AP Psychology Unit 5 vocab+concepts

AP Psychology, unit 5.

Psychology

The science behind how we think and act.

Cognitive Psychology

The study of how our brain thinks and how it reacts.

Evolutionary Psychology

How natural selection and evolution affects the mind.

Behavioral Psychology

The study of our behavior and how we learn.

Biological Psychology

The study of how our biology affects our psychology.

Humanistic Psychology

Looks at how having a purpose and a fulfilled life affects the way we think.

Psychodynamic Psychology

How the unconscious affects the conscious. (often used to treat mental illness.)

Social-Cultural Psychology

How our culture and environment affects our behavior.

Biopsychosocial approach

Includes aspects from biological, psychological, and social-cultural viewpoints.

Memory

The brain encoding, storing, and retrieving information to help us learn over time.

Recall

Retrieving information learned earlier. (FRQ)

Recognition

Identifying things learned earlier. (MCQ)

Encoding

Getting knowledge into the memory system.

Storage

Keeping memories/information for later use.

Retrieval

Pulling information out of storage.

Sensory Memory

Super quick but short lasting memory of sensory information.

Iconic memory

Momentary visual sensory information.

Echoic memory

Momentary auditory sensory information.

Short-term Memory

Information used briefly then stored for later.

Long-term Memory

Information that stays for good.

Working Memory

Added understanding to short term memories OR when information from long term memory is being used.

“Visuospatial Sketchpad”

Temporarily holding visual and spatial information.

“Phonological Loop”

Temporarily holding auditory and verbal information.

Explicit Memory

Conscious thoughts and knowledge we can actively “know”.

Implicit Memory

Unconscious actions and thoughts- motor skills.

Effortful Processing

Learning and attaining information that requires conscious effort.

Automatic Processing

Automatically taking in information.

Chunking

Organizing information into meaningful groups.

Mnemonic Devices

Memory aids that often use vivid imagery and organization.

Method of Loci

Placing different prices of knowledge in a familiar location.

Hierarchies

Broad concepts divided into smaller concepts and facts.

Spacing Effect

Studying better over time instead of all at once.

Massed Practice

Practice all at once- not spaced out.

Testing Effect

Memory works better after retrieving rather than reviewing.

Levels of processing theory

The process of how information is processed. (shallow and deep.)

Shallow Processing

Consuming information shallowly.

Deep Processing

Consuming information on a deeper level.

Structural Processing

Looking at physical structure, shallow processing.

Phonemic Processing

Looking at how things sound, shallow processing.

Semantic Processing

Encoding based on meaning. Deep processing.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating things to remember it- short term.

Semantic Memory

Memory of facts and general knowledge,