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AP Psych Vocab > Unit 2 Part 1 > Flashcards

Unit 2 Part 1 Flashcards

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1
Q

Inattentional blindness

A

A failure to notice unexpected but perceptible stimuli in a visual scene while one’s attention is focused on something else

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2
Q

Perceptual set

A

A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another

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3
Q

Gestalt

A

An organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.

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4
Q

Figure ground

A

The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground)

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5
Q

Depth perception

A

Awareness of three-dimensionality, solidity, and the distance between the observer and the object.

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6
Q

Visual cliff

A

A laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals

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7
Q

Binocular cue

A

A depth cue, such as retinal disparity, that depends on the use of two eyes

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8
Q

Convergence

A

A cue to nearby objects’ distance, enabled by the brain combining retinal images

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9
Q

Retinal disparity

A

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.

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10
Q

Monocular cue

A

A depth cue, such as interposition or linear perspective, available to either eye alone

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11
Q

Stroboscopic movement

A

An illusion of continuous movement (as in a motion picture) experienced when viewing a rapid series of slightly varying still images. (Think Steamboat Willy)

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12
Q

Assimilation

A

Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas

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13
Q

Accommodation

A

(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.

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14
Q

Convergent thinking

A

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

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15
Q

Divergent thinking

A

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

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16
Q

Robert Sternberg

A

Known for his groundbreaking research into intelligence, love, creativity, and cognitive styles

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17
Q

Executive functions

A

Cognitive skills that work together, enabling us to generate, organize, plan, and implement goal-directed behavior

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18
Q

Algorithm

A

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.

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19
Q

Heuristic

A

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

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20
Q

Insight

A

A sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

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21
Q

Confirmation bias

A

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

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22
Q

Fixation

A

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving.

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23
Q

Phi phenomenon

A

An illusion of movement created when two or more adjacent lights blink on and off in quick succession

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24
Q

Perceptual constancy

A

Perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent color, brightness, shape, and size) even as illumination and retinal images change.

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25
Q

Color constancy

A

Perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object

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26
Q

Perceptual adaption

A

The ability to adjust to changed sensory input, including an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field

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27
Q

Cognition

A

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

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28
Q

Metacognition

A

Cognition about our cognition; keeping track of and evaluating our mental processes

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29
Q

Concept

A

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

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30
Q

Prototype

A

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)

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31
Q

Jean Piaget

A

Worked on child development. Proposed that humans progress through four developmental stages: the sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete operational stage, and formal operational stage

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32
Q

Schema

A

A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

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33
Q

Recall

A

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

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34
Q

Recognition

A

A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

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35
Q

Encoding

A

The process of getting information into the memory system — for example, by extracting meaning

36
Q

Storage

A

The process of retaining encoded information over time

37
Q

Retrieval

A

The process of getting information out of memory storage

38
Q

Parallel processing

A

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously

39
Q

Sensory memory

A

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

40
Q

Mental set

A

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

41
Q

Intuition

A

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

42
Q

Representative heuristic

A

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

43
Q

Availability heuristic

A

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

44
Q

Belief perseverance

A

The persistence of one’s initial conceptions even after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

45
Q

Framing

A

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments

46
Q

Mnemonics

A

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

47
Q

Spacing effect

A

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

48
Q

Testing effect

A

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

49
Q

Shallow processing

A

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

50
Q

Deep processing

A

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

51
Q

Semantic memory

A

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory)

52
Q

Episodic memory

A

Explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory)

53
Q

Memory consolidation

A

The neural storage of a long-term memory

54
Q

Flashbulb memory

A

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

55
Q

Priming

A

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response

56
Q

Short term memory

A

Briefly activated memory of a few items (such as digits of a phone number while calling) that is later stored or forgotten

57
Q

Long term memory

A

The relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

58
Q

Working memory

A

A newer understanding of short-term memory; conscious, active processing of both (1) incoming sensory information, and (2) information retrieved from long-term memory.

59
Q

Central executive

A

A memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad

60
Q

Phonological loop

A

A memory component that briefly holds auditory information

61
Q

Visuospatial sketchpad

A

A memory component that briefly holds information about objects’ appearance and location in space

62
Q

Neurogenesis

A

The formation of new neurons

63
Q

Long term potentiation (LTP)

A

An increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

64
Q

Explicit memory

A

Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare.” (Also called declarative memory.)

65
Q

Effortful processing

A

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

66
Q

Automatic processing

A

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

67
Q

Implicit memory

A

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory.)

68
Q

Iconic memory

A

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

69
Q

Echoic memory

A

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

70
Q

Chunking

A

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

71
Q

Encoding specificity principle

A

The idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

72
Q

Mood congruent memory

A

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

73
Q

Serial position effect

A

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)

74
Q

Interleaving

A

A retrieval practice strategy/ study technique that involves mixing up multiple subjects while studying

75
Q

Anterograde amnesia

A

An inability to form new memories

76
Q

Retrograde amnesia

A

An inability to remember information from one’s past

77
Q

Proactive interference

A

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.

78
Q

Retroactive interference

A

The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

79
Q

Repression (Ego defense mechanism)

A

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

80
Q

Reconsolidation

A

A process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

81
Q

Elizabeth Loftus

A

Researched human memory, notably false memories; her theory was the misinformation effect

82
Q

Misinformation effect

A

Occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

83
Q

Source amnesia

A

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.

84
Q

Deja vu

A

That eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

85
Q

Charles Spearman

A

Developed the theory of general intelligence

86
Q

General intelligence (g)

A

According to Spearman and others, underlies all mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test

AP Psych Vocab (8 decks)

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