ap psych unit 5 - cognition

thinking and mental processes

• memory, decision making, problem solving, and language

bringing in information from environment and processing it

holding information in memory over time

locating and pulling information from memory into consciousness

information most attended to will be encoded best and therefore remembered better (requires effort)

in a crowded environment, we can focus on one conversation while blocking out the rest; however, when your name/ or something relevant to you is said, your attention shifts

what the stimulus looks like

what the stimulus sounds like

what the meaning of the stimulus is

making connections between new and old information

a form of elaborative encoding that involves making connections between new information and yourself

how deeply we encode information determines how well we recall information; deeper = better recall

structural encoding

phonemic and semantic

memory is made up of stores: sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory

• atkinson and shiffen model/multistore model

information selectively attended to is sent here from sensory memory

rehearsal/repetition and maintain rehearsal

acoustic

7+/-2; 5-9 items

20 seconds

grouping items; increases amount of information we can recall

unlimited

forever

semantic (semantic + visual = best)

detailed, vivid memories of emotionally significant events; usually when we first heard the information

mental representations of people, objects, events, ideas, etc; created by experience (visual, auditory, and emotional)

consists of an interconnected network of facts and mmmories where new information is added to the web. therefore it increases the interconnectedness and produces a better memory

anything that aids in memory retrieval (explicity/implicit)

strategies for enhancing memory that involve unusual associations

phrases

a word formed by using first letters

forming a mental image of items to be rememebered in a way that links them together

memory palace; taking an imaginary walk along a familiar path where images of items to be remembered are associated with certain locations

continued rehearsal of material after you first appear to have mastered it; overcoming the forgetting curve

remember information best in the same/similar physical location

remembering information best in the same physiological state as when we learned the information

information processing/recall is facilitated if a person's emotional state is similar to the tone of the information; or the state emotional state

studying in small chunks

studying in large intervals

better recall of items at the beginning and end of the list; "U-shaped retention curve"

better recall of items at the beginning of a list

better recall of items at the end of a list

retrieval of incomplete information

using existing knowledge, schemas, and experiences to fill in the gap in information during encoding and retrieval; mandela effect

1. subjects were shown a car crash

2. interrogator asks group 1 how fast the cars were going when they smashed into each other; they said 41mph

3. ask 2nd group how fast were the cars going when they hit each other; they said 32 mph

when memory is altered by misleading post event information; mood, framing

the process of deciding whether memories are based on external sources (actual event) or internal source (thoughts and imagination)

making attributions about the origins of memory; who told me? where did I read it?; error - mistake; amnesia - don't know

recalling to whom one has told what; error

most forgetting happens within the first hour; after about 9 hours, memory is relatively constant; retention - proportion of material retained/remembered

no cues

selection from an array of options

less time/fewer trials are needed to memorize/remember information after having forgotten

you didn't forget,, you never encoded it in the first place

gradual erosion of memory; fading because you didn't use it

new/similar information impairs recall of old information

old information impairs learning/recall of new/similar information

Proactive Old interferes with new Retroactive New interferes with old

how well we remember information is based on how encoding matches retrieval

best retrieval cues - those that match the way the information is encoded

pushing memories into the unconscious; psychodynamic approach

remembering events from the past/ previously learned information

remembering to perform actions in the future

memories of specific events that happened while you were present; I remember when...

memories of factual information; generalized knowledge

memories of physical skills; cerebellum and basal ganglia

factual information (semantic and episodic memories); hippocampus and frontal lobe

actions, skills, classically conditioned responses, emotional responses, procedural memories

increase in synaptic strength; practicing/reviewing strengthens synaptic connections to improve memory

loss of memory prior to onset of amnesia

hippocampal damage; loss of memory of events occuring after the onset of amnesia; inability to form memories

hippocampus, thalamus, prefrontal cortex, amygdala, cerebellum, basal ganglia, and association cortex; acetylcholine and glutamate

the tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use; the inability to use objects in different ways

persistence in using problem-solving strategies that've worked in the past; barrier when it prevents you from seeing other ways of solving a problem

focusing on only one aspect of a problem; inability to see a problem from another perspective

tendency to impose our own rules that aren't part of the problem

methodical, step by step process for trying all possible solutions to a problem; if the solution exists, you are guaranteed to find it

"rule of thumb"; mental shortcut used in problem solving/decision making; quicker, more errors

breaking down a problem into smaller parts

making a connection between the current problem and problem you've already solved; using similar strategy to solve

setting the problem aside for a while and coming back to it later; leads to insight/breaking of mental set

factors to be considered in decision making

personal value of each attribute; pros/cons; subjective

mental shortcut in decision making based on how readily/quickly relevant instances come to mind; based on headlines and recent experiences

basis of explaining stereotypes; mental shortcut where someone makes a decision based on how something fits their schema/prototype of a concept

best example of a category (icon of schema)

tendency to adjust an initial estimate only slightly after being presented with additional information; tendency to base a judgement on an initial piece of information; first impressions are important

if 1/2 objects are recognized, then people infer that the recognized object has higher value; quick decision making (mental shortcut) and/or decreased performance based on what's familiar

tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs, judgements, and abilities that may lead to poor decision making and/or decreased performance

clinging to one's initials beliefs after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

the belief that the odds of a chance even increase if the event hasn't occurred recently

the tendency to only seek, recall, or interpret information in ways that is likely to support one's decisions and beliefs

decision making can be affected by how choices are structured

smaller elements of sound; cat = c/a/t

smallest unit of language that provides meaning; prefix + base + suffix

rules that govern the arrangement of words

rules that govern the meaning of words/phrases

string of words

underlying meanings

1.5-3 months; giggling and gurgling