Ap psyc

Sensation

Process by which sensory receptors and nervous system receive stimulus energies.

Perception

Process of organizing and interpreting sensory info to recognize meaningful objects.

Prosopagnosia

Face blindness; the inability to recognize faces.

Selective Attention

Focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus.

Perceptual Set (Context)

How immediate context affects perceptions.

Binocular Cues

Depth cues that depend on the use of two eyes.

Convergence

Depth cue enabled by the brain combining retinal images from both eyes.

Retinal Disparity

Brain computes distance by comparing images from the retinas in two eyes.

Stroboscopic Movement

Brain perceives continuous movement in a rapid series of slightly varying images.

Perceptual Constancy

Perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change.

Perceptual Adaptation

Ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or inverted visual field.

Cognition

Mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.

Prototype

A mental image or best example of a category.

Schema

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.

Assimilation

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.

Divergent Thinking

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions through creative thinking.

Executive Function

Cognitive skills enabling us to plan, organize, and implement goal-directed behavior.

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a problem.

Heuristic

A simple thinking strategy that allows efficient judgment and problem solving.

Insight

A sudden and novel realization of the solution to a problem.

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to search for information that supports preconceptions and ignore contradictory evidence.

Fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective.

Functional Fixedness

Tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging the likelihood of things based on how well they match stereotypes.

Nudge

Framing choices in a way that encourages beneficial decisions.

Intuition

Effortless, immediate, automatic thought or feeling.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.

Perceptual Set

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.

Motivation (Perception)

How perception is influenced and affected by rewards.

Emotions (Perception)

Emotional states influencing perception, such as feeling loved reducing perceived problems.

Gestalt

An organized whole; integrating pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

Figure-Ground

Organization of the visual field into objects (figures) standing out from surroundings (ground).

Grouping

Perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.

Depth Perception

Ability to see objects in 3D despite 2D retinal images, allowing distance judgment.

Visual Cliff

Laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.

Monocular Cues

Depth cues available to either eye alone.

Phi Phenomenon

Illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink rapidly on and off.

Autokinetic Effect

The illusory movement of a stationary spot of light in a dark room.

Metacognition

Cognition about cognition; evaluating and keeping track of our mental processes.

Concept

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

Accommodation

Adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information.

Creativity

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas or solutions.

Convergent Thinking

Narrowing available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

Mental Set

Tendency to approach a problem in one particular way.

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

Overconfidence

Tendency to be more confident than correct; overestimating accuracy of beliefs.

Belief Perseverance

Clinging to initial conceptions after the basis for them has been discredited.

Framing

The way an issue or choice is posed.