Cognitive Psychology

memory is divided into three separate storage areas: sensory, short term, and long term

visual sensory memory, lasts tenths of a second

auditory sensory memory, lasts 3 or 4 seconds

due to sensory information lasting a certain amount of time, fast objects can create multiple images simultaneously that we perceive

Experimented on memory and partial report in 1960

An experiment conducted by George Sperling that involved a 3 x 4 grid of letters meant to test the existence of iconic memory

Discovered that most of the information stored in the short term memory is acoustic and that the capacity for short term memory is 7, plus or minus two

simple repetition of a memory in order to keep it in the STM

understanding and organizing of short term memory in order for it to be encoded to the long term memory

when we make a conscious effort to retain information

when we unconsciously retain information, such as our knowledge of riding a bicycle

short words or phrases that represent longer strings of information

it is easier to remember words associated with images rather than words alone

moving through a familiar place and using a visual representation of the object(s) you are trying to remember

it is easier to remember things that are personally relevant

something that is stored and able to be used later

when items in the STM are forgotten over time

when items in the STM are forgotten due to an influx of new information

when new information pushes old information out of the STM

when old information makes it harder for us to learn new information

remembering the first items in a list

remembering the last items in a list

remembering the last and first items in a list very well, but forgetting or overlooking the middle items

grouping items of information into units or clusters, such as a phone number

encoded in the form of word meanings; what most of the LTM is

encoded in the form of visual information

encoded in the form of auditory information

part of the LTM that contains events that we've experienced; also part of the declarative memory

part of the LTM comprised of facts, figures, and general world knowledge; part of the declarative memory

part of the LTM comprised of skills and habits; part of the nondeclarative memory

also known as explicit memory; part of the LTM that we can consciously retrieve and includes the semantic and episodic memory as well

implicit memory; part of the LTM that we cannot consciously retrieve and includes procedural memory, classical conditioning, and priming

information is more likely to be recalled if retrieval occurs in a similar situation to when it was encoded

it is easier toa access information when we are in a state of mind similar to that when we encoded said information

falls in between sensory and short erm memory, last around 30 seconds

the activation of a neuron when searching for a memory causes other neurons around it to fire that represent similar memories

a very deep, vivid memory in the form of a visual image associated with a particularly emotionally arousing event

when we fit together pieces of a memory that seem likely

when we attribute a memory to a different source than it actually came from

Studied the existence of false memories and how to implant them

creating false memories through repeated suggestions and misleading questions

Created the forgetting curve and proved most forgetting occurs right after learning

smallest units of speech that are still distinct in sound from each other

what phonemes combine into; smallest semantically meaningful parts of a language

set of rules by which language is constructed

set of rules used in the arrangement of morphemes into meaningful sentences

word meaning or word choice

rhythm, stress, and intonation of speech

single words applied to a broad category of things, for example, baby calls every women they see "mama"

language error caused by not knowing enough words to express yourself fully

believing something is not prevalent or unique; baby thinks the only mom that exists is her own

two- or three-word groups

when the rules of language are overextended; not accounting for irregular verbs(saying "goed" rather than went"

Created a system for the organization of language called transformational grammar, hypothesized a language acquisition device that Skinner disagreed with, and postulated a so called "critical period" of development

Differentiates between surface and deep structures of language; created by Noam Chomsky

the superficial way in which the words are arranged in a text or in speech

the underlying meaning of words

an innate device that facilitates the acquisition of language in children which was theorized by Noam Chomsky

a period of our lives that was hypothesized to be extremely important for development by Noam Chomsky

Opposed Chomsky's theory of language acquisition devices and rather believed a language acquisition support system-- which helped to lay the scaffolding for a child's language acquisition

Theorized the theory of linguistic relativity-- which differentiated people's cognitive systems depending on what language they spoke

speakers of different languages develop different cognitive systems as a result of their differences in language

a way of grouping or classifying the world around us

degree to which an object fits the average

a typical image of something that we envision

very broad concept that encompasses a large group of items

smaller and more specific concept; for example, bread

very small and very specific concept; for example, rye bread

process of drawing logical conclusions from general statements; the most effective way of reasoning

deductive conclusions drawn from two premises

process of drawing general inferences from specific observations; can be innacurate

thinking that involves looking for more than one answer

thinking that involves focusing in on one answer

intuitive rules that may or may not be useful in a given situation

conclusions are drawn from what events come readily to mind

judging objects based off how closely they match the prototype of that object

systematic, mechanical approaches that guarantee an eventual answer to a problem

sudden understanding of a problem or a potential strategy for solving a problem

Studied insight by conducting experiments on chimpanzees

fixed frame of mind

tendency to assume a given item is only useful for the task for which it was designed

the search for information that supports a particular view

the tendency to look back and think you knew what the outcome of something was going to be

a person only sees the evidence that supports a particular position, even though opposing evidence exists

the way a question is phrased

the process of producing something novel yet worthwhile

a group of people who represent the entire population

standards of performance against which anyone who takes a given test can be compared

the population has continued to grow smarter, so an IQ of 100 means different things depending on what year it is

measure of how consistent a test is in the measurements it provides

when a test is administered over and over again to see how reliable its results are

extent to which a test measures what it intends to measure

degree to which the subjects results on a test are due to the questions asked and not a confounding variable

degree to which results can be generalized to the real world

ambiguous stimuli, open to interpretation, are presented

participants answer a standard series of questions

sequence of ten inkblots which the participant must characterize; meant to describe a person's personality

A series of pictures with people in them which a participant must describe a story off of; meant to she light on one's personality

test that gauges abilities in a specific area and consists of very hard questions

tests consisting of very easy questions but is timed so very difficult to complete fully