AP Psychology: Cognitive Psychology

Mod 31-

memory

memory is defined as the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

• Alzheimer’s is a disease that slowly strips away memory

-    Recall, Recognition, & Relearning:

• Recall- retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time. 

• Recognition- Identifying previously learned items

• Relearning- Learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time.

Examples of recall, recognition, and relearning

Recall- fill-in-the-blank question

Recognition- Multiple choice

Relearning- studying 

Hermann Ebbinghaus

-pioneered the experimental study of memory

How do psychologists describe the human memory system?

- Encoding- puts in new information

-Store- organize the information

-Retrieve- pull out the information

• Parallel Processing- considering many aspects of a problem simultaneously, the brains natural mode of information processing for many functions

3-stage model of memory

• Sensory memory- the immediate

• short-term memory- holds a few items briefly

  • So much active processing occurs in the short-term memory stage, working memory

• long-term memory- permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

  • Some information slips into long-term memory via a back door, without our consciously attending to it, automatic processing 

Working memory- a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

• Working memory includes visual-spatial auditory rehearsal of new information

• pulls information from long-term memory to help make sense of new information

Explicit and Implicit memory

• Explicit- retention of facts and experiences from long-term memory that once can consciously know and declare (declarative memory)

  • Effortful processing- requires attention and conscious effort 

• Implicit- retention of learned skills or classically conditioned association in long-term memory independent of conscious recollection (non-declarative memory)

  • Automatic processing- unconscious encoding of incidental information

Iconic memory & echoic memory

• iconic memory- brief temporary visual sensory memory that eventually fades away

• echoic memory- auditory information that fades away

Effortful processing strategies

• chunking- organizing items into familiar units

• mnemonics- memory aids

spacing effect

• spacing effect- the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention

testing effect

-self testing

shallow & deep processing

• shallow processing- encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

• deep processing- encoding semantically, based on the meaning of words (going in depth)

Mod 32- 

Role of the Frontal Lobes

• Explicit memories are either semantic (in depth) or episodic (experienced events)

Semantic memory vs episodic memory in which lobe

• semantic memory- left

• episodic memory- right

Hippocampus

• explicit memories for facts and episodes are processed here

• -hippocampus- a subcortical limbic system structure in the temporal lobes

• likened to be a “save”  button for explicit memories

• memories are not permanently stored here

• memory consolidation- stored elsewhere

• during deep sleep, the hippocampus processes memories for later retrieval

cerebellum

• the little brain at the back of the brainstem

• forms and stores implicit memories created by classical conditioning 

  • with a damaged cerebellum, people can’t develop certain conditioned reflexes

basal ganglia

• deep brain structures involved in motor movement

• facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills

• receive input from the cortex but don’t send information back

amygdala

• linked to processing emotion

• stress hormones focus memory, stress provokes the amygdala to initiate a memory

  • emotional events produce tunnel vision memory

  • focus on attention and recall on high priority information and reduce recall of irrelevant details

    • flashbulb memory- clear, sustained long-term memory of an emotionally significant moment or event 

    • mood congruent memory- the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad emotional state (mood)

Priming

• priming- the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in long-term implicit memory

  • perceptual set- a tendency to perceive or notice some aspects of the avaliable sensory data and ignores other

amnesia

• infantile amnesia- adults can’t remember things the first 4 years of life

• amnesia- significant memory loss 

mod 33- 

William James

• made the 1st textbook

Jill Price

• woman who can’t forget episodic memory 

• shows memory space is unlimited

Henry Molaison (H.M)

• hippocampus removed to stop persistent seizures

• can’t retain knowledge

• no new memories

• can remember the past

forgetting

• anterograde amnesia- inability to form new memories due to injury or illness & can remember past, not present. 

  • antes means before in spanish (antes de) you remember the past

• retrograde amnesia- an inbility to retrieve information from the past but can gain new memories in the present 

  • can’t remember the past

• proactive interference- changed, learned forgot, old knowledge takes over new knowledge

  • can’t remember new

• retroactive interference- new knowledge takes over old knowledge, cant remember old

mod 34-

cognition

• all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating information

  • forming concepts

    • concepts- mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

    • prototype- a mental image or best example of a category

• prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories/ concepts

• concepts help us understand our world

creativity

• creativity is the ability to produce new (novel) and valuable (useful) ideas

  • convergent thinking- narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the best solution

  • divergent thinking- expanding the number of possible problem solutions, expands in different directions

Robert Sternberg

5 components of creativity-

• expertise

• imaginative thinking skills

  • display things as they see things or make unusual connections

• a venturesome personality

  • seeks new experiences, tolerates ambiguity and risk, and perseveres in overcoming obstacles

• intrinsic motivation

• a creative environment

Mod 35-

problem solving strategies

• algorithm- a methodical, logical rule, or step-by-step procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

• heuristic- a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than an algorithm

• insight- a sudden realization of a problem’s solution

Problem solving obstacles

• confirmation bias

  • a tendency to search for information that supports views and ignore the information that contradicts the view

• fixation

  • inability to see a problem from a new perspective

• mental set 

  • tendency to approach a problem with the mind-set that has worked previously

Intuition

• an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought

2 intuitive mental shortcuts

representativeness heuristic & availability heuristic

• representativeness heuristic- estimating the likelihood of events in terrms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

• availability heuristic- estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

overconfidence

• the tendency to be more confident than correct

• overconfidence often leads to planning fallacy

  • overestimating our future leisure time and income

• belief perseverance- clinging to ones initial conceptions after they have been discredited 

Framing

• the way an issue is posed

  • how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgments

Mod 36

Language

• our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

  • phoneme, morpheme, and grammar are the structural components of language

• phoneme- smallest sound

• morpheme- smallest unit that carries meaning

• grammar- system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

  • semantics & syntax

• semantics- selecting the correct word to convey the meaning you intend

• syntax- putting the words in the correct order according to the grammatical standards of the language

Noam Chomsky

• “colorless green ideas sleep furiously. 

  • sentence used to illustrate correct syntax but poor semantics 

• Noam chomsky argued that language is natures gift

  • universal grammar- built-in predisposition to learn grammar rules

    • explains why preschoolers can pick up the language so well

early language

• babbling stage- 4 months

• one-word stage- age 1-2

• two-word stage- 18 months

  • telegraphic speech is used, using mostly nouns and verbs

aphasia

• the impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (speaking) or Wernicke’s area (understanding)

Benjamin Lee Whorf

• language shapes a persons basic ideas

• linguistic determinism proposed that language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us

  • linguistic influence- the idea that language affects thought 

Mod 37-

intelligence

• the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

  • general intelligence- underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on the intelligence test

    • factor analysis- identifies clusters of related items on a test

Howard Gardner

• 8 relatively independent intelligences  

• multiple intelligences: 

  • musical- ability to produce and understand pitch, tempo, and rythym

  • visual-spatial- ability to think in images and pictures

  • logical-mathe matical- ability to think abstractly and see patterns and logic and math

  • bodily-kinesthetic- ability to control body movements and handle objects

  • interpersonal- ability to work well with and understand others emotionally and socially

  • verbal-linguistic- ability to understand word meanings and sounds   

savant syndrome

• a condition which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, as incomputation or drawing

Robert Sternberg

• yes there are multiple but intelligences, but not as much as Howard thought

• triarchic theory- proposes 3 intelligences

  • analytical, creative, and practical intelligence

• analytical- problem solving

• creative- innovative

• practical- everyday tasks

grit

• passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

mod 38

tests

• intelligence test

  • method for assessing an individuals mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others

  • IQ test

• Achievement test

  • covers what has been learned in the course

  • AP test

• aptitude test

  • predicts your ability to do work

  • SAT/ACT

Alfred Binet

• french psychologist commissioned by the french government to design an IQ test to administer to french schoolchildren

• mental age- the level of performance typically associated with a certain chronological age

Stanford-Binet

• Lewis Terman (Stanford University Professor) modified Binet’s tests for use as a numerical measure of inherited intelligence.

• Stanford-Binet: IQ test revealed the intelligence with which a person was born

problems with early intelligence tests

• only worked on kids

WAIS

• David Wechsler created WAIS (adult intelligence scale) 

• another one was created as well, WISC (for children)

• another one: WPPSI (preschool) 

criteria

• standardized

  • compared to pretested sample population

• reliable

  • consistent scores

• validity

  • measures what it is supposed to

  • content validity & proactive validity

  • content validity-  interested behavior

  • proactive validity- predicted behavior

Flynn Effect

• intelligence test performance has improved

mod 39

   crystallized & fluid intelligence

• crystallized intelligence- accumulate knowledge and verbal skills (increases with age) 

• fluid intelligence- ability to reason speedily and abstractly (decreases with age)

research studies/methods

• cross sectional research method- compare people of different ages at the same point in time

• longitudinal study- follow and retest the same people over time