Unit 5 AP Psychology

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

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

the process of retaining encoded information over time.

the process of getting information out of memory storage

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

activated memory that holds a few items briefly

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

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

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare.”

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

retention independent of conscious recollection.

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimulus

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

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

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

an inability to form new memories.

an inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.

a mental image or best example of a category.

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.

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

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

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently

a sudden realization of a problem’s solution

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning.

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.

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

the way an issue is posed

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

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix).

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

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

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

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

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—“go car”—using mostly nouns and verbs

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

controls language expression—an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech

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

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

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

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.

a statistical procedure that identifies clusters of related items (called factors) on a test

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

passion and perseverance in the pursuit of long-term goals.

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

a measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet

the widely used American revision (by Terman at Stanford University) of Binet’s original intelligence test.

defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100

a test designed to assess what a person has learned.

a test designed to predict a person’s future performance

the most widely used intelligence test; contains verbal and performance (nonverbal) subtests.

defining uniform testing procedures and meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.

the symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that describes the distribution of many physical and psychological attributes

he extent to which a test yields consistent results, as assessed by the consistency of scores on two halves of the test, on alternate forms of the test, or on retesting.

the extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to.

the extent to which a test samples the behavior that is of interest.

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

a group of people from a given time period

our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.

our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.

a condition of limited mental ability, indicated by an intelligence score of 70 or below and difficulty in adapting to the demands of life.

a condition of mild to severe intellectual disability and associated physical disorders caused by an extra copy of chromosome 21.

the proportion of variation among individuals that we can attribute to genes.

a selfconfirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.