AP Psych: Unit 2 Flashcards
Vocab words from Unit 2 of AP Psychology. (131 cards)
1
Q
Bottom-Up Processing
A
Analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
2
Q
Perception
A
The sensory experience of the world, which includes how an individual recognizes and interprets sensory information.
3
Q
Perceptual Set
A
A mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another.
4
Q
Top-Down Processing
A
Information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations.
5
Q
Attention
A
The cognitive process of selectively focusing on specific stimuli or information while ignoring others.
6
Q
Selective Attention
A
The cognitive process of focusing on specific stimuli while simultaneously ignoring others.
7
Q
Cocktail Party Effect
A
The ability to selectively focus on one conversation in a noisy environment, ignoring other sounds and voices.
8
Q
Inattentional Blindness
A
A psychological phenomenon where individuals fail to perceive an unexpected stimulus, even when it is clearly visible, because their attention is focused on another task or object.
9
Q
Change Blindness
A
The phenomenon where individuals fail to notice significant changes in their visual environment, even when those changes are obvious, as long as their attention is not directed towards the specific area.
10
Q
Gestalt Psychology
A
A psychological approach that emphasizes that we often perceive the whole rather than the sum of the parts.
11
Q
Closure
A
The tendency to complete figures that are incomplete.
12
Q
Figure and Ground
A
The organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground).
13
Q
Proximity
A
The way relationships are formed between things close to one another.
14
Q
Similarity
A
The tendency to perceive things that look similar to each other as being part of the same group.
15
Q
Binocular Cues
A
Clues about distance based on the differing views of the two eyes.
16
Q
Retinal Disparity
A
A binocular cue for perceiving depth by comparing images from the retinas in the two eyes, the brain computes distance—the greater the disparity (difference) between the two images, the closer the object.
17
Q
Monocular Cues
A
Aspects of a scene that yield information about depth when viewed with only one eye.
18
Q
Relative Clarity
A
A monocular cue for perceiving depth; hazy objects are farther away than sharp, clear objects.
19
Q
Relative Size
A
A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the smaller retinal image is farther away.
20
Q
Texture Gradient
A
The tendency for textured surfaces to appear to become smaller and finer as distance from the viewer increases.
21
Q
Linear Perspective
A
A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.
22
Q
Interposition
A
If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer.
23
Q
Perceptual Constancies
A
The tendency to perceive objects as having stable properties (like size, shape, or color) even when the sensory input we receive changes.
24
Q
Apparent Motion
A
An illusion of movement perception that occurs when stimuli in different locations are flashed one after another with the proper timing.
25
Concept
A mental representation or idea that helps us organize and understand the world.
26
Prototype
A mental image or best example of a category.
27
Schema
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
28
Assimilation
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.
29
Accommodation
Adapting our current understandings (schemas) to incorporate new information.
30
Executive Functions
A set of cognitive processes that enable individuals to plan, organize, initiate, monitor, and complete goal-directed tasks.
31
Algorithms
Very specific, step-by-step procedures for solving certain types of problems.
32
Heuristic
Mental shortcuts or "rules of thumb" that often lead to a solution (but not always).
33
Representativeness Heuristic
A mental shortcut whereby people classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case.
34
Availability 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.
35
Mental Set
A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past.
36
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.
37
Framing
The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
38
Gambler's Fallacy
The belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently.
39
Sunk-Cost Fallacy
People make decisions about a current situation based on what they have previously invested in the situation.
40
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its most common use.
41
Creativity
The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.
42
Divergent Thinking
Expands the number of possible problem solutions.
43
Convergent Thinking
Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.
44
Memory
The faculty of the mind that allows us to encode, store, and retrieve information.
45
Explicit Memory
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare".
46
Episodic Memory
The collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place.
47
Semantic Memory
A network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world.
48
Implicit Memory
Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection.
49
Procedural Memory
A type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and behavioral habits.
50
Prospective Memory
Remembering to do things in the future.
51
Long-Term Potentiation
Gradual strengthening of the connections among neurons from repetitive stimulation.
52
Working Memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
53
Visuospatial Sketchpad
A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information.
54
Long-Term Memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
55
Multi-Store Memory
An explanation of memory based on three separate memory stores, and how information is transferred between these stores.
56
Sensory Memory
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
57
Central Executive
The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.
58
Phonological Loop
Holds and retains verbal information. rehearsal. uniquely human characteristic. thought to evolve for learning of new languages.
59
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.
60
Echoic Memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli.
61
Shallow Processing
Encoding based on sensory characteristics, such as how something looks or sounds.
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Deep Processing
Encoding based on an event's meaning as well as connections between the new event and past experience.
63
Automatic Processing
Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
64
Effortful Processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
65
Encoding
The processing of information into the memory system.
66
Storing
The creation of a permanent record of information.
67
Retrieval
The process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored.
68
Structural Processing
A shallow level of encoding where information is processed primarily based on its physical characteristics, such as appearance or visual features.
69
Phonemic Processing
Encoding information based on the sound of words.
70
Semantic Processing
The mental activity of encoding, storing, and retrieving information related to the meaning of words, concepts, and knowledge.
71
Encode
The act of getting information into our memory system through automatic or effortful processing.
72
Mnemonic Devices
Techniques for using associations to memorize and retrieve information.
73
Method of Loci
A mnemonic technique that involves associating items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations.
74
Chunking
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
75
Categories
Clusters of interrelated concepts.
76
Hierarchies
A social structure that organizes ranks people such as in a class system.
77
Spacing Effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
78
Massed Practice
A practice schedule in which studying continues for long periods, without interruption.
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Distributed Practice
Spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods.
80
Serial Position Effect
Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
81
Primacy Effect
Tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information better than the information that follows.
82
Recency Effect
Tendency to remember recent information better than earlier information.
83
Maintenance Rehearsal
A system for remembering involving repeating information to oneself without attempting to find meaning in it.
84
Elaborative Rehearsal
A method of transferring information from STM into LTM by making that information meaningful in some way.
85
Autobiographical Memory
The memory for events and facts related to one's personal life story.
86
Retrograde Amnesia
An inability to retrieve information from one's past.
87
Anterograde Amnesia
An inability to form new memories.
88
Alzheimer's Disease
A progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning.
89
Infantile Amnesia
The inability to retrieve memories from much before age 3.
90
Recall
The process of retrieving information from memory without external cues.
91
Recognition
The ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact.
92
Retrieval Cues
Stimuli that are used to bring a memory to consciousness or into behavior.
93
Context-Dependent Memory
The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.
94
Mood-Congruent Memory
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
95
State-Dependent Memory
The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.
96
Testing Effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.
97
Meta Cognition
Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes.
98
The Forgetting Curve
A graphic depiction of how recall steadily declines over time.
99
Encoding Failure
The inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory.
100
Proactive Interference
The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
101
Retroactive Interverence
The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
102
Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
The temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach.
103
Ego
The part of the personality that operates on the reality principle, mediating between the id's demands and the constraints of the external world and the superego.
104
Repression
In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
105
Misinformation Effect
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.
106
Source Amnesia
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.
107
Constructive Memory
Memory that utilizes knowledge and expectations to fill in the missing details in retrieved memory traces.
108
Memory Consolidation
The gradual, physical process of converting new long-term memories to stable, enduring memory codes.
109
Imagination Inflation
A memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an event markedly increases confidence that the event actually occurred.
110
Intelligence
Mental quality consisting of the ability to learn from experience, solve problems, and use knowledge to adapt to new situations.
111
General Intelligence (g)
Hypothetical factor that accounts for overall differences in intellect among people.
112
Fluid Intelligence (Gf)
The ability to reason abstractly, solve novel problems, and learn new information quickly.
113
Crystallized Intelligence (Gc)
The ability to use accumulated knowledge and experience, often described as "book smarts."
114
Multiple Intelligences
Individuals possess various distinct and relatively independent intelligences, rather than a single "general intelligence".
115
Emotional Intelligence
The ability to perceive, understand, manage, and use emotions effectively.
116
Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
Defined originally as the ratio of mental age (ma) to chronological age (ca) multiplied by 100 [thus, IQ = (ma/ca) x 100]. On contemporary intelligence tests, the average performance for a given age is assigned a score of 100.
117
Mental Age
A measure of intelligence test performance devised by Binet; the chronological age that most typically corresponds to a given level of performance.
118
Standardization
Defining meaningful scores by comparison with the performance of a pretested group.
119
Valid
The extent to which a test measures or predicts what it is supposed to
120
Construct Validity
The extent to which there is evidence that a test measures a particular hypothetical construct.
121
Predictive Validity
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.
122
Reliable
The 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.
123
Test-Retest Reliability
A method for determining the reliability of a test by comparing a test taker's scores on the same test taken on separate occasions.
124
Split-Half Reliability
A measure of reliability in which a test is split into two parts and an individual's scores on both halves are compared.
125
Stereotype Threat
A self-confirming concern that one will be evaluated based on a negative stereotype.
126
Stereotype Lift
A phenomenon where an individual's performance on a test or task is enhanced due to the presence of a negative stereotype about another group.
127
Flynn Effect
The rise in average IQ scores that has occurred over the decades in many nations.
128
Achievement Tests
Tests designed to assess what a person has learned.
129
Aptitude Tests
Tests designed to predict a person's future performance; or the capacity to learn.
130
Fixed Mindset
The idea that we have a set amount of an ability that cannot change.
131
Growth Mindset
The idea that our abilities are malleable qualities that we can cultivate and grow.
