Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
Memory
The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
Encoding
The processing of information into the memory system
Storage
The process of retaining encoded information over time
Retrieval
The processing of getting information out of memory storage
Parallel Processing
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions
Sensory Memory
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
Short-Term Memory
Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten
Long-Term Memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
Working Memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and information retrieved from long-term memory. AKA short-term memory that works off of long-term memory
Explicit Memory
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare (also known as declarative memory)
Implicit Memory
Retention independent of conscious recollection, also known as nondeclarative 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 well-learned information, such as word meaning
Iconic Memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimulus, a photographic 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 be recalled within 3 to 4 seconds
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
Mnemonics
Memory aids; especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Spacing Effects
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
Shallowing 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
Explicit Memory System
Includes the frontal lobe and hippocampus. Damage to this structure disrupts recall of explicit memories. EX trouble remembering verbal information, but no trouble recalling visual designs or locations
Hippocampus
A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage
Implicit Memory System
Includes the cerebellum and basal ganglia
Cerebellum
Has a key role in forming & storing implicit memories created by classical conditioning. If damaged, people cannot develop certain conditioned reflexes, such as associating a tone with an impending puff of air; thus, not blinking in anticipation of the puff
Basal Ganglia
Deep brain structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of procedural memories or skills; EX learning how to ride a bike
Emotions & Memory
Emotions trigger stress hormones that influence memory formation. When excited/stressed, these hormones make more glucose energy available to fuel brain activity, signaling the brain that something important is happening; this provokes the amygdala to initiate a memory trace in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia and to boost activity in the brain’s memory forming areas
Flashbulb Memory
A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Synaptic Changes / Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
An increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation and believed to be a neural base for learning and memory
Recall
People must retrieve information learned earlier (EX a fill in the blank test)
Recognition
Identifying items previously learned (EX a multiple choice test)
Relearning
Learning something more quickly the second+ time (EX easier studying for the final exam than it was studying for the initial test)
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of associations in memory
Context-Dependent Memory
Putting yourself back in the context where you experienced something can prime your memory retrieval
State-Dependent Memory
What we learn in what state - be it drunk or sober - may be more easily recalled when we are in that state
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 (a recency effect) and first (a primary effect) items in a list
Anterograde Amnesia
An inability to form new memories. In the prefrontal cortex
Retrograde Amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one’s past. In the hippocampus
Encoding Failure
Information never enters the long-term memory. Age effects: as age increases, encoding decreases - the brain is less responsive with age
Proactive Interference
The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
Retroactive Interference
The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
Repress
The basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Misinformation Effect
Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event
Source Amnesia (Source Misattribution)
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experience, heard about, read about, or imagined. Is at the heart of many false memories
Deja Vu
The eerie sense that “I’ve experience this before.” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
Emotion
A response of the whole organism, involving physiological arousal, expressive behaviors, and conscious experience
James-Lange Theory
The theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli
Cannon-Bard Theory
Theory that an emotion-arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers physiological responses and the subjective experiences of emotion
Two-Factor Theory / Schachter-Singer Theory
To experience emotion, one must be physically aroused and cognitively label the arousal
Spillover Effect
Arousal from watching something can fuel anger, which can descend into rioting or other violent confrontations
Embodied Emotion
The role of the autonomic nervous system. The physiological arousal felt during various emotions is orchestrated by the sympathetic nervous system, which triggers activity and change in various organs. Later, the parasympathetic division calms the body
Polygraph
Lie detector test. Tracks physiological responses, like perspiration, cardiovascular, and breathing changes, that accompany emotions, in order to track lying
Expression / Cultural Emotion
Gestures are sometimes culturally determined, but facial expressions for basic emotions are universal (for joy, anger, interest, disgust, surprise, sadness, and fear)
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
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
Creativity
The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas. Has 5 components: expertise, imaginative thinking skills, a venturesome personality, intrinsic motivation, and a creative environment
Convergent Thinking
Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
Divergent Thinking
Expands the number of possible problem solutions (EX creative thinking that goes in different directions)
Algorithm
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with usually speedier, but more error prone, use of heuristics. EX: checking every shelf to find a particular library book
Representative Heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information. EX judging a felon to be guilty if they have tattoos or piercings because it matches stereotypes
Availability Heuristic
Estimating the likelihood f events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps due to vividness), we presume such events are common. EX assuming you’ll be eaten by a shark because you remember Shark Week on television
Insight
Sudden realization of a problems solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions
Confirmation Bias
Tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
Mental Set
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
Belief Perseverance
Clinging to one’s initial concepts 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 decision and judgements. EX yogurt with 20% fat vs yogurt that’s 80% fat free
Language
Spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
Phoneme
Smallest distinctive sound unit
Morpheme
The smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or part of a word (EX a prefix or suffix)
Grammar
A system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others
Receptive Language
Babies can recognize differences in speech sounds and can read lips
Productive Language
Babies ability to produce words
Aphasia
Impairment of language, usually caused by lest-hemisphere dames either to Broca’s area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke’s area
Broca’s Area
Controls language expression. Directs muscle movements involved in speech
Wernicke’s Area
Controls language reception. Involved in language comprehension and expression
Motivation
A need or desire that energizes and direct behavior
Instinct
A complex, unlearned behavior that is rigidly patterned throughout a species
Drive-Reduction Theory
The idea that a physiological need creates an aroused tension state (a drive) that motivates an organism to satisfy the need
Homeostatis
A tendency to maintain a balanced or constant internal state; the regulation of any aspect of body chemistry, such as blood glucose, around a particular level
Incentive
A positive or negative environmental stimulus that motivates behavior
Hierarchy of Motivation / Hierarchy of Needs
Pyramid of human needs, beginning at the bottom with physiological needs that must first be satisfied before higher level safety needs. Physiological needs > Safety > Love/Belonging > Esteem > Self-Actualization
Optimum Arousal
Theory holds that some motivated behaviors actually increase arousal. Well fed creatures will leave their shelter to explore and gain information, seemingly in the absence of any need-based drive
Yerkes-Dodson Law
Principle that performance increases with arousal only up to a point, beyond which performance decreases. 3 ‘humps’: Low anxiety is best for difficult tasks; medium anxiety is best for medium tasks; high anxiety is best for easy tasks
Glucose
Form of sugar that circulates in the blood and provides the major source of energy for body tissues. When it’s low, we feel hungry
Set Point
Where an individuals “weight thermostat” is supposedly set. When the body falls below this weight, an increase in hunger and a lowered metabolic rate may act to restore the weight
Basal Metabolic Rate
The body’s resting rate of energy expenditure
Obesity
Condition marked by excess accumulation of body fat. Genetic & behavioral factors - especially eating too much and exercising too little.
Sexual Response Cycle
Four states of sexual responding described by Masters and Johnson - excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution
Refractory Period
Resting period after orgasm, after which a man cannot achieve another orgasm
Sexual Dysfunction
A problem that consistently impairs sexual arousal or functioning
Estrogens
Sex hormones, secreted in greater amounts by females than males and contributing to female sex characteristics
Testosterone
Most important male sex hormone. Both sexes have it, but it’s increased in males. Stimulates the growth of the male sex organs in the fetus and development of male sex characteristics during puberty
Stressor Types
Catastrophes, significant life changes, and daily hassles
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in 3 phases: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
Tend-and-Befriend
Under stress, people often provide support to others (tend) and both with / seek support from others (befriend)
Psychophysiological Illness
“Mind-body” illness, any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches
Psychoneuroimmunology
Study of how psychological, neural, and endocrine processes together affect the immune system and resulting health
Lymphocytes
2 types of white blood cells that are part of the body’s immune system
B Lymphocytes
Form bone marrows and fight bacterial infections
T Lymphocytes
For thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances
