FCPS AP Psych Unit 5
Memory - is learning that has continued over time
Automatic Processing - unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
Effortful Processing - encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Deep processing - involves elaborative rehearsal along with meaningful analysis of the ideas and words being learned
Shallow processing - simple memorization of something without attaching meaning to it
Elaborative rehearsal - linking new information with existing memories and knowledge
Metacognition - an awareness of our thinking processes and an understanding of what we know.
Information-processing model - a three-step process. Encoding - get information in (prepare for storage), Storage - keep information (rehearsal), Retrieval - get information back (recall)
Sensory memory - processing everything we sense (everything)
Iconic memory - fleeting visual images
Echoic memory - auditory signals
Short-term Memory - activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten
Working Memory - a newer understanding of a short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
Long-term Memory - the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
Prospective Memory: Remembering to perform actions in the future.
Retrospective Memory: Remembering events from the past or previously learned information.
Implicit Memory (nondeclarative) - retention independent of conscious recollection; memories located in basal ganglia and cerebellum - Example: muscle memory, riding a bike, Remembering the words to a popular song after hearing the first few notes
Explicit Memory (declarative) - memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"
- Episodic memories - The stories of our lives and experiences that we can recall and tell someone
- Semantic memories - Impersonal memories that are not drawn from personal experience but rather from everyday, common kinds of knowledge ( Names of colors, states, facts)
Flashbulb memories refer to emotionally intense events that become “burned in” as a vivid-seeming memory.
George Miller - Seven, Plus or Minus Two is considered to be the amount of meaningful information one can hold in STM
Hermann Ebbinghaus was a German psychologist who pioneered the experimental study of memory, and is known for his discovery of the forgetting curve and the spacing effect.
Noam Chomsky is a contemporary psychologist and linguist known his theory of innate grammar
Wolfgang Kohler - created the idea of insight learning
Elizabeth Loftus - study eyewitness testimony and memory reconstruction
Semantic Encoding - Using past events or items you have already learned to organize your thoughts and learn new material. Making it RELEVANT to you.
Encoding Failure - Ineffective attention given to material
Storage Decay - Poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay
Relearning - a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again
Recognition - correct identification of previously learned material (example: multiple choice)
Recall - direct retrieval of facts or information (example: FRQ)
State-dependent memory - is the phenomenon where people remember more information if their physical or mental state is the same at time of encoding and time of recall
Mood-dependent memory - information can be retrieved while in a mood similar to when it was acquired
Context dependent memory refers to the phenomenon of how much easier it is to retrieve certain memories when the "context," or circumstances around the memory are same for both the original encoding and retrieval.
Priming - triggers a thread of associations that bring us to a concept
Retrieval Failure - Although the information is retained in the memory store it cannot be accessed
(Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon)
The serial position effect - refers to the tendency, when learning information in a long list, to more likely recall the first items (primacy effect) and the last items (recency effect).
Mnemonics - memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
chunking - combining grouping bits or related information
Method of loci is a strategy of memory enhancement which uses visualizations of familiar spatial environments in order to enhance the recall of information
Peg word system - is a mnemonic device that is used to memorize lists that need to be in order. An object or image is visualized which holds or 'pegs' the information that needs to be recalled and makes it easier to remember
Spacing Effect - the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
Testing Effect - enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.
self-reference effect - is a tendency for people to encode information differently depending on the level on which they are implicated in the information
Retrograde Amnesia: The inability to remember information previously stored in memory.
Anterograde Amnesia: The inability to form memories from new material.
Proactive Interference - the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
Retroactive Interference - the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
Repression - in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Misinformation Effect - incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event. Elizabeth Loftus studied this.
Source Amnesia - attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
Long-term Potentiation - an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
Basal Ganglia - Plays an important role in memory retrieval and procedural memory - creating and maintaining habits
Amygdala - Primary processor of emotional reactions and social and sexual behavior
Hippocampus - Most associated with emotions and transfer of information from STM to LTM
Cerebellum - Responsible for procedural memories such as how to tie a shoelace, play guitar, or touch-type
Concept - Mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people. There are a variety of chairs but their common features define the concept of chair.
Prototype - mental image or best example of a category.
Algorithm - methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantee solving a particular problem because it explores every possibility
Heuristic - simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently (rule of thumb)
Insight - sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem, such as suddenly seeing a cause and effect relationship
Creativity - Ability to produce novel and valuable ideas (expertise, imagination, venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and creative environment)
Convergent thinking - narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
Divergent thinking -expands the number of possible problem solutions
Confirmation Bias - A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.
Mental Set - a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
Functional Fixedness - Inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose
Belief Perseverance - clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Representative heuristic - when we judge how something represents, or matches, certain prototypes we have
Availability heuristic - likelihood of event based on their availability in memory
Fluid intelligence - recognizing patterns, seeing relationships, using logic to solve novel problems
Crystallized intelligence - one’s accumulated knowledge
Flynn Effect - says that people are either getting smarter or at least better at taking standardized tests
Stereotype threat - when worry about conforming to a negative stereotype leads to underperformance on a test or other task by a member of the stereotyped group
Savant Syndrome - condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an amazing specific skill (Computation, drawing)
Mental age - age-level at which you function mentally
Intelligence Quotient (IQ) - take the mental age (provided by the exam) divided by the chronological age (actual age) multiplied by 100
Emotional Intelligence - the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
Gardner's multiple intelligences: Our abilities are best classified into eight independent intelligences, which include a broad range of skills beyond traditional school smarts.
Stemberg's triarchic theory: Our intelligence is best classified into three areas that predict real-world success: analytical, creative, and practical.
Sir Francis Galton - became interested in individual differences. From his work emerged the concept of measuring intelligence.
Alfred Binet invented the first practical IQ test. Stanford-Binet Test - First intelligence test in the United States
Lewis Terman - revised Binet's IQ test and established norms for American children; tested group of young geniuses and followed in a longitudinal study that lasted beyond his own lifetime to show that high IQ does not necessarily lead to wonderful things in life
David Wechsler - developed intelligence test
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) -most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance subtests
Performance scale - measured processing speed, Abstract tasks - matching visual patterns, Verbal scale - verbal comprehension
Achievement Test - a test designed to assess what a person has learned
Aptitude Test - a test designed to predict a person's future performance
Reliability - the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting
Test-retest reliability - having same individual take the same two test at two different times
Split-half reliability - checking for consistency between the scores on two halves of the same test
Validity - the extent to which a test measures or predicts what is is supposed to
Content Validity - the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest
Construct Validity - whether a test is really evaluating an abstract psychological or theoretical idea
Criterion or Predictive Validity - how well test results relate to another measure of what you are evaluating
Standardization - defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group
Phoneme - in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit
Morpheme - in a language, the smallest unit that carried meaning; may be a word or part of a word
Semantics - set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences
Skinner’s Belief in Language Acquisition - language is learned: association, imitation, reinforcement
Chomsky Belief in Language Acquisition - belief in universal grammar: a theory that the ability to learn grammar is built into the human brain from birth regardless of language
Linguistic determinism - language one uses determines the way one thinks and one’s view of the world
- Linguistic relativity (Whorf’s) - language and thought have influence on each other - the language one speaks influence how one thinks, and vice versa - but language doesn’t determine thought
Cultural bias in testing - extent to which test offends/ penalizes some students on basis of ethnicity, gender. or socio-economic status