Unit 2 Part 1 Flashcards
Inattentional blindness
A failure to notice unexpected but perceptible stimuli in a visual scene while one’s attention is focused on something else
Perceptual set
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another
Gestalt
An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Figure ground
The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)
Depth perception
Awareness of three-dimensionality, solidity, and the distance between the observer and the object.
Visual cliff
A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals
Binocular cue
A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes
Convergence
A cue to nearby objects’ distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for perceiving depth. By comparing retinal images from the two eyes, the brain computes distance — the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
Monocular cue
A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone
Stroboscopic movement
An illusion of continuous movement (as in a motion picture) experienced when viewing a rapid series of slightly varying still images. (Think Steamboat Willy)
Assimilation
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas
Accommodation
(1) In sensation and perception, the process by which the eye’s lens changes shape to focus images of near or far objects on the retina. (2) In developmental psychology, adapting our current schemas (understandings) to incorporate new information.
Convergent thinking
Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
Divergent thinking
Expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions
Robert Sternberg
Known for his groundbreaking research into intelligence, love, creativity, and cognitive styles
Executive functions
Cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior
Algorithm
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier — but also more error-prone — use of heuristics.
Heuristic
A simple thinking strategy — a mental shortcut — that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than an algorithm
Insight
A sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions
Confirmation bias
A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
Fixation
The inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving.
Phi phenomenon
An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession
Perceptual constancy
Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.
Color constancy
Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object
Perceptual adaption
The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Metacognition
Cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and evaluating our mental processes
Concept
A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
Prototype
A mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a crow)
Jean Piaget
Worked on child development. Proposed that humans progress through four developmental stages: the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test
Recognition
A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
Encoding
The process of getting information into the memory system — for example, by extracting meaning
Storage
The process of retaining encoded information over time
Retrieval
The process of getting information out of memory storage
Parallel processing
Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously
Sensory memory
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
Mental set
A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
Intuition
An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning
Representative heuristic
Judging the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
Availability heuristic
Judging the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
Belief perseverance
The persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Framing
The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments
Mnemonics
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Spacing effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
Testing effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
Shallow processing
Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words
Deep processing
Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
Semantic memory
Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory)
Episodic memory
Explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory)
Memory consolidation
The neural storage of a long-term memory
Flashbulb memory
A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response
Short term memory
Briefly activated memory of a few items (such as digits of a phone number while calling) that is later stored or forgotten
Long term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
Working memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory; conscious, active processing of both (1) incoming sensory information, and (2) information retrieved from long-term memory.
Central executive
A memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad
Phonological loop
A memory component that briefly holds auditory information
Visuospatial sketchpad
A memory component that briefly holds information about objects’ appearance and location in space
Neurogenesis
The formation of new neurons
Long term potentiation (LTP)
An increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory
Explicit memory
Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare.” (Also called declarative memory.)
Effortful processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Automatic 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
Implicit memory
Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory.)
Iconic memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
Echoic memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
Encoding specificity principle
The idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it
Mood congruent memory
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood
Serial position effect
Our tendency to recall best the last items in a list initially (a recency effect) and the first items in a list after a delay (a primacy effect)
Interleaving
A retrieval practice strategy/ study technique that involves mixing up multiple subjects while studying
Anterograde amnesia
An inability to form new memories
Retrograde amnesia
An inability to remember information from one’s past
Proactive interference
The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.
Retroactive interference
The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information
Repression (Ego defense mechanism)
In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Reconsolidation
A process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again
Elizabeth Loftus
Researched human memory, notably false memories; her theory was the misinformation effect
Misinformation effect
Occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information
Source amnesia
Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined (as when misattributing information to a wrong source). Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.
Deja vu
That eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
Charles Spearman
Developed the theory of general intelligence
General intelligence (g)
According to Spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test
