Psych Exam 2 Flashcards
Memory
the retention of information or experience over time
Encoding
the process by which information gets into memory storage
Selective attention
focusing on a specific aspect of experiences while ignoring others
Divided attention
concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
sustained attention
the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time
levels of processing
a continuum from shallow to intermediate to deep
shallow processing
physical and perceptual features are analyzed
intermediate processing
stimulus is recognized and labeled
deep processing
semantic, meaningful, and symbolic characteristics are used
elaboration
the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at any level of encoding
Atkinson-Shiffrin theory
separates memory storage into sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory
sensory memory
holds information from the world in it original sensory form for only an instant
echoic memory
auditory sensory memory
iconic memory
visual sensory memory
short term memory
a limited-capacity memory system in which information is retained for only 30 seconds
chunking
grouping information that exceeds the 7±2 memory span so it can be remembered as single units
rehearsal
the conscious repetition of information
working memory
a combination of components including short term memory and attention, that allow us to hold information temporarily as we perform tasks, 3 components, phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and the central executive
phonological loop
specialized to briefly store speech based information about the sounds of language
visuo-spatial sketckpad
stores visual and spatial information
central executive
integrates information from the phonological loop, visuo-spatial sketchpad, and long-term memory, important to attention, planning, and organizing
Long-term memory
relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time
explicit memory
the conscious recollection of information such as specific facts and events, hippocampus, temporal lobes, limbic system
episodic memory
part of explicit memory, the retention of information about the where, when, and what
semantic memory
part of explicit memory, a persons knowledge about the world
implicit memory
memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without the conscious recollection of that experience, three parts, procedural memory, classical conditioning, and priming, cerebellum
procedural memory
involves memory for skills
priming
the activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better
schema
a preexisting mental concept or framework that helps to organize and interpret information
retrieval
when information that was retained in memory comes out of storage
serial position effect
the tendency to recall items at the beginning and end of a list more readily
primacy effect
better recall for items at the beginning of the list
recency effect
better recall for items at the end of the list
recall
a memory task in which the person must retrieve previously learned information
recognition
a memory task in which the person only has to recognize learned items
encoding specificity principle
information present at the time of encoding or learning tends to be effective as a retrieval cue
context-dependent memory
people remember better when they attempt to recall information in the same context in which they learned it
autobiographical memory
a special form a episodic memory, a persons recollections of their own life experiences
flashbulb memory
the memory of emotionally significant events
motivated forgetting
occurs when individuals forget something because it is too painful or anxiety laden
ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve
memorized 13 nonsense syllables and assessed how many he could remember as time passed, even after an hour he could only remember a few, concluded forgetting takes place soon after we learn something
interference theory
people forget not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way
proactive interference
occurs when material that was learned earlier disrupts the recall of information learned later
retroactive interference
occurs when material that was learned layer disrupts the recall of information learned earlier
decay theory
the passage of time always increases forgetting
tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
a type of effortful retrieval that occurs when we are confident we know something but can’t quite pull it out of memory
amnesia
the loss of memory
anterograde amnesia
a memory disorder that affects the retention of new information and events
retrograde amnesia
involves memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events
cognition
how information is processed and manipulated in remembering, thinking, and knowing
artificial intelligence
focuses on creating machines capable of performing activities that require intelligence when they are done by people
thinking
involves manipulating information mentally by forming concepts, solving problems, making decisions, and reflecting in a critical or creative manner
concepts
mental categories that are used to group objects, events, and characteristics
problem solving
finding an appropriate way to attain a goal when the goal is not readily available
prototype model
emphasizes that when people evaluate whether a given item reflects a certain concept, they compare the item with the most typical items in that category
subgoals
intermediate goals or problems to solve that put us in a better position for reaching the final goal or solution
algorithms
strategies that guarantee a solution to a problem
heuristics
shortcut strategies or guidelines that suggest a solution to a problem but don’t guarantee an answer
functional fixedness
when individuals fail to solve a problem because they are fixated on a things usual functions
reasoning
the mental activity of transforming information to reach conclusions
inductive reasoning
reasoning from specific observations to make generalizations
deductive reasoning
reasoning from a general case that we know to be true to a specific instance
decision making
evaluating alternatives and choosing among them
loss aversion
the tendency to strongly prefer to avoid losses compared to acquiring gains
confirmation bias
the tendency to search for and use information that supports our ideas rather than refutes them
hindsight bias
our tendency to report falsely, after the fact, that we accurately predicted the outcome
availability heuristic
a prediction about the probability of an event based on the ease of recalling or imagining similar events
base rate neglect
the tendency to ignore information about general principles in favor of very specific but vivid information
representativeness heuristic
the tendency to make judgments about group memberships based on physical appearances or the match between a person and one’s stereotype of a group rather than on available base rate information
critical thinking
thinking reflectively and productively and evaluating the evidence
mindfulness
being alert and mentally present for ones everyday activities
divergent thinking
produces many solutions to the same problem
convergent thinking
produces the single best solution to a problem
intelligence
an all-purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and to learn from experience
validity
the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure
reliability
the extent to which a test gives a consistent, reproducible measure of performance
