Unit 7&11 Cognition Flashcards
AP Unit 5
Memory
the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
Flashbulb memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system-for example, by extracting meaning.
Storage
the retention of encoded information over time
Retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage
Eidetic memory
photographic memory, the ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with extreme precision.
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, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten
Working memory
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
Long-term memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
Automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
Effortful processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Rehearsal
the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage
Maintenance rehearsal
the process of repeatedly verbalizing or thinking about a piece of information. Increases time info can stay in short term memory
Elaborative rehearsal
a memory technique that involves thinking about the meaning of the term to be remembered, as opposed to simply repeating the word to yourself over and over.
Spacing effect
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
Serial position effect
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
Visual encoding
the encoding of picture images
Acoustic encoding
the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
Semantic encoding
the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words
Imagery
mental pictures;a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding
Mnemonics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
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
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
Amnesia
the loss of memory
Anterograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occur after an incident causing amnesia, therefore, a person can’t store new information in their short-term memory.
Retrograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occur before an incident causing amnesia, therefore, a person can’t retrieve any information from their long-term memory that existed before the incident.
Episodic memory
a category of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations and experiences. Your first day of school, your first kiss, attending a friend’s birthday party and your brother’s graduation are all examples of episodic memories.
Semantic memory
a category of long term memory which is concerned with ideas, meanings, and concepts which are not related to personal experiences.
Procedural memory
a type of long-term memory of how to perform different actions and skills.
Implicit memories
retention independent of conscious recollection AKA procedural memory
Explicit memories
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare,” AKA declarative memory
Retrieval cues
Any stimulus that helps us recall information from our long-term memory.
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 need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
Relearning
a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time
Priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of a particular associations in memory
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
Repression
in psychoanalytic theory, 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
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
Cognition
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.
Schema
a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
Algorithm
a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier-but also more error prone-use of heuristics.
Heuristic
a simple thinking strategy that often allows is to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error prone than algorithms.
Inductive reasoning
the process by which a general conclusion is reached from evaluating specific observations or situations. i.e. If a child puts his or her hand into a bag of candy and withdraws three pieces, all of which are red, he or she may conclude that all the candy is red.
Deductive reasoning
a way of reasoning that relates two or more general concepts or conditions to a specific case. For example, a child learns that birds fly south in October, and that a robin is a bird, he will use deductive reasoning to conclude that a robin will fly south in October.
Insight
a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
Creative
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.
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 form a new perspective, by employing a different mental set.
Mental set
a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that had been successful in the past.
Functional fixedness
the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving.
Representativeness heuristic
judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead is to ignore other relevant information.
Availability heuristic
estimating 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.
Overconfidence
the tendency to be more confident than correct-to overestimating the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.
Intuition
an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explict, conscious reasonings.
Framing
the ay an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
Belief bias
People will tend to accept any and all conclusions that fit in with their systems of belief, without challenge or any deep consideration of what they are actually agreeing with.
Belief perseverance
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed had been discredited.
Language
our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
Phonemes
in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.
Morphemes
in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a suffix)
Grammar
in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others.
Semantics
the set of rules by which we derive meaning from morphemes, words, and sentences in a given language; also, the study of meaning.
Syntax
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences in a given language.
Babbling stage
beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.
One-word stage
the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words.
Telegraphic speech
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram-“go car”-using mostly nouns and verbs.
Linguistic determinism
Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think.
Intelligence
mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
Factor analysis
a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test; used to identify different dimensions of performance that underlie a person’s total score.
General intelligence (g)
a general intelligence factor that, according to Spearman and others, underlies specific mental abilities and is therefore measured by every task on an intelligence test.
Savant syndrome
a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill such as in computation or drawing.
Emotional intelligence
the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions
Intelligence tests
a method for assessing an individual’s mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores.
Mental age
a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance. Thus, a child who does as well as the average 8-year-old is said to have a mental age of 8.
Stanford-Binet
the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 (thus, IQ = ma/ca x 100). On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
Fluid intelligence
our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
Crystallized intelligence
our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age
Multiple intelligences
a model of intelligence that differentiates intelligence into specific (primarily sensory) “modalities”, rather than seeing it as dominated by a single general ability.
Aptitude tests
tests designed to predict a person’s future performance; aptitude is the capacity to learn
Achievement tests
tests designed to assess what a persons has learned.
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)
the WAIS is the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.
Standardization
defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.
Norms
an understood rule for accepted and expected behavior. It prescribe “proper” behavior.
Normal curve
a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many types of data; most scores fall near the mean (68 percent fall within one standard deviation of it) and fewer and fewer near the extremes.
Reliability
the extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, or on retesting.
Test-retest reliability
a measure of the consistency of a psychological test or assessment.
Split-half reliability
refers to the determination of Reliability of a test by dividing the test items into two arbitrary groups and correlating the scores obtained on the two halves of the test.
Validity
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.
Content validity
The extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interests.
Criterion
a standard on which a judgment or decision may be based
Predictive validity
the success with which a test predicts the behavior it is designed to predict.; it is assessed by computing the correlation between test scores and the criterion behavior.
Intellectual disability (mental retardation)
a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by a intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the adapting demands of life; varies from mild to profound
Down syndrome
a condition of intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.
giftedness
an intellectual ability significantly higher than average. It is different from a skill, in that skills are learned or acquired behaviors.
Heritability
the production of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes. The heritability of a trait may vary, depending on the range of populations and environments studied
Stereotype threat
a self conforming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.
