2.1-2.4 Cognition Flashcards
focusing conscious awareness on a particular stimulus
selective attention
failing to see visible objects when our attention is directed elsewhere
inattentional blindness
failing to notice changes in the environment; a form of inattentional blindness.
change blindness
a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
perceptual set
Three factors that affect our interpretation of stimuli
Context, Motivation, and Emotion
An organized whole, psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes
Gestalt
the organization of the visual field into objects that stand out from their surroundings
figure-ground
the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups
grouping
the ability to see objects in three dimensions, although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance
depth perception
a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
visual cliff
a depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes
binocular cue
a cue to nearby objects’ distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images
convergence
a binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance - the greater the disparity between the two images, the closer the object
retinal disparity
a depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
monocular cue
an illusion of continuous movement experienced when viewing a rapid succession of slightly varying still images
stroboscopic movement
an illusion of movement created when 2 or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
phi phenomenon
the illusory movement of a still spot of light in a dark room
autokinetic effect
perceiving objects as unchanging even as illumination and retinal images change
perceptual constancy
perceiving familiar objects as having a consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
color constancy
the ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
perceptual adaptation
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
cognition
cognition about our cognition, keeping track of and evaluating our mental processes
metacognition
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
concept
a mental image or best example of a category
prototype
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
schema
interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
assimilation
adapting our current schemas to incorporate new information
accomodation
the ability to produce new and valuable ideas
creativity
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
convergent thinking
expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions
divergent thinking
Sternberg’s 5 components for creativity
- Expertise
- Imaginative thinking skills
- A venturesome personality
- Intrinsic motivation
- A creative environment
cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior
executive functions
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
Algorithm
a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; speedier but more error prone than an Algorithm
Heuristic
a sudden realization of a problems solution; contrasts with strategy based solutions.
insight
a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
confirmation bias
in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective, an obstacle to problem solving
fixation
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
mental set
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
intuition
judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
representativeness heuristic
judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind, we presume such events are common
availability heuristic
the tendency to be more confident than correct – to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments
overconfidence
the persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
belief perseverance
the way an issue is posed; can significantly affect decisions and judgments
framing
framing choices in a way that encourages people to make beneficial decisions
nudge
the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
memory
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the blank test
recall
a measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
recognition
a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.
relearning
the process of getting information into the memory system – for example by extracting meaning
encoding
the process of retaining encoded information over time
storage
the process of getting information out of memory storage
retrieval
processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously
parallel processing
the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
sensory memory
briefly activated memory for a few items that is later stored or forgotten
short-term memory
the relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experience
long-term memory
a newer understanding of short term memory; conscious active processing of both incoming sensory info and info retrieved from long-term memory
working memory
a memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
central executive
a memory component that briefly holds auditory information
phonological loop
a memory component that briefly holds information about objects’ appearance and location in space
visuospatial sketchpad
the formation of new neurons
neurogenesis
an increase in nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare
explicit memory (also declarative memory)
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
effortful processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of familiar or well-learned information, such as sounds, smells, and word meanings
automatic processing
retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection
implicit memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
iconic memory
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
echoic memory
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
chunking
memory aids; especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
mnemonics
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
spacing effect
enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.
testing effect
encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words
shallow processing
encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
deep processing
