th of a second

prospective sensory memories

remembering to perform an action at a certain time

flashbulb memories

a clear memory of an emotionally significant event

elizabeth loftus

associated with research on false memories

encoding

process of sensing, processing, and storing information

visual encoding

process of remembering visual images + forgotten easily

acoustic encoding

processing and encoding of sound + somewhat forgotten easily

semantic encoding

when a word, pictures, or phrase is encoded based on the basis of its meaning rather than its sound/vision

maintenance rehearsal

process of repeatedly thinking about or verbalizing a certain piece of information

elaborative rehearsal

process of using active thinking about the meaning of the term

self-reference effect

when someone applies a situation to themselves, they are more likely to remember what the situation is

storage

the process of maintaining or keeping information readily available

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

model that shows information going from shallow to deep memory

sensory memories

events coming from the environment that can become a part of short-term memory

chunking

process of grouping information to be stored or processed as single concepts

hierarchies

a method used to organize information by starting with broad information and then into specific classes

schemas

a concept of framework that helps an individual to make sense of information

concept

mental grouping of events, people, and similar things p

prototype

a mental image or the best representative of a certain category

anterograde amnesia

the inability to form new memories but remembers past memories

long-term potentiation

strengthening of neural connections which creates a longer-lasting memory

retrieval

process of recalling memories such as feelings, images, and events

recall

process of bringing information from stored memories into conscious awareness

recognition

when someone notices something that they have previously learned

relearning

how much faster someone can learn material has been previously learned and then forgotten

serial-position effect

people tend to remember information in a list that is mentioned first or last

primacy effect

remembering the first thing in a list that was said

recency effect

remembering the last thing in a list that was said

mnemonic devices

tools used to help remember an idea or phrase and can enhance memory and retention

method of loci

a mnemonic device in which a person memorizes information by placing each item in different locations

tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

the temporary inability to remember information s

semantic network theory

states that a person’s brain likes to form new memories by connecting its meaning to other memories and their meanings

priming

activation of a memory by association

context-dependent memory

when someone remembers information in the same place that they encoded it

state-dependent memory

what someone learns in one state will be easier to recall when in that same state

mood-congruent memory

when humans store memories about an event, they also store the emotion felt in that memory

constructive memory

memories can be false details of real events or a completely made up event

recovered memory phenomenon

individuals can suddenly remember repressed memories (usually via therapy)

spacing effect

people learn material more easily and effectively when it is studied many times over a long period of time

testing effect

when someone has enhanced memory after retrieving information rather than rereading it

herman ebbinghaus

a psychologist that studied human memory and made the forgetting curve

forgetting curve

people forget 75% of the information that they learn within one day (without relearning/rehearsing)

retroactive interference

when it is hard to recall old information because of new information

proactive interference

when it is hard to recall new information because of old information

retrograde amnesia

when someone is unable to recall recent memories/memories of their general past

source amnesia/misattribution error

an individual’s inability to remember how they learned previously acquired information

deja vu

a person’s false sense that they have experienced a situation before

misinformation effect

a person’s recollection of an event is negatively impacted and becomes less accurate because of information after the event

motivated forgetting

can be conscious or unconscious in order to shy away from unacceptable behaviors or painful memories

hippocampus

responsible for the formation of memory and processes explicit memories for storage

what happens when there is damage to the left side of the hippocampus?

an individual will have trouble remembering verbal information

what happens when there is damage to the right side of the hippocampus?

an individual will have trouble remembering visual information

frontal lobes

processes incoming auditory and visual information + makes sense of new information

thalamus

helps encoding sensory memory into short-term memory

cerebellum

stores implicit memories that are formed by classical conditioning and conditioned reflex

basal ganglia

helps form procedural memories

amygdala

the emotions produced by the amygdala can fuel the brain which can cause memories to last longer

algorithm

step by step method that guarantees to solve a particular problem

heuristic

methods used to quickly solve a problem and are less effective than algorithms

mental set

individuals try to solve a problem the same way all the time because it has worked in the pastfi

fixation

the inability to look at a problem with a different perspective

intuition

sensing something without a direct reason and basically an automatic thought

insight (discovered by Wolfgang Kohler)

when an individual suddenly understands something

inductive reasoning

reasoning from something specific to something general

deductive reasoning

reasoning from something general to something specific

convergent thinking

logical way of thinking; used in IQ and intelligence tests

divergent thinking

creative way of thinking

functional fixedness

the tendency to only think of the familiar functions of an object

availability heuristic

the ability to easily recall immediate examples about something

representativeness heuristic

when someone judges someone based on how much they match their prototype

confirmation bias

tendency of individuals to support or search for information that aligns with their opinions and ignore information that doesn't

belief perseverance

the tendency to hold onto a belief even if it has lost its credibility

belief bias

the tendency for our preexisting beliefs to distort logical thinking

self-serving bias

a person attributes positive outcomes to their own doing and negative outcomes to external factor

attentional bias

when people’s perceptions are influenced by recurring thoughts

actor-observer bias

a person might attribute their own actions to external factors and the actions of others to internal factor

anchoring bias

an individual relies heavily on the first piece of information given when making a decision

hindsight bias

when you think you knew something all along after the outcome has occurred

framing

a cognitive bias in which people decide on an option based on whether or not a positive or negative connotation is given

g factor (charles spearman)

underlines specific mental abilities that can be measured on an intelligence test

factor analysis

a statistical procedure identifying *clusters* of items that could measure your intelligence

charles spearman

found that if you have a high intelligence in one of the subjects, you have an overall high general intelligence

L.L. Thurstone

thought that intelligence could be broken up into different clusters: world fluency, verbal comprehension, spatial ability, perceptual speed, numeric ability, inductive reasoning, and memory