Cognitive Psychology

Memory

any indication that learning has persisted over time.

Three-Box/Information- Processing Model

Proposes the three stages that information passes through before it is stored.

Levels of Processing Model

Explains why we remember what we do by examining how deeply the memory was processed or thought about.

Sensory Memory

A split-second holding tank for incoming sensory information.

Selective Attention

Determines which sensory messages get encoded. We encode from sensory memory into short-term memory what we are attending to or what is important to us.

Inattentional Blindness

Describes the phenomenon that occurs when we don't notice sensory stimuli that we do not selectively attend to.

Change Blindness

A specific kind of inattentional blindness. Viewers who fail to notice a significant change because their selective attention is focused on different stimuli.

Short-Term Memory

Temporary and are limited to about seven items. "Magic Number 7 + or - 2"

Working Memory

Refers to our capacity to manipulate information.

Chunking

Grouping items into meaningful units.

Mnemonic Devices

Memory tricks that aid in encoding information for easier recall. Specific examples of chunking, such as memorizing the names of planets by remembering "My very excellent mother just served us nothing."

Rehearsal

Repeating information in order to encode it.

Long-Term Memory

Permanent memory storage. Unlimited.

Episodic Memory

Type of long-term memory. Memories of specific events, stored in a sequential series of events.

Semantic Memory

Type of long-term memory. General knowledge of the world, stored as facts, meanings, or categories rather than sequentially.

Procedural Memory

Type of long-term memory. Memories of skills and how to perform them.

Explicit Memories (Declarative Memories)

Conscious memories of facts or events we actively try to remember. Any memory you can recall.

Implicit Memories (Nondeclarative Memories)

Skill memories (like learning to walk). We do not have conscious memories of learning the skills, but we are able to perform it.

Retrieval

Getting information out of memory so we can use it. Recognition and recall.

Recognition

A kind of retrieval. The process of matching a current event of fact with one already in memory.

Recall

A kind of retrieval. Retrieving a memory with an external cue.

Primacy Effect

We are more likely to recall items presented at the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

We are more likely to recall the items at the end of a list.

Serial Position Effect (Serial Position Curve)

Recall of a list is affected by the order of items in the list. Related to primary and recency effects.

Flashbulb Memories

Detailed memory of an important event usually retained over a long time.

State-Dependent Memory

Phenomenon of recalling events encoded while in particular states of consciousness.

Mood Congruent Memory

The greater likelihood of recalling an item when our mood matches the mood we were in when the event happened.

Constructed (Reconstructed) Memory

False details of a real event or recollection of an event that never occured.

Relearning Effect

It will take less time to relearn material we previously encoded, even if we have "forgotten" what we learned previously.

Retroactive Interference

Learning new information interferes with the recall of older information. (Ex-If you study psychology at 3:00 and sociology at 6:00, you might have trouble recalling the psychology information on a test the next day.)

Positive Interference

Older information learned previously interferes with the recall of information learned more recently.

Anterograde Amnesia

A biological condition (caused by brain damage) in which an individual cannot encode new memories but can recall events already in memory.

Retrograde Amnesia

A biological condition (caused by brain damage) in which an individual cannot recall events previously stored in memory.

Long-Term Potentiation

Neurons can strengthen connections between each other. Through repeated firings, the connection is strengthened and the receiving neuron becomes more sensitive to the messages from the sending neuron.

Executive Function

A general term for cognitive processing/skills that help us control our conscious thoughts.

Semantic Networks

The way a new memory is represented/stored based on meaningful connections between the new memory and established memories.

Language Acquisiton

Stages in how we learn language. Babbling, holophrastic, and telegraphic speech.

Overgeneralization (overregularization)

Misapplication of grammar rules. Occurs during language acquisition.

Language Acquisition Device

The ability to learn a language rapidly as children.

Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis

Benjamin Whorf theorized that the language we use might control, and in some ways limit, our thinking.

Prototypes

The most typical example of a particular concept. If someone says the word "bird" and you think of a robin, then a robin represents your prototype of a bird.

Algorithm

A problem-solving rule that guarantees the right solution by using a formula or other foolproof method.

Heuristic

A problem-solving rule of thumb. Rule that is generally, but not always, true that we can use to make a judgment in a situation.

Representativeness Heuristic

Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to prototypes the person holds in his or her mind.

Belief Bias (Belief Perseverance)

Tendency not to change our beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence. A person who believes in ghosts and interprets every noise in an old house as a sign of "ghostly behavior" is engaging in belief bias.

Functional Fixedness

The inability to see a new use for an object.

Divergent Thinking

The opposite of convergent thinking. "creative" thinking - finding multiple answers to a question or ways to solve a problem.

Confirmation Bias

Tendency to look for evidence that confirms our beliefs and to ignore evidence that contradicts what we think is true.

Availability Heuristic

Judging a situation based on examples of similar situations that come to mind initially. Might lead to incorrect conclusions due to variability in personal experience.

Standardized Tests

A test with items that have been piloted on a population similar to those who are meant to take the test and whose achievement norms have been established.

Reliability

The repeatability or consistency of a test as a means of measurement.

Test-Retest Reliability

One of the ways to measure the reliability of a test. Refers to the correlation between a person's score on one administration of a test with the same person's score on a subsequent administration of the test.

Validity

A test is valid when it measures what it is supposed to measure. A test cannot be valid if it is not reliable.

Aptitude Tests

Measure ability or potential.

Achievement Tests

Measure how much you have learned in a given subject area.

Intelligence

The ability to gather and use information in productive ways.

Spearman's General Intelligence Theory

Charles Spearman argued that intelligence could be expressed by a single factor.

Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Theory

Howard Gardner argued that intelligence can best be described as multiple abilities.

Sternberg's Triarchic Intelligence Theory

Robert Sternberg's triarchic theory argues that three types of intelligence exist: analytic intelligence, creative intelligence, and practical intelligence.

Stanford-Binet IQ Test

Alfred Binet was a Frenchman who wanted to design a test that would identify which children needed special attention in schools. Lous Terman, a Stanford professor, developed the intelligence quotient (IQ) score. IQ score is computed by dividing the person's mental age by his or her chronological age and multiplying by 100.

Normal Distribution

A distribution of scores that falls into a bell curve or a normal curve.

Heritability

Percentage of variation between people that can be attributed to genetic factors.

Flynn Effect

Performance on intelligence tests has been increasingly steadily throughout the century.