AP Psychology - Unit 2 Summary: Cognition

Perception vs. Sensation

• Perception: Interpreting information from the five senses.

• Sensation: Raw data received from sensory receptors.

• Sensation detects a stimulus; perception interprets it.

Types of Processing

• Top-Down Processing:

  • Using prior knowledge and experiences to interpret information.

  • Efficient for familiar stimuli.

  • Can lead to errors like the proofreader illusion (overlooking mistakes due to familiarity).

  • Previous experiences and expectations can skew perceptions.
    *Bottom-Up Processing:
    *When Stimuli is Complex and no familiar to individual

  • Building perception from the ground up without prior knowledge.

  • Slower processing.

Schemas and Perceptual Sets

• Schema:

  • Mental framework built from past experiences.

  • Guides perception and helps organize the environment.

  • Example: Knowing what to expect at a family birthday party based on past experiences.

• Perceptual Set:

  • Mental shortcut to quickly interpret experiences.

  • Influenced by expectations or emotions.

  • Can lead to skewed perceptions based on mood (e.g., focusing on positive stimuli when in a good mood).

Factors Influencing Perception

• Internal Factors:

  • Culture, mood, emotions, expectations.

• External Factors:

  • Environment (e.g., individuals working with numbers quickly identify numbers in images).

  • Upbringing (e.g., those raised in urban areas see right angles more readily).

• Optical Illusions:

  • Müller-Lyer illusion: Lines of the same length appear different due to perceptual sets acquired from environmental exposure.

Attention and Perception

• Selective Attention:

  • Focusing on a particular stimulus while tuning out others.

  • Example: Engaging in a conversation at a party despite background noise.

  • Brain still monitors background for relevant information (e.g., hearing your name).

  • Cocktail Party Effect: Ability to focus on a specific conversation in a noisy setting.

• Inattentional Blindness:

  • Failure to notice stimuli due to attention being focused elsewhere.

• Change Blindness:

  • Failure to notice changes in the environment.

Apparent Movement

• Perceiving motion when nothing is actually moving.

• Stroboscopic Motion:

  • Illusion of movement created by showing a series of images in rapid succession (used in animation and movies).

• Phi Phenomenon:

  • Lights blinking on and off in a sequence create the perception of movement.

• Induced Movement:

  • Stationary object appears to move because of the motion of surrounding objects.

• Autokinetic Effect:

  • Stationary point of light in a dark environment appears to move due to the brain's difficulty maintaining stable perception without visual references.

Gestalt Psychology Principles

• Focuses on how humans naturally group elements to form meaningful patterns.

• Figure and Ground: Separating what we see into the object of focus (figure) and the background (ground).

• Continuation: Eyes naturally follow continuous lines or paths.

• Closure: Brain fills in missing information to perceive incomplete objects.

• Similarity: Grouping similar objects or patterns as one cohesive unit; anomalies become focal points due to their difference.

• Proximity: Objects placed close together are perceived as a single group.

• Symmetry: Symmetrical objects are perceived as one rather than separate elements.

Depth Perception

• Ability to perceive the relative distance of an object.

• Binocular Cues:

  • Rely on both eyes working together.

  • Convergence: Eyes move inward for close objects and straighten for farther objects.

  • Retinal Disparity: Each eye sees a slightly different view of an object, creating a sense of depth.

• Monocular Cues:

  • Require only one eye.

  • Relative Size: Closer objects appear larger, while farther objects appear smaller.

  • Interposition: Object blocking another is perceived as closer.

  • Relative Height: Objects higher in the visual field appear farther away.

  • Shading and Contour: Parts of an image that are hazy appear farther away.

  • Texture Gradient: Clear, detailed objects appear closer than blurry objects.

  • Linear Perspective: Parallel lines converge in the distance.

  • Motion Parallax: Closer objects appear to move quickly, while farther objects move slowly.

Perceptual Constancy

• Ability to perceive objects as having consistent shape, size, color, and lightness even when their appearance changes.

• Size Constancy: Perceiving objects as the same size regardless of distance.

• Color Constancy: Perceiving the color of an object as constant even if the lighting changes.

• Shape Constancy: Perceiving an object's shape as the same even when it moves.

• Lightness Constancy: Perceiving the blackness, whiteness, and grayness of an object as constant under different lighting conditions.

Cognition

• Definition: All forms of knowing and awareness (perceiving, conceiving, remembering, reasoning, judging, imagining, problem-solving).

Cognitive Structures

• Concepts: Mental categories that help organize and understand the world.

• Prototypes: The most typical or basic example of a concept (mental image illustrating the concept).

• Schemas: Complex mental frameworks that organize and interpret information about the world.
  *Assimilation- add new information into the schema and not alter the Schema
  *Accommodation- add new information into the Schema and you do alter it
  *Both helps individuals refines and expand their schema.

Executive Functions

• Cognitive processes that help individuals generate, organize, plan, and carry out goal-directed behaviors, as well as engage in critical thinking.

Problem-Solving Approaches

• Algorithms: Solving a problem step by step in a systematic way.

• Heuristics: Mental shortcuts based on past experiences; can lead to errors in judgment.
  *Representative Heuristics: judgements based on how much something resembles or is a representation of a typical case or stereotype. (overlook important details).
  *Availability Heuristics: judgements based on how easily examples come to mind, recent or vivid memories over full consiteration.

• Mental Set:

  • Mental framework that relies on past experiences and successful strategies to solve new problems. (Mental set-Problem soliving) (schema-organizing information)

Priming

• Phenomenon where exposure to one stimulus influences how we respond to a later stimulus.

• Repetition Priming: Exposure to a specific stimulus makes it easier to recognize that stimulus later.
  *Semantic Priming: influence of one word on the interpretation of another related word.
  *For instance, if you see the word "doctor," you are more likely to quickly recognize or process related words like "nurse" or "hospital."

Framing

• How information is presented, which can shape how we interpret and react to it.

Creativity

• Creating new original ideas and solutions.
  *Divergent Thinking- explores many possible solutions, expanding the range of options
  *Convergent Thinking- Narrowing down the possibilities to identify the single best solution.

• Five Key Components (Robert Sternberg):

  • Expertise: Knowledge about a subject.

  • Imaginative Thinking Skills: Viewing concepts in a unique and creative way.

  • Venturesome Personality: Willing to seek out new experiences and embrace challenges.

  • Intrinsic Motivation: Internal drive to pursue a goal for personal satisfaction.

  • Creative Environment: Surrounding oneself with other creative people.

• Functional Fixedness:

  • Limits a person using an object only in its traditional way.

Cognitive Biases

• Gambler's Fallacy:
  Mistaken belief that if an event occurs more frequently than normal during a given period, it'll happen less frequently in the future, or vice versa.

• Sunk Cost Fallacy:
  Tendency to continue to pursue an action in which you've already invested money, time, or resources into, regardless of its future value.

Memory

Refers to the information that persists over time, acquired through various experiences, and can be stored and retrieved later.
Memory (information over time) /Metacognition (awareness of your own processes).

• Types of Memory:

  • Explicit Memory:

    • Consciously recalled information.

    • Episodic Memory: Personal experiences.

    • Semantic Memory: Knowledge, facts, and general information.

  • Implicit Memory:

    • Information or skills learned without being fully aware of it.

    • Procedural Memory: Recalling how to perform tasks.
      *Prospective Memory: Remembering to perform future actions
      *Retention:
      *Recall- Information,
      *Recognition- Information
      *Relearn- Information

Long-Term Potentiation

Process that strengthens the synaptic connections between neurons in the brain through repeated activation.
Enhances our ability to store and retain knowledge/skills.

Working Memory Model (Short-Term Memory)

Explain how our primary memory system, known as working memory, processes and temporarily holds information for different cognitive tasks.

*Visual-Spatial Sketch Pad (Inner Eye): Handles visual and spatial information (helps us visualize object and thier locations)
*Phonological Loop:

• Verbal and Auditory Information

• Phonological Store (Inner ear): hold spoken words and sounds for a short period of time

• Articulatory Rehearsal Process (Inner Voice): helps you repeat and rehearse verbal information to keep it active in your working memory.
  It's what you use when you are remembering a phone number long enough to dial it or keep a list of words in mind.
  *Central Executive: manage other compoonents focus attention, prioritizig tasks
  integrating information fro both the phonological loop and the visual-spatial sketch pad.
  *Episodic Buffer:
  Integration of working memory and long term memory
  (sounds and visuals)

Multi-Store Model of Memory

Explains how information is processed stored and retrieved.
consist of (iconic memory and echoic memory).
Information -- Sensory Memory -- Working/Short-Term Memory -- Long-Term Memory.

*Sensory memory (iconic memory and echoic memory).
*Iconic memory (visual sensory memory) fraction of a second,
*Echoic memory (auditory sensory memory), 1-4 seconds:.
*Working Memory- (maintenance rehearsal and elaborative rehearsal)
*Maintenance Rehearsal ( Repeatedly go over the information to prevent forgetting),
*Elaborative Rehearsal.
Encoding is the prosses of moving information from working memory to long-term memory.
One takeaway: Attention is crucial when trying to form memories!

Levels of Processing Model

Structural Processing. This is the most superficial level- Physical appearence of structure.
Phonemic Processing: Deeper level that focuses on how information sounds- Pronounciation of a words
Semantic Processing:Deepest level and focuses on meaning and is most effective for memory retention.

Encoding Memories

Taking information and storing it in our long term memory.

*Visual encoding: Encode information by the visual elements we observe
*Acoustic Encoding: Sound elements help with encoding process-use of rhymes
*Tactile Encoding: Feeling of tough when encoding information
*Organizational: INformation in a specific sequnce in a list or Group.
Elaborative: Pairing new information with prior knowledge-Remembering new information by linking it to information you already know.
Semantic encoding focus on the meainign for context by deep processing and is effective.

Mnemonic Devices

Acronyms, visual images, rhymes, can easily remember infomation by organzing it easier to recall.
method of loci helps you remember information by associating it with specific locations in familiarity.

Chunking

organize information into meaningful chunks or catagories (Numbers/ information easier to understand)
Testing yourself during study
serial position effect refers to how the order in which information is presented affects our ability to remember it
primacy effect states that information at the beginning of a list is more memorable because it has had more time to be rehearsed and encoded into long-term memory

Storing Memories

sensory memory, short-term memory working memory, long-term memory.
Storage time: STM hold 7 items- extended with maintenence rehearsal
Maintenance involves repeatedly reviewing information whereas elaborative connects existing content
Frontal Lobes and Hippocampus encode new explicit memories,
Memory consolidation is process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories
Cerebellum and Basal play actical role in foring and storing implicit memories.
emotions influence the creation and storage of memories, and flashbulb memories often clear and very specific formed around events that are extremely stressful, traumatic, or emotional and autobigraphical memmory are memmory connection to our own life.

Types of amnesia

anterograde amnesia is when a person can no longer form new memories. This type of amnesia almost always involves something happening to the hippocampus
retrograde amnesia. is when a person can no longer retrieve past information. This could happen because of a blow to a person's head.
source amnesia is when a person can remember the information but cannot recall where or how they learned it.
infantile amnesia which is when adults cannot remember personal experiences from the early years of their life

The early memories were formed, but they often fade as you grow older due to your brain being underdeveloped at the time the memories were formed.

alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that impairs memory and cognitive functions of an individual

Retrieving Memories

Recall- retreive without any cues or hints
Recognition, helps with retrieval cue and recognise the information presented
Context Dependent- the conditions during recall match the conditions during the encoding process
mood-congruent memory, when you're more likely to recall memories that match your current mood- if feeling happy you will remember better possitive memories
state-dependent memory is when memory retrieval is improved if you're in the same physical or mental state as when the memory was encoded- recalling memories when you were sick if you are presnetly sick.
metacoginition- Relecting on your own learning and thinking processes can help you understand what you truly understand and what you are struggling with.

Forgetting

The forgetting curve developed by Hermann Ebbinghaus and it states that forgetting happens arapidly, but declines as time go on.
Encoding Failure-is when information is not stored correctly and this causd the tip of tournge.
proactive interference occurs when older memories interfere with the recall of newer memories backwards,
retroactive interference which occurs when newer memories interfere with the recall of older memories.
Sigmund Freud- believed persinality was shaped by 3 components ego super ego, id to protects it self it used diffrent defense machinsums with repression.
Constructive memory - is idea not perfect exact recordings of past events
Reconsolidation- is the process ofaltering memmories that have been recalled before they are stored agian. Misinformation affect can alter or change the memory

Intelligence and Achievement.

Defined as the ability to learn from experiences adapt to new situations solve problems and apply knowledge in a variety of different contexts.
There is two groups (the genaral group general and mutiple)
Intelligence can see that intelligence can be broken down into fluid intelligence- quickly reason and crystallized intelligence-
fixed mindset believe and growth mindset that in
There is test to measures this IQ test that are evolved over time now test standize and compared with test taht are of the same age gropu.
Intelligence test were bias over time is important to note, now asserssment socio cultually reponsove impact steerotype effect can effect result.
psychometrics- In order for intelligence tests to be relevant and beneficial to an individual, they must follow the psychometric principles or must be standardized,
With a tests that are Reliable- The test-retest reliabili, split-half reliability.
There is also validy with content valy, construct val Construct, criterion Vality and predictive.
IQ have be increase over time- the flyn effect, advancement in tech
-There is a bigger varation amoung the same gropu then the other,
Mistaterpretion of Intellgince can can cause bia.
achievement tests, which are designed to measure what someone knows at a specific point in time.
aptitude tests, which aim to predict how someone will perform in the future.