Unit 5 Cognitive Psychology

• memory: the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
• 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 digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.
• working memory: a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
• parallel processing: processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions.
• automatic processing: unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
• effortful processing: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
• rehearsal: The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
• 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.
• visual encoding: The encoding of picture images.
• acoustic encoding: The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.
• semantic encoding: The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
• mnemonics: memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
• iconic memory: a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a 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.
• long-term potentiation (LTP): an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory.
• implicit memory: retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory.)
• explicit memory: retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." (Also called declarative memory.)
• hippocampus: a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process for storage explicit (conscious) memories of facts and events.
• 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 identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.
• relearning: a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.
• priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.
• déjà vu: that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
• mood-congruent memory: the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
• proactive interference: the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.
• retroactive interference: the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.
• misinformation effect: occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event.
• source amnesia: faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.
• cognition: The mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
• concept: A mental grouping of similar objects, events, idea, or people.
• prototype: a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).
• algorithm: a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier—but also more error-prone—use of heuristics.
• heuristic: a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error prone than an algorithm.
• insight: a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
• creativity: the ability to produce new and valuable ideas.
• convergent thinking: narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.
• divergent thinking: expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions.
• confirmation bias: a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence.