Psych Unit 5 Cognition

Memory

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Encoding

the processing of 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

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

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

Long Term memory

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

connectionism

views memories as products of interconnected neural networks

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

central executive

the part of working memory that directs attention and processing

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

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 meanings

implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection

procedural memory

a type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits

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

George Miller

Found that short term memory has the capacity of about 7 (+/- 2) items.

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

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

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

Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin

Proposed a model to explain our memory forming process Sensory=>Short Term=>Long Term

Semantic Memory

Encoding of facts, figures, and general knowledge, explicit

Episodic Memory

Events, occassions we have experienced, automatic

Perspective memory

remembering to remember (to do something in the future) usually explicit

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Cerebellum

Plays important part in forming implicit memories

Flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

basil ganglia

structures in the forebrain that help to control movement

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 certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current mood - good or bad

Serial Position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Hernan Ebbinghaus

Studied durability of store memories

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

Misformation 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

Deja Vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

Elizabeth Loftus

Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony

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

creativity

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

convergent thinking

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

divergent thinking

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

Robert Sternberg

intelligence; devised the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence (academic problem-solving, practical, and creative)

5 components of creativity

1. Expertise

2. Imaginative thinking skills

3. A venturesome personality

4. Intrinsic motivation

5. A creative environment

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

insight

a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman

psychologists who researched heuristics and their effects on decision making

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 things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes

avaliability 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

belief perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions 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.

Heuristics: Anchoring

relying on one piece of information, often the one that appeared first

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem solving

Language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Monphemes

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word

grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

receptive language

ability to comprehend speech

productive language

ability to produce words

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

Cooing stage

at about 2 months the infant begins to make vowel-like sounds

one-word stage (holophrastic stage)

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

two-word stage (telegraphic speech)

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Broca's area

Controls language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke's area

controls language reception - a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

linguistic determinism

Whorf's hypothesis that language determines the way we think

language relativism

language only partially influences human thought and action

Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis

the idea that different languages create different ways of thinking

secondary language acquisition

conscious activity to try to encode rules, conventions and patterns of the second language

noam chomsky

theorist who believed that humans have an inborn or "native" propensity to develop language

eye contact

first stage of language acquisition

intelligence

mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations

intelligence test

a method for assessing an individual's mental aptitudes and comparing them with those of others, using numerical scores

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

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.

L.L. Thurstone

proposed that intelligence consisted of 7 different primary mental abilities

savant syndrome

a condition in which a person otherwise limited in mental ability has an exceptional specific skill, such as in computation or drawing

Gardner's Eight Intelligences

1. Linguistic

2. Logical-mathematical

3. Musical

4. Spatial

5. Bodily-kinesthetic

6. Intrapersonal (self)

7. Interpersonal (other people)

8. Naturalist

grit

in psychology, grit is passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals

emotional intelligence

the ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions

fast mapping

the speedy and sometimes imprecise way in which children learn new words by tentatively placing them in mental categories according to their perceived meaning

Overgeneralization

applying grammar rules in areas they don't apply ("I writed a story")