AP Psych 2.2-2.7

2.2A Thinking and Problem-Solving


  • Thinking

    • Concept - basis of thought

      • Mental representations

    • Prototype - ideal example for any given concept

      • ‘Fruits’ make you think of an apple, apple is prototype

      • Prototypes form from prior schema

      • Assimilation - interpreting new experiences in terms of prior schema

      • Accommodation - interpreting new experiences through changing schema and concept

  • Problem Solving

    • Algorithm - strategy that guarantees a solution, runs every possible option

      • Walking through every aisle in the store to find something

    • Heuristic - strategy based off experience, faster and more efficient but does not guarantee a solution

      • Find something in the store by using signs to locate the right aisle


2.2B Judgement & Decision Making


  • Representative heuristic - mental shortcut of judging if something belongs to a class or not based off its similarity with things in that class, stereotyping

    • Judging whether someone is a professor or truck driver based off their name and hobbies

  • Availability heuristic - mental shortcut of judging if something belongs to a class or not based off the information that comes to mind first, kinda like recency bias or first impressions, judging based off what you think of when you hear it

    • Car accidents claim way more lives than plane crashes, but many fear plane crashes more as they read about it on the news when it happens

  • Mental set - tendency to use a specific, already known way of problem solving towards a problem when it’s not the best strategy

    • Trying to solve a geometric sequence with the strategy used towards arithmetic sequences because you’re used to solving arithmetic sequences

    • Fixation - preoccupation with a single idea or impulse

  • Priming - exposure to one thing influences the interpretation of another thing

    • Recognizing the word ‘nurse’ quicker after seeing the word ‘doctor’ instead of the word ‘bread’

  • Framing - influencing how something is perceived by others

    • The difference in perception between ‘90% success rate’ and ‘10% fail rate’

  • Gambler’s Fallacy - the mistaken belief that independent events are interrelated

    • A coin has flipped heads 5 times, the mistaken belief that the coin is much more likely to flip tails the sixth time; but the odds are always 50-50

  • Sunk Cost Fallacy - tendency to continue an action because of all the time, money, and effort you’ve already invested

    • You’re 30 mins into a boring movie, you don’t like it but you decide to continue watching it until the end because of all the time you’ve already put in to watching it

  • Executive functions - cognitive processes that allow for people to generate, organize, plan, and carry-out behavior and thinking aimed towards a goal

  • Creativity 

    • Divergent thinking - looking at a problem in multiple ways and forming multiple solutions

      • Using strategies that deviate from the norm

    • Convergent thinking - analyzing different problems and using pre-existing solution to find the correct solution through a logical path

      • Using linear, logical steps to determine the solution

    • Functional fixedness - inability to consider a new function for an item

      • Failing to think of another use for a tennis racket besides tennis



2.3 Introduction to Memories


  • Stages of memory processing

    • Encoding - processing memories

    • Storage - maintaining memories

    • Retrieval - recalling memories

  • Types of information processing

    • Automatic processing - memory processing that becomes a basic instinct/lack of complex thinking (ex. turning on turn signal when driving and taking a turn)

    • Effortful processing - memory processing that requires attention and effort (ex. solving a math problem)

  • Multi-store model (how memories are stored and processed)

    • Sensory memory - storage of information of a thing perceived from senses (smell, sound, taste, etc.), encoded over into short-term memory

    • Short-term memory - capacity to recall information that was just processed, needs to be rehearsed before it’s encoded into long-term

      • Rehearsal - need for mental repetition to relearn memory information so it can be remembered

      • Only 7 +/- 2 things can be held in a short-term memory at a time

    • Long-term memory - capacity to store information in the mind for a long time or indefinitely, process of recalling those memories

      • Retrieval cue - a word/event/trigger that can remind you of a long-term memory (the word ‘buzzer’ makes me think of GeoBee)

    • Working memory - type of short-term memory that stores current information for later use towards cognitive tasks like reasoning and problem-solving

      • Central executive - secretary of working memory, controls processes of working memory

        • Visuospatial sketchpad - mental images

        • Phonological loop - storing verbal and auditory information

  • Levels of processing

    • Structural processing (shallow) - listening or reading without much encoding

    • Phonemic processing - being able to identify words

    • Semantic processing (deep) - making connections to different things and prior knowledge, memories, etc.

  • Long-term potentiation - strengthening of synapses, making neural connections and ability to recall and process information stronger

  • Types of memories

    • Explicit memory - needs a cue to recall

      • Semantic memory - alphabet, 123s, knowledge that’s just assumed “basic” and not real knowledge, mostly learned in school

      • Episodic memory (flashball memories) - experiences or events in life (ex. what you ate for dinner last night)

    • Implicit memory - muscle memory, fundamental processes

      • Proceedural

    • Prospective memory - remembering to do things, to-do tasks (ex. remembering to turn in form into office)





2.4 Encoding Memories


  • Encoding techniques - strategy/shortcut to recall things

    • Mnemonic device - acronyms and shit (PEMDAS, ROY G BIV, HOMES, etc.)

    • Method of Loci - “memory palace”, a visual representation for stuff you need to remember, mental map or going back (ex. thinking back to what you’re missing in the house when you’re at the store going shopping without a list)

    • Chunking - taking a big thing and dividing it up into smaller parts that can be better remembered and stored (ex. dividing phone number into three parts xxx-xxx-xxxx)

      • Also used when things are categorized or put in a hierarchy (ex. making a grocery list organized by sectors of the house, or ranking NBA players in a tier list)

    • Spacing effect - process of taking something big and distributing it into smaller parts, distributive practice > massed practice (ex. studying in ½ hour sessions over 8 days instead of studying 4 hours at once)

    • Serial position effect - tendency to remember the first and last things in a list/event better than the other things (ex. you’re more likely to remember the new people you meet at the start and end of a party rather than the new people you meet in the middle)

      • Primacy effect - tendency to remember the first people/things of something, better for encoding into long-term memory

      • Recency effect - tendency to remember the last/most recent people/things of something, better for encoding in working memory


2.5 Storage of Memories


  • Storage of memories

    • Prolonging Storage

      • Rehearsal - repetition techniques/going through memories & info to be able to recall more effectively

        • Maintenance rehearsal - repeatedly saying/thinking of info to better store it in short-term memory

        • Elaborative rehearsal - new information is connected back to existing info and memories, better for storage and recall ability in long-term memory

    • Superior Memory Storage

      • Highly superior auto-biographical memory - rare ability that allows people to remember things and events of the past in great detail and accuracy (exact day of the week, what they had for breakfast, etc. all for a given day in the past)

  • Amnesia - memory loss (temporary or permanent), physical damage to the brain

    • Anterograde amnesia - inability to form new memories, can’t process short-term memory to long-term memory (ex. Amrutham 15 min memory)

    • Retrograde amnesia - inability to retrieve memories from the past prior to the incident losing their memory (ex. can’t remember your past before a car accident)



2.6 Retrieving Memories


  • Recall - ability to retrieve information by just remembering without any mental cues or prompts, requires greater cognitive effort

  • Retrieval - ability to retrieve information by identifying or remembering something that is put in front of you because you have seen it before, less mentally demanding (ex. recognizing a familiar face)

  • Congruency - effect on memory recall through external factors at retrieval that are similar to the time of encoding

    • Context-dependent congruent memory - ability to recall information when the circumstances/situation/context of place/time of retrieval is the same as place/time of encoding, ex. veterans revisiting battlefields and remembering wartime experiences and memories

    • State-dependent congruent memory - ability to recall information when the state of mind at retrieval is similar to state of mind at encoding, ex. if you study for a test under heavy caffeine, you’re best off taking the test with heavy caffeine to retrieve info more effectively

    • Mood-dependent congruent memory - ability to recall information when the mood at retrieval is similar to the mood at encoding, ex. when you’re in a good mood, you’re more likely to remember positive memories

  • Testing effect (active recall) - ability to recall memories in long-term is increased when part of learning period is dedicated to retrieving information and practicing

  • Metacognition - ability to think about your own thinkings and actions, ability to plan, monitor, and assess your understandings and performance, (ex. assessing whether you prepared enough for the test or not)



2.7 Forgetting and Other Memory Challenges


  • Forgetting curve (x = time, y = information forgotten)

  • Coined by German psychologist Herman Ebbinghaus, his findings

    • People tend to rapidly forget newly-learned information without active review

    • Within a hour people forget up to 50% of new information, within 24 hours it goes to 70%

  • Encoding failure - information not effectively stored when it’s initially encoded with inadequate processing

  • Interference - process that hinders ability to recall memories where retrieval of certain memories interferes with retrieval of other memories

    • Proactive - procures the past, can’t remember new information

    • Retroactive - remembers recent, can’t remember old information with new info interfering

  • Inadequate retrieval - lack of enough retrieval cues to successfully recall information, ex. “the name is on the tip of my tongue but I can’t remember…”

  • Repression - defense mechanism where the brain blocks out unpleasant memories, feelings, and impulses (ex. you don’t remember anything about some painful experiences throughout life as you ignore them and move on)

  • Misinformation Effect - incorporating misleading information into your memory and distorting, information you learned after something recalls with original memory of something, ex. someone says there was a broken headlight in an accident so you remember that was a broken headlight even though that wasn’t apart of your original memory

  • Source amnesia - when you can recall a memory but can’t remember when, where or how you learned it, can distort memories and lead to misinformation effect taking charge, ex. having a vivid memory of meeting John Cena without remembering when, where, or how it happened