Behavioral Psychology CH. 13 Flashcards
Memory and Thinking
Three stages of memory
- Encoding
- Storage
- Retrieval
Encoding
Putting the information in so that it is in a memorable form
Storage
storing it once it is there
Retrieval
being able to gain access to it (as rapidly as possible).
Working memory
Holds items for just a few seconds. The range of working memory covers somewhere between 5 and 9 items.
Iconic memory
Is a detailed image of something that lasts for just a few milliseconds, whether this is visual, auditory, or involving the other senses.
Explicit memory
Is what happens when we try to remember something consciously.
Implicit memory
The memory of skills.
Eidetic imagery
If they are shown a picture or a page of writing, they can hold the entire visual representation in their heads and scan through it, reading off whatever they wish.
Long-term memory
runs from a few minutes to the whole of one’s life. The primary means of encoding relies on meaning or specific aspects of what is remembered.
Interference
the major reason for retrieval from long-term memory not working well.
Flashbulb memories
are extraordinarily clear memories that surround the circumstances of a highly significant event.
Chunking
using material that one knows well, in other words, material that is well embedded in long-term memory and using ‘chunks’ of this to help expand day-to-day working memory.
Constructive memory
we form active constructions around it, using our general knowledge, sterotypes that we might hold and various schemas about the world that already exist for us. Although this type of construction might distort the material somewhat, it also ensures that it is remembered.
Thinking
the representation of information in the mind.
Problem-solving or reasoning
something that we do when we use past experience to solve a current problem or to reach a particular goal.
Functional fixedness
this occurs when we are stuck with only one-way of looking at something.
Deductive reasoning
This goes from the general to the particular.
is the type most often used by detectives when solving crimes; it is based on contingencies. If one thing happens, then it follows that something else is likely to happen and yet another something else is not.
Inductive reasoning
this goes from the particular to the general. We build up inductive reasoning through observation of examples, a process that, like science, is unending. Inductions are never-ending because it is not possible to know all of the instances of something.
Creativity
involves apparently making something out of nothing.
Four steps of creativity
preparation, incubation, illumination and verification.
Creative Preparation
this involves the setting of the scene, the identification of the problem and the gathering of information that might be relevant to it.
Creative Incubation
this is, perhaps, the most unusual part of creative activity because it involves apparently doing nothing. It is as if no conscious effort is being put into the problem. The problem is ignored and the person does other things or, perhaps, just does very little.
Creative Illumination
this is the moment at which there comes a sudden creative idea. It usually involves a sudden recasting of the problem in a new way that leads to a solution.