Unit 2 Ap psych review
Perception – How your brain understands what your senses detect.
Bottom-Up Processing – Understanding by starting with raw sensory input.
Top-Down Processing – Understanding based on what you already know or expect.
Perceptual Principles – Rules your brain uses to make sense of the world.
Gestalt Psychology – Seeing whole forms instead of just parts.
Closure – Your mind fills in gaps to complete a picture.
Figure & Ground – Seeing one part as the focus and the rest as background.
Proximity – Things close together seem like a group.
Similarity – Things that look alike are grouped together.
Attention (Interaction of Sensation & Perception) – What you focus on affects what you sense and understand.
Cocktail Party Effect – Noticing your name in a loud room, even when distracted.
Inattention – Failing to notice something because your focus is elsewhere.
Change Blindness – Not noticing a change because you're not paying attention.
Binocular Depth Cues – Depth information that needs both eyes.
Retinal Disparity – Each eye sees slightly different views, which helps with depth.
Convergence – Your eyes turn inward more for close objects.
Monocular Depth Cues – Depth cues that need only one eye.
Relative Clarity – Clearer objects seem closer.
Relative Size – Smaller-looking objects seem farther away.
Texture Gradient – More detailed texture appears closer.
Linear Perspective – Parallel lines look like they meet in the distance.
Interposition – If one object blocks another, it's closer.
Visual Perceptual Constancy – Knowing an object is the same, even if it looks different.
Apparent Movement – Seeing movement even when nothing moves.
Schema – A mental framework or shortcut for understanding things.
Prototypes – The best example of a category in your mind.
Concept – A group or category for similar things.
Assimilation – Fitting new info into what you already know.
Accommodation – Changing what you know to fit new info.
Algorithms – Step-by-step methods that guarantee a solution.
Heuristics – Mental shortcuts for quick decisions.
Representativeness Heuristics – Judging based on how typical something seems.
Availability Heuristics – Judging based on what comes to mind easily.
Priming – Earlier experiences influence how you respond now.
Framing – How something is worded affects your decision.
Gambler’s Fallacy – Thinking past chances affect future outcomes.
Sunk-Cost Fallacy – Sticking with something because you've already invested in it.
Executive Functions – Mental skills for planning, focus, and self-control.
Goal-Directed Behaviors – Actions done with a purpose or aim.
Creativity – Coming up with new and useful ideas.
Divergent Thinking – Generating many possible answers or ideas.
Convergent Thinking – Finding the one best answer.
Functional Fixedness – Only seeing an object’s usual use.
Memory – The ability to store and retrieve information.
Explicit Memory – Memory you can clearly describe.
Episodic Memory – Memory of personal events.
Semantic Memory – Memory of facts and meanings.
Implicit Memory – Memory you use without thinking about it.
Procedural Memory – Memory of how to do things, like riding a bike.
Prospective Memory – Remembering to do something in the future.
Long-Term Potentiation – Strengthening of brain connections when you learn.
The Working Memory Model – A system that holds and works with information.
Central Executive – Part of working memory that controls attention.
Phonological Loop – Part of working memory for words and sounds.
Visuospatial Sketchpad – Part of working memory for visual and spatial info.
Long Term Memory – Where information is stored for a long time.
Multi-Store Model – A model of memory with sensory, short-term, and long-term stores.
Sensory Memory – Quick, brief memory from your senses.
Iconic Memory – Brief memory of what you see.
Echoic Memory – Brief memory of what you hear.
Short-Term Memory – Memory that holds a few items briefly.
Automatic Processing – Taking in information without trying.
Effortful Processing – Learning with focus and effort.
Encoding – Turning information into memory.
Storage – Keeping information in your brain.
Retrieval – Getting stored information out.
Levels of Processing Model – The deeper you process info, the better you remember it.
Structural Processing – Focusing on how something looks.
Phonemic Processing – Focusing on how something sounds.
Semantic Processing – Focusing on the meaning of something.
Mnemonic Device – Memory trick or shortcut.
Method of Loci – Using places to remember things.
Working Memory – Short-term system for managing information.
Chunking – Grouping info to remember it better.
Hierarchies & Categories (Encoding) – Organizing info into groups.
Spacing Effect – Learning better when spread out over time.
Massed Practice – Studying a lot at once (cramming).
Distributed Practice – Studying a little over time.
Serial Position Effect – Remembering the first and last items best.
Recency Effect – Remembering the last items best.
Primacy Effect – Remembering the first items best.
Memory Consolidation – Strengthening memories over time.
Maintenance Rehearsal – Repeating info to keep it in memory.
Elaborative Rehearsal – Connecting info to what you already know.
Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory – Exceptionally detailed personal memory.
Autobiographical Memory – Memory of your life events.
Memory Retention – How well you keep info over time.
Retrograde Amnesia – Can’t remember old memories.
Anterograde Amnesia – Can’t form new memories.
Alzheimer’s Disease – Memory loss caused by brain disease.
Infantile Amnesia – Not remembering things from early childhood.
Recall – Bringing up info without help.
Recognition – Picking the right answer when you see it.
Context-Dependent Memory – Remembering better where you learned it.
Mood-Congruent Memory – Remembering things that match your mood.
State-Dependent Memory – Remembering better when in the same state (like tired, sad).
Testing Effect – You remember more by testing yourself.
Metacognition – Thinking about your own thinking.
Retrieval Cues – Hints that help you remember.
Forgetting Curve – Memory fades quickly, then levels off.
Encoding Failure – When you don’t remember because it never got stored.
Proactive Interference – Old info makes it hard to learn new info.
Retroactive Interference – New info makes it hard to remember old info.
Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon – You know it, but can’t say it right away.
Psychodynamic Theorists – Think behavior is shaped by unconscious forces.
Ego’s Defense Mechanisms (Repression) – Hiding painful thoughts from awareness.
Misinformation Effect – Memories can be changed by false info.
Source Amnesia – Forgetting where you heard something.
Constructive Memory – Your brain builds memories from bits and guesses.
Imagination Inflation – Imagining something makes you think it really happened.
Intelligence – Ability to learn, solve problems, and adapt.
General Ability (G) – A basic intelligence that affects all skills.
Intelligence Tests – Tests that measure thinking ability.
Intelligence Quotient – A number score showing intelligence level.
Validity – The test measures what it should.
Construct Validity – The test truly measures the concept.
Predictive Validity – The test predicts future performance.
Reliability – The test gives consistent results.
Test-Retest Reliability – Scores stay the same over time.
Split-Half Reliability – Both halves of the test give similar scores.
Stereotype Threat – Fear of confirming a negative stereotype.
Stereotype Lift – Doing better when your group is expected to succeed.
Flynn Effect – IQ scores rise over generations.
Socioeconomic Status – A person’s income, education, and job level.
Bias – Unfair preference or prejudice.
Achievement Tests – Measure what you’ve already learned.
Aptitude Tests – Measure your potential to learn.
Fixed Mindset – Believing your abilities can’t change.
Growth Mindset – Believing you can improve with effort.
Standardization – Giving the test the same way to everyone.