cognitive psychology Flashcards
cognition
the mental activities associated with the thinking, knowing, remembering, analyzing, and communication
memory
persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. taking in any sensory information
capacity of sensory memory
large
duration of sensory memory
1/2 to 2 seconds
self refrencing
we remember things when they apply to us
rehearsal
learn for a show
automatic processing
we process an enormous amount amount of info effortlessly such as a space time or frequency
spacing effect
don’t cram your studies
iconic
momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli a photographic lasting memory
echoic sensory memory
momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli sounds and words can be recalled within 3-4 seconds
capacity of short term memory
7 (+/-) items
chunking memory
organizing into familiar management units
the duration of STM is
20 seconds
long term memory capacity
long lasting
memory process
1) encoding- processing info into memory system
2) storage- retention of encoded material over time
3) retrieval- process of getting the info out of memory storage
explicit memories
broken into groups CONSCIOUS
episodic
meaningful memories
semantic
factual and general knowledge
implicit memories
UNCONCSIOUS
procedural
doing activities w/o consciously thinking about them (ex: ride a bike)
recall
you must retrieve info from your memory
(ex: fill in the blank)
recognition
you must identify the target from possible targets
(ex: multiple choice)
serial position effect
remembering first and last but not middle
primary memory
remember 1st on list
recency memory
remember last on list
flash bulb memory
very clear memory of an emotionally significant movement or event
state dependent memor
internal state= the same
context effects
same place, do better
mood congruence
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good/ bad mood
shallow processing
memory with out putting meaning to it
deep processing
memorizing while putting meaning to it
results of ebbinghaus experiment
had ppl memorize a list of words by day 2 they still had it but with time their memories of it declined
forgetting
inability to retrieve info due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval
memory construction
memories of things that happened before the age of 3 are unreliable. and memories retrieved with hypnosis or drugs aren’t reliable and can’t be useful in court
interference theory is broken into 2 groups:
proactive interference and retroactive interference
proactive interference
old info blocks new info
retroactive interference
new info blocs out old info
motivated forgetting as a whole
try to forget unwanted memories either consciously or unconsciously
suppression
motivated forgetting that occurs when a person consciously tries to forget something
repression
defense mechanism that banishes anxiety inducing thoughts, feelings, or memories (this is usually done unconsciously)
misinformation effect
incorporation misleading info into one’s memory of an event
source amnesia
attributing an event to the wrong source that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined (misattributed- wrong experience)
retrograde amnesia
cannot remember past
anterograde amnesia
cannot make new memories but can remember all past
concept
mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people (ex: mango apple strawberry: fruit)
prototype
mental image or best example of category
algorithm
problem solving procedures or formulas that guaranteed a correct outcome if correctly applied
heuristic
cognitive strategies used to make shortcuts to solve problems doesn’t garuntee solution
insight
sudden realization of a problems solution
confirmation bias
ignoring or finding fault with info that doesn’t fit your own ideas
mental set
tendency to respond to a new problem in the same manner used as a previous problem
functional fixedness
inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose (ex: video w/ uses of a sock)
overconfidence
tendency to be more confident in a thing you did than the actual quality of it
framing
the way an issue is posed or how an issue is framed can change how one decides or judges it
belief perseverance
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they are formed has been discredited
representative bias
faulty heuristic strategy based on presumption that once a person or event is categorized it shares all features of other memories in its category (birds: all birds can fly)
availability bias
faulty heuristic strategy that estimates probably based on info that can be recalled from personal experience
