AP Psychology
Cognition
amygdala
A part of the frontal lobe, the amygdala is one of the basal ganglia
within the limbic system. It is thought that it controls motivation
and emotion. Some theorize that it also might contain memories of
recent events.
Others have suggested that the amygdala might influence sexual
orientation, social ability, aggression, fear and even binge drinking.
artificial intelligence (AI)
Artificial intelligence refers to a machine’s ability to perform tasks
that require the human intelligence. This can be in the form of a
robot, computer or other device requiring computer technology. The
development of digital computers in the 1940s gave rise to the first
consideration of artificial intelligence. Modern examples of
computer testing includes the ability of visual pattern recognition,
complex decision making and the use of natural language.
Baddeley’s working memory model
Alan Baddeley did not agree with the concept of short-term memory.
Instead, he replaced it with his idea of a three stage system since
called the Baddeley’s working memory model.
Phonological loop – briefly stores language sounds with an
acoustic code from the sensory memory
Visuospatial working memory – for a short time, it stores
visual and spatial information
Central executive – responsible for integrating the above
information with information from the long-term
memory
brainstorming
Brainstorming is a method by which a person conceives of any
possible bit of information over a short period of time that might
have some relevance to a problem. Once the brainstorming is
complete, all the information brought forth is evaluated for its value
toward solving the problem.
cerebellum
The cerebellum is behind the spinal cord and responsible for
posture, balance and other voluntary movements. It is also
responsible for the processing of implicit memory.
cognition
metacognition
Cognition refers to the mental processes of a living organism. A
human being’s cognitive processes include memory, thinking and
understanding.
Metacognition refers to thinking about how you think in an effort
to engender problem-solving skills.
concept
A concept is any type of mental grouping of similar things, which
facilitates memory and understanding about said things.
If I say to you “suit”, your concept of “suit” might include a host of
things ranging from ties to shoes to cufflinks. It will be the image of
a suit that pops into your mind that represents that concept for you.
connectionism
Connectionism is a line of thought that human cognition works within
mathematical models, made up of artificial neural networks.
Connectionists tend to be more abstract, less detail oriented, than
other theorists on the nature of how the human brain works.
convergent and divergent thinking
Most of our typical, daily problems require convergent thinking –
the narrowing in on a single correct answer to a particular problem.
“Where are my keys?” “Who killed Abraham Lincoln?”
Some of our problems that we face benefit from or could require
many different alternative solutions or ideas. These more
complicated problems require divergent thinking.
creativity
Creativity refers to the ability information and/or abilities in a new
or original way. This is a major component to divergent thinking.
eidetic memory
Eidetic memory refers to the ability to remember large amounts of
details after only briefly seeing something.
One test that was done of spy candidates during World War II was
an interview. They were brought into a room from a waiting room,
where they had waited for about a ten to thirty seconds. The
interview would proceed normally. “Why do you want to work in
intelligence? Are you afraid of dying? Do you think you could kill
another?” After about thirty minutes, they were asked to
describe, in detail, the room in which they waited. The need to be
observant goes hand-in-hand with eidetic memory.
flashbulb memory
People over the age of sixty will likely remember quite vividly their
environment when they heard that President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated. They will likely remember where they were, who
they were with, what they were doing, etc. This recall is referred to
as flashbulb memory.
Younger people might have a similar recall of events surrounding
the September 11th attacks while an earlier generation had similar
memories surrounding the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
forgetting
What did you have for dinner two weeks ago? Don’t remember?
What does that mean when one says they are forgetting things? It
means you cannot retrieve information that was previously stored.
This can result from one of several factors – failure to encode, the
decaying of stored memories or simply the inability to access stored
information.
forgetting: amnesia
Amnesia is the loss of memory as a result of brain injury or
deterioration, yet it can many other causes. There are two types
of amnesia:
Anterograde – no memories following a causative trauma
Retrograde – no memories prior to a causative trauma
There is also something called infant amnesia where adults cannot
remember things that occurred prior to a certain age.
forgetting: interference
Interference is when some information prevents the retrieval of
other information. There are two types of interference:
Proactive interference – when older memories prevent the
retrieval (remembering) of newer information.
Retroactive interference – when new memories prevent the
retrieval of older information.
forgetting: repression
Repression is a form of forgetting where memories of traumatic or
unpleasant events are purposefully hidden, in the unconscious
according to Sigmund Freud.
It is a form of a defense mechanism, commonly used and quite
difficult to reverse.
forgetting:
tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is a form of forgetting when one
is temporarily unable to retrieve information. With this is the feeling
that one should remember it because it is part of one’s long-term
memory. Typically, retrieval cues can engender recall.
hierarchies
Within one’s long-term memory, there are hierarchies or systems in
which concepts are organized from the general to the specific.
A concept (mental representations of connected items) could be
something along the lines of sports and a prototype (the most typical
examples of such a concept) would be a baseball. It is our country’s
national pastime, after all.
hindrances: anchoring effect
An anchoring effect is a form of manipulation of one’s decisionmaking process. It suggests a reference point, to which your
decision is pulled.
One psychology teacher asked his students how old Mahatma
Gandhi was when he was assassinated. He asked one group, “Did he
die before or after the age of 9” while another group was asked,
“Did he die before or after the age of 140?” Though the questions
might seem absurd, the first group said “50” while the second group
said “67.” The initial question altered the group’s response. By the
way, he was 78 when he was killed.
hindrances: availability heuristic
Availability heuristic is the misrepresentation of how often things
happen based on how easily the idea comes to mind. For example,
most people assume that many more people die in plane crashes
than they actually do. Part of it deals with the way the media covers
such events and part might have to do with peoples’ fear of flying.
hindrances: belief bias
Belief bias is when one’s beliefs and values affects the ability to see
reason or logic in a contrary position.
hindrances: belief perseverance
Belief perseverance is when a person holds on to a particular belief
after it has been discredited.
Some of the more famous, in some cases pathological examples of
this idea are those that believe the Earth is flat, that the U.S. never
made it to the moon, among others.
hindrances: cognitive illusion
Cognitive illusions are misinterpretations of stimuli, assumptions
about what exists around a person.
hindrances: confirmation bias
Do you watch Fox News or MSNBC? Chances are, if you watch news
at all, you gravitate toward the one that confirms your political
attitudes. Confirmation bias is a method people use to seek out or
notice information that supports are preconceptions. In doing so,
we tend to ignore that which counters those same preconceptions.
hindrances: framing
The framing effect refers the fact that how information or a question
is posed to you influences how you act or behave.
Would you buy a flat screen television for $4,000? What about one
for $3,999? While you might scoff at the difference, studies show
that people are more likely to buy the latter than the former. It is all
in how the information is presented.
hindrances: functional fixedness
Functional fixedness refers to one’s inability to figure out how to use
a familiar object in a new way. This is an example of rigid thinking
and can prohibit the mental processes.
There is an exercise whereby the participant gets a list of items and
are told they are stuck in a rainforest with only those items as
resources. One’s ability to do well at measuring which items are
more important than others is directly related to functional
fixedness.
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Can you connect all nine dots with four straight lines,
without lifting your pencil from the paper or retracing
any lines?
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hindrances: hindsight bias
Hindsight bias refers to people who declare, after an event, that
they correctly predicted how the event would turn out.
You are at a Super Bowl party and the game is between two evenly
matched teams. After the game, a friend of yours leans over and
says, “I saw this coming. I knew that team would win. Predicted it,
actually.”
hindrances: mental sets
A mental set is a regular strategy or pattern of solving a problem.
For example, a chess player may constantly try to occupy or
control the four center squares on a board. The person in
question has the belief that control over these squares will ensure
success.
hindrances: overconfidence bias
What we may call cocky or way too self-assured, psychologists call
overconfidence bias – this is the tendency to overestimate how
correct one’s beliefs or judgments are.
hindrances: representativeness bias
Representativeness bias is, essentially, stereotyping where the
presumption of a person or an event being similar to other
members of a particular concept. It is also referred to as
representativeness heuristic.
Examples might include that all athletes are dumb, all Irish people
are drunks and all actors are shallow. Of course, I don’t believe any
of these things. I just heard them somewhere.
hippocampus
As a part of the limbic system and according to early doctors, looking
like a “seahorse” (hence its name), the hippocampus allows for the
transference of short-term memory into long-term memories. If
there is damage to the hippocampus, this could lead to amnesia.
incubation
Sometimes, problems can be so vexing that one needs to let it go,
give the brain a chance to focus on something else. In doing so,
people tend to have an ability to see the problem from a different
light or perspective. This is called incubation.
Information Processing Model
encoding, storage, retrieval
Encoding is the ability to transform information so that it is easily
processed by the nervous system. Examples of encoding can
include mnemonic devices or repeated something out loud.
Storage is how one can maintain memory of information over a
period of time. How much information that is stored is based on
the effort that went into encoding it and how important the
information is.
Retrieval is the ability to obtain information that has been stored
into the memory. Some people have photographic memories,
capable of retrieving any information they have seen or read.
language: babbling
Beginning around three to four months of age, babies began to
babble – a random and nonsensical collection of sounds. This is not
an attempt at speech so much as a mimic of the sounds they are
hearing on a regular basis.
language: behavioral perspective
According to behaviorists, the development of language is based on
the infant imitating sounds heard in order to create words. In a nod
to the theories of B.F. Skinner and Ivan Maslow, the children receive
positive reinforcement from parents are caregivers.
language: grammar
Grammar refers to a system of rules that governs a language,
allowing people to communicate with and/or understand others.
language: holophrase
Have you ever grunted in the direction of your parents, saying
“Food”? If so then one, you lack manners and possibly respect but
two, this would be an example of a holophrase – a one-word
utterance that conveys meaning. Typically, it is done by one-year-old
babies so, it could also mean you are regressing.
language: linguistic relativity hypothesis
Based on the research of sociologists Edward Sapir and Benjamin
Whorf, the linguistic relativity hypothesis suggests that language
reflects perception. The way our language describes something
highlights how our society perceives that item.
The Inuit language has multiple words for snow, suggesting the
importance of snow to their culture and their perspective. French
does not have a word for fair but rather uses the term juste. This
thinking encourages a group-think that fits with the French concept
of all people being either French or not French.
language: morphemes
A morpheme is the smallest unit of meaning in a given language,
made up of one or more phonemes.
language: nativist perspective
According to nativists (not the same as the American historical usage
of the term), the human brain comes hardwired for some capacity
for language, which they call LAD or language acquisition device.
This engages during the critical period of language development.
According to Noam Chomsky, a part of this hard-wiring we are born
with is a universal sense of grammar though some of your essays
would challenge this theory.
language: overgeneralization
Also known as overregularization, overgeneralization refers to a lack
of knowledge of the exceptions to grammatical rules.
A child might learn that one way to show that you did something in
the past is to add “ed” to the end of the verb. However, a child
showing overgeneralization might end up saying, “I goed to the
store.”
language: phonemes
A phoneme is a sound that serves as a basic structural element
of a language. In English, that can be the sound of an e or sh.
language: semantics
Semantics is the study of the meaning of language.
language: social interactivist perspective
According to the social interactivist perspective on language
development, babies are born with a knack for learning languages
which can be started or delayed by experience. In short, both
heredity and environment leads to language development.
The horrible story of Genie is an example of how one’s environment
can retard the growth of language. If it is delayed too long, speech
can never be recovered. Genie was locked away in a room, inside a
cage until she was discovered at 13-years-old. She was never
spoken to until she was rescued. While she was able to learn
individual words, her ability to grasp grammar and therefore
language never developed.
language: syntax
A language’s syntax refer to the rules that govern how words can
be arranged and combined to create meaningful sentences or
phrases.
Levels of Processing Theory
shallow processing, deep processing, self reference effect
Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart (1972) developed a theory that
explains why some memories last longer and more vividly and
others don’t – it is called the levels of processing theory.
Shallow processing – structural encoding that emphasizes
the physical structure of the stimulus (color of
stimulus, how something is spelled, etc.).
Deep processing – semantic encoding (for meaning) results in
lasting memories; emphasizes the meaning of verbal
input, what words represent.
Self-reference effect – involves deciding how or whether
information is personally relevant to you. The more
so, the easier and longer lasting the memory.
long-term memory
Long-term memory refers to the storage of information over a long
period of time. It is typically divided into explicit (declarative) and
implicit (nondeclarative) memory.
Freud referred to this memory as preconscious and unconscious.
long-term memory:
explicit memory (episodic and semantic)
Explicit memory is that memory which can be retrieved as
needed. It is also referred to as declarative memory. Explicit
memory is divided into two parts:
Episodic memory is the memory we have of our lives,
including the individual moments in which events took
place.
Semantic memory includes our linguistic knowledge,
including vocabulary, grammar, rules and meaning.
long-term memory: implicit memory
How do you remember to ride a bike each time you get on? Or
drive a car each time you get behind the wheel? It is because you
are using your implicit memory – the memory of skills and
procedures that come from previous learning and does not need to
be consciously recalled. It is also called nondeclarative memory.
long-term memory:
procedural memory
Procedural memory is that memory in which is included learned
skills that does not require recollection such as tying a tie one’s
shoes or swimming.
long-term potentiation (LTP)
Richard Thompson has put forth that memories create localized
neural circuits or reusable pathways in the brain along which
information flows. One thing is sure – there is no one vat of
memories in one part of the brain but it seems that the mapping
of such pathways might be possible.
Long-term potentiation (LTP) refers the firing potential of synapses
after stimulation thought by some to be the neurological basis for
learning and memory. With this process is a long-lasting increase
in efficiency of signals going through specific neural networks.
memory
Memory is the storage and retrieval of information learned or
experienced.
What is your favorite song? Who sang the song? What album was
it on? Who was with you the first time you heard the song? All of
these are possible to retrieve as memory but many cannot
remember that much detail.
neural network
(parallel processing model)
The neural network refers to a cluster of neurons that are
interdependent and simultaneously, these clusters process
information automatically and without our being aware of the
process.
overlearning
As you prepare for the AP Psychology exam, you spent months
memorizing the terms and definitions. You continue past the point
of having memorized all the vocabulary. As you continue to study
what you already know, you are engaged in overlearning and the
process makes the information more resistant to forgetting.
problem-solving: algorithm
An algorithm is a step-by-step process or strategy towards solving
a problem. Math and science can encourage a certain algorithm to
solve a certain kind of problem.
problem-solving: deductive reasoning
Sherlock Holmes once said that deduction is reasoning backwards.
Psychologically speaking, deductive reasoning is an observation of
the general and using inferences to conclude the specific. This tends
to be logically way of thinking and can lead to some good
conclusions but like any assumption or inference, can be faulty.
problem-solving: heuristic
Heuristic is a strategy of solving problems that includes a rule-ofthumb. For example, a heuristic used in the success of the game
show Jeopardy would be a knowledge of literature, particularly
Shakespeare, and history/geography.
problem-solving: inductive reasoning
The opposite of deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning takes
specific information and makes inferences to the general. This,
however, is a bit more tricky. The one (a specific detail) may not
always be representative of the group (a general assumption).
problem-solving: insight learning
Sometimes called the “ah-ah” moment, insight learning is the
sudden realization of an answer or solution to a problem.
The insight is usually an unusual or creative way to solve a problem.
Many logic puzzles can illicit such a moment. One pours over a
problem for minutes or even hours until the moment that patterns
and structures fall into place in a way not previously considered
and…voila, an answer has been achieved.
problem-solving: trial and error
American inventor Thomas Edison once said, “I have not failed. I’ve
just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” This is the essence of the
definition of trail and error – a problem-solving strategy that entails
going through various possible solutions until the right one is found.
retrieval: confabulation
Confabulation is the act of filling in gaps in one’s memory.
One of the major issues that historians must work around when
speaking with veterans of wars (particularly from World War II and
Korea) is that these men are so far removed from the events, while
they remember some things clearly, other memories have holes
that have been filled with false memories over the decades.
retrieval: context-dependent memory
You are with your mother, shopping at the local grocery store. You
two are enjoying some witty banter then you turn the corner and
come face to face with your psychology teacher and for a moment,
you are confused. Who? What? Why?
Context-dependent memory refers to the retrieval of information
based on being in the context where you first encoded the
information.
retrieval:
distributed and massed practice
You are in French class and the teacher has given you a week to
memorize thirty French verbs and their conjugated forms. A
classmate has big plans next week and says he cannot possibly take
time to study all week. He crams for the rest of the day to memorize
everything. Meanwhile, you take a few verbs a day, memorize them,
review over the previous day’s verbs until the week is up and you
know them all.
Distributed practice is a term that suggests that dispersed
memorization produces better results that last longer than the one
who studies at one sitting. The classmate engaged in massed
practice or “cramming” as students most often call it. It typically
does not produce the best results and what is memorized does not
last long.
retrieval: encoding specificity principle
The encoding specificity principle states that the value of a retrieval
cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code.
Memory is most effective when the information present at the time
of encoding is also present when one is trying to retrieve
information.
For example, you are most likely to access happy memories during
times of happiness and vice versa.
retrieval: misinformation effect
Most LTM retrieval is done as a reconstruction – not a point by point
re-telling but a condensed, generalized account reconstruction.
Additionally, it has been seen that people tend to change aspects of
the story – not so much content but little things in what is
happening or how it is happening. This misinformation effect is
particularly present with eyewitness testimony.
Sometimes, people have been convinced of things by how a
question is asked – those who witnessed an accident were asked
how fast cars were going when they hit, tapped into, smashed into
one another. Different theories suggest that either misinformation
memories interrupt accurate ones or that people have access to
both but cannot distinguish between one or the other.
retrieval: mood congruence
(mood-dependent memory)
You are sitting on a porch, facing the Atlantic Ocean. You watch
the sun going down, you are surrounded by family and friends,
the weather is cool and shrimp and lobster is grilling nearby. You
looked to your friend and say, “You remember when we had it this
good, back on that trip to the Greek islands? It was just like this.”
That perfect setting allowed for an easier access to an earlier
memory from Greece. This is called mood congruence (also
known as mood-dependent memory).
retrieval: priming
Priming refers to the idea of one stimuli making you more aware of
other similar stimuli not noticed before.
For example, if you learned a new word in class, you might have
thought to yourself, “What a funny word. I’ve never heard it before
or anything like it.” However, over the next few days, you start
hearing the same word in various contexts.
retrieval: recall
Recall is a form of memory retrieval in which the person is able
to remember previously learned information.
The same person with the large library may not remember every
book in detail but might be able to recite a core thesis of a
particular book they own.
retrieval: recognition
Recognition is a form of memory retrieval in which the person sees
an object, idea or situation and recognizes it as something they
have or have not encountered before.
A person with a library of five hundred books will not be able to
rattle off the entire list from memory but might be able to
recognize whether or not they have a particular book.
retrieval: reconstruction
Without realizing it, we often complete incomplete memories. We
do this by adding information, dropping certain information or
changing details. This is referred to as reconstruction.
A version of this, confabulation is the process of combining and
substituting memories from various memories to complete a
memory trying to be recalled.
retrieval: retrieval cues
Retrieval cues are hints that help us recall information. New
memories typically come with contextual information that can be
used later to recall the core information.
For example, on your first day of high school, a friend introduced
you to someone. Not only did you process the name of the person,
you also processed who introduced you, where you were, what they
were wearing, as well as things such as the mood you were in when
the introduction happened. All of these things can be used as a
retrieval cue for recalling the person’s name the next time you run
into them.
retrieval: serial position effect
So, your mother tells you to get on your bike, go down to the store
and pick up the following items:
soda
bread
milk
eggs
bananas
coffee
filters
baby food
candy
ice cream
cereal
Now, look away. How much can you
remember? The serial position effect
suggests that there is better recall at
the beginning (primacy effect) of lists
due to rehearsal and at the end of the
lists (recency effect) due to items still
in your short-term memory. Often
though, the information in the middle
of lists are forgotten.
retrieval:
state-dependent memory effect
There is a documented phenomenon found in humans regarding
memory and alcohol. Known as the state-dependent memory effect,
it suggests that we have an easier time recalling something if we are
in the same state we were in when the memory was originally
encoded.
For example, a very drunk person at a concert meets a very
fascinating person sitting next to them. Days later and sober, they do
not remember much of the person or the conversation until the next
time they are drunk, when they suddenly remember much more of
the conversation and the individual.
schemas
Schemas are mental frameworks that help people interpret events
or stimuli. They help people make sense of the world around
them.
In one particular study, a group of participants were asked to watch
a film that showed a car accident. Afterwards, they were given a
questionnaire about the accident. One question was asked
differently among the participants. The question, “About how fast
were the cars going when they contacted each other?” was asked
differently, exchanging the word contacted with words such as
slammed, collided, bumped or hit. With each verb, the participants
provided different information on the speed.
semantic networks
Semantic networks within the long-term memory represents a much
more irregular system of connected ideas. For example, baseball
can be linked to ball, grass, dirt, stadium, summer and bat.
sensory memory
Part of the Atkinson-Shiffrin Three-Stage Model of Memory,
sensory memory is extreme short-term memory of information
immediately after initial stimulation of a receptor. Your vision
receptors perceive, at a movie, the break between frames of a film
but the continuity of the film seems intact. The breaks are held
within sensory memory but are so short-term, they do not register.
Sensory memory serves three major functions:
Prevents one from being overwhelmed
Allows for decision time
Provides continuity and stability in one’s world
sensory memory: acoustic encoding
Acoustic encoding, as the name would suggest, refers to the process
of remembering or understanding something heard.
You do this all the time. Your connection of lyrics with music to sing
your favorite song is acoustic encoding. Reading aloud as you read
your psychology textbook (what else would you be reading?) is
acoustic encoding.
sensory memory:
automatic processing
Can you drive a stick shift? If so, you are engaged in automatic
processing. This is when, unconsciously, you are processing several
layers of information at the same time.
So, in driving a stick shift, you are aware of your feet on the clutch,
brake and gas pedals, you are focused on the movement of the gear
shift into one of several stations, you are aware of the RPMs your
car is traveling so that you know when to shift and of course, you
are aware of your environment (hopefully) so that you may safely
drive your car. If you are having a conversation or listening to the
radio, you are adding more layers of information all at one time and
doing so unconsciously.
sensory memory: echoic memory
Echoic memory refers to those things we hear but the memory of
such tends to last only about four seconds.
sensory memory: effortful processing
If you recall the definition of automatic processing, the example of
driving a stick shift was used. Once you have it down, you do all of
those things unconsciously. However, first learning to drive a stick
shift requires focused attention and effort – effortful processing.
sensory memory:
feature extraction (pattern recognition)
Some time ago while renting a car, I was helped by a woman named
Filmona. The name reminded me of someone I once knew from
Ethiopia and so I asked the lady if she was from there. Surprised,
she said yes. This is a form of feature extraction.
What happened? There was a connection made or pattern
understood between new stimuli (the woman’s name of Filmona)
and old, encoded stimuli (the name and country of origin of a longtime acquaintance).
sensory memory: iconic memory
Iconic memory is a complete representation of visual stimulus but
the memory of the same only last for less than a second.
sensory memory: parallel processing
Parallel processing involves simultaneously extracting different kinds
of information from the same stimuli. For example, what is seen
would include color, form and texture.
sensory memory: selective attention
When I was in graduate school, we had to read roughly 300 pages a
week (sometimes more) so I would go to a favorite café and read.
Focusing on the book, I was able to tune out the hustle and bustle of
the kitchen, the various people sitting around me or the music
playing over the speakers. Selective attention is the focusing on a
particular stimuli , as the turning out of all other stimuli.
sensory memory: visual encoding
In short, visual encoding is how we remember what we see.
However, this information does not stick around for long, forgotten
easily.
thalamus
The thalamus integrates sensory input, such as vision, hearing, taste
as well as skin sensation.