Untitled Flashcards Set

Information Processing Model (Multi-Store Model) – Memory functions like a computer with encoding, storage, and retrieval through sensory, short-term, and long-term memory.

• Application: Explains how information moves through different memory stages.

Sensory Register/Memory – Brief storage of sensory information before it's processed.

• Application: Captures a visual scene before you focus on specific details.

Iconic Memory – Visual sensory memory lasting a fraction of a second.

• Application: Seeing a flash of an image and briefly recalling its details.

Echoic Memory – Auditory sensory memory lasting a few seconds.

• Application: Recognizing the last few words someone said, even if you weren’t paying attention.

Short-Term Memory (STM) – Holds limited information for about 20-30 seconds.

• Application: Remembering a phone number long enough to dial it.

Long-Term Memory (LTM) – Stores unlimited information indefinitely.

• Application: Remembering your first day of school.

Encoding – Transforming information into a memory trace.

• Application: Studying with meaningful connections helps encoding.

Storage – Retaining encoded information over time.

• Application: Practicing retrieval strengthens storage.

Retrieval – Accessing stored information when needed.

• Application: Answering test questions based on learned material

Structural Encoding – Shallow processing based on appearance.

• Application: Recognizing a word’s shape without knowing its meaning.

Phonemic Encoding – Processing based on sound.

• Application: Rhyming words to improve recall.

Semantic Encoding – Deep processing based on meaning.

• Application: Remembering concepts by connecting them to personal experiences.

Episodic Memory – Memory of personal experiences/events.

• Application: Remembering your graduation day.

Semantic Memory – General knowledge and facts.

• Application: Knowing that Paris is the capital of France.

Procedural Memory – Memory for skills and actions.

• Application: Riding a bike or typing on a keyboard.

Explicit Memory – Conscious, intentional memory retrieval.

• Application: Recalling historical facts for a test.

Implicit Memory – Unconscious memory, often procedural.

• Application: Automatically knowing how to drive without thinking.

Prospective Memory – Remembering to do things in the future.

• Application: Remembering to take medicine at 8 PM.

Retrospective Memory – Remembering past events.

• Application: Recalling what you ate for breakfast yesterday.

Mnemonic Devices – Strategies for enhancing memory.

• Application: Using acronyms like "HOMES" for the Great Lakes.

Method of Loci – Associating information with physical locations.

• Application: Remembering a speech by linking points to locations in your house.

Chunking – Breaking information into meaningful units.

• Application: Remembering 123-456-789 instead of 123456789.

Proactive Interference – Older information disrupts new learning.

• Application: Struggling to remember a new password because of an old one.

Retroactive Interference – New information disrupts recall of old information.

• Application: Learning a new phone number makes you forget your old one.

Serial Position Effect – Tendency to remember the first and last items in a list.

• Application: Forgetting the middle of a grocery list.

Primacy Effect – Remembering the first items in a list.

• Application: First few words in a speech are more memorable.

Recency Effect – Remembering the last items in a list.

• Application: Recalling the last few digits of a phone number.

Spacing Effect – Learning is better with spaced-out practice than cramming.

• Application: Studying a little each day instead of pulling an all-nighter.

Maintenance Rehearsal – Repeating information to keep it in STM.

• Application: Repeating a phone number until you dial it.

Elaborative Rehearsal – Connecting new info to existing knowledge for deeper learning.

• Application: Linking a new psychology concept to a personal experience.

Source Amnesia – Forgetting where or how information was learned.

• Application: Remembering a fact but not the source.

Reconstructive Memory – Memory is not perfect; it’s influenced by emotions and prior knowledge.

• Application: Witnesses remembering events differently.

State-Dependent Memory – Better recall when in the same state as learning.

• Application: Learning drunk and remembering it better when drunk.

Context-Dependent Memory – Better recall in the same physical location.

• Application: Studying in the same room as the test helps performance.

Mood Congruent Memory – Memories match emotional states.

• Application: Feeling sad brings back sad memories.

Testing Effect – Practicing retrieval strengthens memory.

• Application: Taking practice tests improves recall.

Misinformation Effect – False memories form due to misleading info.

• Application: Eyewitnesses misremember details based on leading questions.

Anterograde Amnesia – Inability to form new memories.

• Application: A person with brain damage forgets events after the accident.

Retrograde Amnesia – Inability to remember past events.

• Application: Forgetting years of life after a head injury.

Infantile Amnesia – Inability to recall early childhood memories (before age 3).

• Application: Most people don’t remember being toddlers.

Recall vs. Recognition – Recall requires retrieving info without cues, recognition involves identifying it.

• Application: Fill-in-the-blank vs. multiple-choice tests.

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon – Failing to retrieve a word despite knowing it.

• Application: “I know this actor’s name, but I can’t remember it!”

Repression (Freud’s Theory) – Unconscious blocking of traumatic memories.

• Application: Forgetting a childhood trauma.

Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve – Memory declines rapidly, then levels off.

• Application: Forgetting most information soon after learning it.

Baddeley’s Working Memory Model – A system for temporarily holding and manipulating information.

• Phonological Loop: Stores verbal and auditory information.

• Visuospatial Sketchpad: Holds visual and spatial information.

• Central Executive: Directs attention and integrates information.

Language – A system of symbols and rules used for communication.

• Application: English, Spanish, and sign language are all examples.

Phonemes – The smallest units of sound in a language.

• Application: The "b" in "bat" or the "sh" in "shoe."

Morphemes – The smallest units of meaning in a language.

• Application: "Unbreakable" consists of three morphemes: "un-", "break," and "-able."

Cooing Stage – Early stage (around 6-8 weeks) where infants make vowel-like sounds.

• Application: "Ooo" and "ahhh" sounds from babies.

Babbling Stage – Stage (around 4-6 months) where infants produce repetitive consonant-vowel sounds.

• Application: "Ba-ba" or "da-da."

One-Word Stage – Stage (around 12 months) where infants use single words to represent entire ideas.

• Application: Saying "milk" to mean "I want milk."

Two-Word Stage – Stage (around 18-24 months) where toddlers use two-word phrases.

• Application: "Want cookie" or "Go park."

Fast Mapping – Rapidly learning new words after minimal exposure.

• Application: A child hears "elephant" once and remembers it.

Overextension – Using a word too broadly.

• Application: Calling all four-legged animals "doggy."

Underextension – Using a word too narrowly.

Overgeneralization/Overregularization – Applying grammatical rules too broadly.

Holophrastic Speech – Using one word to express a full thought.

Telegraphic Speech – Using simple two- or three-word sentences, leaving out unnecessary words.

Behaviorist View of Language Acquisition – (B.F. Skinner) Language is learned through reinforcement and imitation.

Nativist View of Language Acquisition – (Noam Chomsky) Humans are born with an innate ability for language (Language Acquisition Device - LAD).

Interactionist View of Language Acquisition – Language develops through a combination of biological readiness and social interaction.

Functional Fixedness – The tendency to see objects only for their usual purpose.

Mental Set – The tendency to approach problems in the same way, even when it’s ineffective.

Algorithm – A step-by-step, guaranteed method for solving a problem.

Heuristic – A mental shortcut or rule of thumb that simplifies decision-making.

Availability Heuristic – Judging the likelihood of an event based on how easily examples come to mind.

Representative Heuristic – Judging something based on how well it matches a prototype.

Belief Perseverance – Holding onto beliefs despite contradictory evidence.

Prototype – The best example or representation of a concept.

Defining Attribute/Core – The essential characteristics that define a category.

Confirmation Bias – Tendency to seek out information that supports existing beliefs.

Gambler’s Fallacy – Believing past random events affect future ones.

Sunk Cost Fallacy – Continuing an endeavor due to previously invested time or resources, even when it’s unwise.

Executive Functions – Cognitive processes that regulate thinking and decision-making.

Creative Thinking – Generating new and original ideas.

Divergent vs. Convergent Thinking –

Achievement Tests – Assess what a person has already learned.

• Application: AP exams measure knowledge gained in a specific subject.

Aptitude Tests – Measure potential or ability to learn a new skill.

• Application: The SAT predicts college readiness.

Construct Validity – How well a test measures the theoretical concept it’s intended to measure.

• Application: An IQ test should accurately measure intelligence, not just memorization.

Predictive Validity – How well a test predicts future performance.

• Application: High SAT scores should correlate with strong college performance.

Content Validity – Whether a test covers the full range of what it’s supposed to measure.

• Application: A driving test should assess all necessary driving skills, not just parking.

Criterion-Related Validity – How well a test correlates with an external standard or outcome.

• Application: A job performance test should accurately reflect job success.

Reliability – The consistency of a test in producing similar results over time.

• Application: A person taking an IQ test twice should get a similar score.

Test-Retest Reliability – The consistency of scores when the same person takes the test at different times.

• Application: A student scoring similarly on the SAT when taken twice.

Split-Half Reliability – Ensuring consistency by comparing two halves of a test.

• Application: A math test where the first and second halves yield similar scores.

Standardization – The process of administering and scoring a test the same way for all individuals.

Test Norms (Norm Referencing) – Establishing average scores for comparison.

Crystallized Intelligence – Knowledge and skills gained through experience and education.

Fluid Intelligence – The ability to solve novel problems without prior knowledge.

General Intelligence (g) – Spearman’s idea that intelligence is a single underlying factor influencing all cognitive abilities.

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) – A standardized score derived from intelligence tests.

Intelligence Tests – Assess general mental ability.

Mental Age vs. Chronological Age –

Flynn Effect – The observation that IQ scores have increased over generations due to environmental factors like better education and nutrition.

Fixed Mindset – The belief that intelligence and abilities are unchangeable.

Growth Mindset – The belief that intelligence and abilities can improve with effort.