PS102 - MIDTERM 2 Flashcards
Encoding
Getting information into memory in the first place
Information-Processing Model
View of memory suggesting that information moves among three memory stores during encoding, storage, and retrieval
- Info must pass through three stages: Sensory, working, and long-term memory
Sensory Memory
Memory involving a detailed, brief sensory image or sound retained for brief period of time
- Holds everything we see, hear, taste, touch, and smell for a few seconds of less
- Allows us to decide if we should pay futher attention to the stimuli
Working Memory (Short-term)
A short-term memory store that can hold five to nine items at once
- Info will eventually drop out of working memory and disappear or will be futher passed on to our long-term memory
Long-Term Memory
The memory system in which we hold all th einfo we have previously gathered, available for retrival and use in a new situation or task
- System that can retain a seemingly unlimited number of pieces of info for an indefinate period of time
Parallel Distributed-Processing (PDP) Model
Theory of memory suggesting that information is represented in the brain as a pattern of activation across entire neural networks
Automatic Processing
Encoding of information with little conscious awareness or effort
Effortful Processing
Encoding of information through careful attention and conscious effort
Rehearsal
Continuous repitition of info in an attempt to make sure the info is encoded
Spaced Practice Effect
Facilitated encoding of material through rehearsal situations spead out over time
Phonological Code
Encoding based on sound
- Trying to keep an address in mind to put into the GPS by repeating the sounds of the numbers again and again
Visual Code
Encoding based on vision
- Trying to keep and address in mind to put into the GPS by holding an image of how the digits would look if written down
Semantic Code
Cognitive representation of info or an event based on the meaning of the info
- This means we lin the new things we learn to the things we have already memorized based on shared meaning
Mnemonic Devices
Techniques used to enhance the meaningfulness of info as a way of making them more memorable
Schemas
Knowledge bases that we develop based on prior exposure to similar experiences or other knowledge bases
- Helps to encode in a hurry
PQRST Method
Step by step approach for studying that helps us learn strategically
- Preview, Question, Read, Self-Recitation, Test
Memory Span
Maximum number of items that can be recalled in the correct order
Chunking
Grouping bits of info together to enhance ability to hold that infor in working memory
Explicit Memeory
Memory that a person can consciously bring to mind, such as your middle name
Implicit Memory
Memory that a person is not consciously aware of, such as learned motor behaviours, skills, and habits
Semantic Memory
A person’s memory of general knowledge of the world
Episodic Memory
A person’s memory of personal events or episodes from one’s life
Retrival Cues
Words, sights, or other stimuli that remind us of the info we need to retrieve from our memory
Priming
Activiation of one piece of info, which in turn leads to activation of another piece and ultimately to the retrival of a specific memeory
Recognition Tasks
Memory tasks in which people are asked to identify whether or not they have seen a particular item before
- Multiple Choice
Recall Tasks
Memory tasks in which people are asked to produce info using no or few retrival cues
Context
The original location where you first learned a concept or idea, rich with retrieval cues that will make it more likely you will be able to recall that information later if you are in that same location or contex
Encoding Specificity Principle
A theoretical framework that asserts that memory retrieval is more efficient when the information available at retrieval is similar to the information available at the time of encoding
State-Dependent Memory
Memory retrival facillitated by being in the same state of mind in which you encoded the memory in the first place
Flashbulb Memories
Detailed and near-permanent memories of an emotionally significant event, or of the circumstances surrounding the moment we learned about the event
Decay Theory
Theory of forgetting, suggesting that memories dafe over time due to neglect or failure to access over long periods of time
Interference Theory
Theory that forgetting is influenced by what happens to people before or after they take info in
Proactive Theory
Competing info that is learned before the forgotten material, preventing its subsequent recall
- Old info blocks memory of new info
- Previous romantic partner’s name interferes with new romantic partner’s name
Retroactive Interference
Learning of new info that distrupts access to previously recalled info
- Names of new students interferes with names of pet fish
Repression
Process in which we unconsciously prevent some traumatic events from entering our awareness so that we do not have to experience the anxiety or blows to our self-concept that the memories would bring
Source Misattributions
Remembering info, but not the source it came from; can lead to remembering info from unreliable scources as true
Memory Consolidation
Process by which memories stablize in the brain
Potentiation
Synchronous networks of cells firing together
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
A phenomenon where repeated stimulation of certain nerve cells in the brain greatly increases the likelihood that the cells will respond strongly to future stimulation
Prospective Memory
Ability to remember content in the future
Retrospective Memory
Ability to remember content from the past
Amnestic Disorders
Organic disorders in which memory loss is the primary symptom
Retrograde Amnesia
Inability to remember things that occured before organic event
Anterograde Amnesia
Ongoing inability to form new memories after an amnesia inducing event
- “Hi, I’m Tom….. Hi, I’m Tom”
Dementia
Severe memory problems combined with losses in at least one other cognitive function, such as abstract thinking or language
- Alziehmers is most common form
Alzheimer’s Disease
Most common form of dementia, usually beginning with mild memory problems, lapses of attention, and problems in language, and progressing to difficulty with even simple tasks and recall of long-held memories
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound in a language; an individual sound such as ba, da, or ta
Phonology
The study of how individual sounds or phenomes are used to produce language
- The word ‘tip’ has 3 phonemes; t, i, p
Morpheme
The smallest unit of a language that conveys meaning
- The word ‘pigs’ has 2 morphemes; pig and s. S = more than one , P alone doesn’t mean anything but ‘pig’ does
Semantics
The study of how meaning in language is construvted of individual words and sentences
- If we say that it is ‘raining cats and dogs,’ you do not expect to see animals falling from the sky, you know that this expression means it’s raining heavily
Lexical Meaning
Dictionary meaning of a word
Syntax
The system for using words (semantics) and word order to convey meaning (grammar)
Pragmatics
The practical aspects of langage usage, including speech pace, guesturing, and body language
Telegraphic Speech
Speech that consists of minimalistic sentences; characterizes early toddlerhood and is the first evidence of sentence formation
Critical Period
A window of time in development during which certain influences are necessary for appropriate formation of the brain
Sensitive Period
A point in development during which the brain is more susceptible to influences
Overregularization
The process by which elementary school children over-apply newly-learned grammatical rules to improperly “correct” an irregular part of speech, such as a verb (e.g., “goed” instead of “went”)
Broca’s Area
A brain region located in the frontal lobe that is important for speech production
Broca’s Aphasia
A neurological condition arising from damage to Broca’s area where the patient is unable to produce coherent speech
Agrammatism
A neurological condition arising from damage to a brain region just anterior to Broca’s area, where the patient is incapable of using words in grammatical sequence
Wenicke’s Area
A brain region located in the temporal lobe that is important for language comprehension
Wernicke’s Aphasia
A neruological condition associated with damamge to Wernicke’s area where a person cannot understand language
Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis
Hypothesis suggesting that the vocabulary available for objects or concepts in a language influences how speakers of that language think about them
Executive Funtion
The brains ability to control and manage the mental processing of information
Dysexecutive Syndrome
Impairments in the ability to control an direct mental activities
Algorithm
A problem-solving strategy that always leads to a solution
Heuristic
A short-cut thinking strategy
Mental set
Tendency to use problem-solving strategies that have worked in the past
Funtional Fixedness
Tendency to view objects as having only one function
Confirmation Bias
Tendency to look for information
Representative Heuristic
The assumption that individuals share characteristics of the category of which they are a member
- The movie you are going to see has several characteristics that seem to identify it as a romantic comedy
Availability Heuristic
Judging easily-recalled events as more common
- Vocabulary available for objects or concepts in a language influences how speakers of that language think about them
Bounded Rationality
The fact that in many situations, our ability to make clear rational decisions is limited or “bounded” by things like lack on info, time constraints, or emotions attached to aspects of the problem we are trying to solve
Metacognition
The ability to understand and control on’es mental activites
Theory of Mind
Awareness of one’s own mental states and the mental states of others
Obsessive-Compulsice Disorder (OCD)
A mental disorder associated with abnormal anxiety-provoking thoughts that can lead to ritualistic behaviours
Schizophrenia
A mental disorder characterized by disorganized thoughts, lack of contact with reality, and sometimes auditory halucinations
Factor Analysis
A statistical method for determining whether certain items on a test correlate highly, thus forming a unified set, or cluster, or items
- When people who do well on vocabulary items also tend to do well on other verbal items
G Factor
A theoretical general factor of intelligence underlying all distinct clusters of mental ability; part of Spearman’s two-factor theory of intelligence
S factor
A theoretical specific factor uniquely tied to a distinct mental ability or area of functioning; part of Spearman’s two-factor theory of intelligence
Primary Mental Abilities
seven distinct mental abilities identified by Thurstone as the basic components of intelligence
Theory of Multiple Intelligences
Theory that there is no single, unified intelligence, but instead several independent intelligences arising from different portions of the brain
Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
Sternberg’s theory that intelligence is made up of three interacting components: internal, external, and experiential components
Bioecological Model of Intelligence
Ceci’s theory that intelligence is a function of the interactions among innate potential abilities, environmental context, and internal motivation
Psychometric Approach
An approach to defining intelligence that attempts to measure intelligence with carefully constructed psychological tests
Reliability
The degree to which a test produces the same scores over time
Validity
The extent to which a test accurately measures or predicts what it is supposed to measure or predict
Content Validity
The degree to which the content of a test accurately represents what the test is intended to measure
- U taking driving lessons and your intsructor tested you on your understanding of the rules of the road, the test would demonstrate high content validity
Validity Coefficient
A correlation coefficient that measures validity by correlating a test score with some external criterion
Predictive Validity
The extent to which scores on a particular test successfully predict future performance on a measure related to the test
Standardization
The use of uniform procedures in administering and scoring a test
Normal Distribution
A symmetrical, bell-shaped distribution in which most scores are in the middle, with smaller groups of equal size at either end
Median
The score exactly in the middle of a distribution
Mean
The average score in a distribution
Mode
The score that occurs most frequently in a distribution
Mental Age
The intellectual age at which a person is funtioning, as opposed to chronological age
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Terman’s measure of intelligence; the ratio of a child’s mental age to her chronological age, multiplied by 100
- An 11 year old with average intelligence would earn and IQ of 100 (11/11 x 100), a more intelligent 11 year old would earn sn IQ of 118 (13/11 x 100)
StereotypeVulnerability or Threat
A phenomenon in which people in a particular group perform poorly because they fear that their performance will conform to a negative stereotype associated with that group
Flynn Effect
An observed rise in the average IQ scores throughout the world over time
Emotional intelligence
An individual’s ability to perceive, express, assimilate, and regulate emotion
Creativity
The ability to produce ideas that are both original and valuable
Nerve Conduction Velocity (NCV)
The speed with which electrical impulses are transmitted along nerve fibers and across synapses
Neural Efficiency Hypothesis
The hypothesis that bright individuals show lower brain activity than less bright individuals during tests of low to moderate cognitive difficulty
Brain entropy
The number of neural states, or neural configurations, a brain can access during a task
Down syndrome
An inherited disorder, usually caused by the presence of extra chromosomal material on the twenty-first chromosome, that results in intellectual disability
Instincts
Inborn behavioral tendencies, activated by stimuli in our environments
Homeostasis
A tendency of the body to maintain itself in a state of balance or equilibrium
Yerkes-Dodson law
Law stating that ideal performance on a task occurs when the arousal level is optimized to the difficulty level of the task
Intrinsic motivation
Engaging in a behavior simply for the satisfaction that is part of doing it
Incentives
External motives that indirectly indicate reward
Extrinsic motivation
Engaging in a behavior due to the influence factors outside ourselves
Anorexia nervosa
Eating disorder in which individuals under-eat and have a distorted body image of being overweight
Bulimia nervosa
Eating disorder in which individuals binge and then engage in purging-type behaviour
Binge eating disorder
Out-of-control eating of an unusually large amount of food in a single event, often multiple times per week, over several months or years
Conscious motivations
Motivations that people are aware of and can verbalize
Unconscious motivations
Motivations that people are unaware of and cannot verbalize
Hedonic principle
The principle that we avoid painful experiences and approach pleasurable experiences
Avoidance motivation
The desire to avoid the experience of a negative outcome following a behaviour
Approach motivation
The desire to experience a positive outcome following a behaviour
Loss aversion
A tendency to be motivated more strongly to avoid a loss rather than to achieve a gain, even if the potential loss and gain are of equal size
Amotivation
The state of being without motivation
Growth mindset
A belief that hard work and effort can improve a person’s skill or talent in a particular area
Fixed mindset
A belief that talent is innate and that skill in a particular area is not determined by hard work and effort
Affiliation
The need to form attachments to other people for support, guidance, and protection
James-Lange theory of emotion
A theory proposing that felt emotions result from physiological changes, rather than being their cause
Cannon-Bard theory of emotion
A theory proposing that the subjective experience of emotion and the activation of the sympathetic nervous system (that is, bodily arousal) occur
Schachter and Singer’s two-factor theory of emotion
A theory proposing that an emotional state is a function of both physiological arousal and cognition
Cognitive-mediational theory of emotion
A theory proposing that cognitive interpretations, particularly appraisals, of events are the keys to experiences of emotion
Facial-feedback theory of emotion
A theory proposing that subjective experiences of emotion are influenced by sensory feedback from facial muscular activity, or facial efference
Facial efference
Sensory feedback from facial muscular activity
