General Psychology
Exam 3 Study Guide
Chapter 7
1. Memory is the retention of information or experience over time.
2. Three key processes which play a role in memory are:
a. Encoding- the first step in memory; the process by which information gets into
memory storage
b. Storage- the retention of information over time and how this information is
represented in memory
c. Retrieval3. To begin the process of memory encoding, you have to start with attention. Attention can
allocated in different ways:
a. Selective attention
b. Divided attention- concentrating on more than one activity at the same time- can
be the most detrimental to encoding (multitasking is a form of and is a major
impediment to encoding)
c. Sustained attention- (vigilance) the ability to maintain attention to a selected
stimulus for a prolonged period of time
4. Levels of processing- a continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to
deep, with deeper processing producing better results:
a. Shallow- physical and perceptual features are analyzed
b. Intermediate- stimulus is recognized and labeled
c. Deep- semantic, meaningful, symbolic characteristics are used
5. Elaboration- the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at a
given level of memory encoding.
6. One of the most powerful ways to make memories distinctive is to use mental imagery.
7. Allan Paivio’s dual-code hypothesis states that memory for pictures in better than
memory for words because pictures are stored as both image codes and verbal codes.
8. The Atkinson-Shiffrin memory model states that memory storage involves three separate
systems:
a. Sensory memory: memory system that involves holding information from the
world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer than the
brief time it is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses
b. Short-term memory: limited-capacity memory system in which information is
usually retained for only as long as 30 seconds unless we use strategies to retain it
longer
c. Long-term memory: a relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge
amounts of information for a long time
9. Sensory memory has different types:
a. Echoic memory: refers to auditory sensory memory, which is retained for up to
several seconds
b. Iconic memory: refers to visual sensory memory, which is retained for only about
¼ of a second
10. “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two” was explained by George Miller and
refers to the limited range of items which can be held in short-term memory at any given
time.
11. Memory span- the number of digits an individual can report back in order after a single
presentation of them.
12. Two ways of improving short-term memory:
a. Chunking involves grouping or “packing” information that exceeds the 7 +/- 2
memory span into higher-order units that can be remembered as single units.
b. Rehearsal is the conscious repetition of information- in uninterrupted can help to
retain information indefinitely.
13. Allen Baddeley’s model of memory includes several components:
a. Working memory- the most important shift from the Atkinson & Shiffrin modela three-part system that allows us to hold information temporarily as we perform
cognitive tasks- a kind of mental workbench on which the brain manipulates and
assembles information to help us understand, make decisions, and solve problems.
b. Phonological loop- specialized to briefly store speech-based information about the
sounds of language- has two separate components: the acoustic code (sounds we
hear which decays quickly) and rehearsal (repetition of sounds we hear).
c. Visuospatial working memory stores visual and spatial information, including
visual imagery- limited and functions independently of the phonological loop.
d. Central executive- integrates information not only from the phonological loop and
Visuospatial working memory but also from long-term memory- plays important
role in attention, planning, and organizing- the supervisor which monitors which
information receives our attention- limited in capacity
14. Long-term memory has two main substructures:
a. Explicit memory- also called declarative memory, the conscious recollection of
information, such as specific facts or events and, at least in humans, information
that can be verbally communicated- has two components:
i. Episodic memory- the retention of information about the where, when, and
what of life’s happenings- how individual’s remember life’s episodes.
ii. Semantic memory- a person’s knowledge about the world, including his or
her areas of expertise- general knowledge such as things learned in school
or everyday knowledge.
b. Implicit memory- also called nondeclarative memory, memory in which behavior
is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that
experience- has three components:
i. Procedural memory (skills)- memory for skills such as typing or driving
ii. Priming- the activation of information that people already have in storage
to help them remember new information better and faster- occurs when
something in the environment evokes a response in memory
iii. Classical Conditioning- remember from chapter 6
15. Two theories of how long-term memory is organized:
a. Schemas- a preexisting mental concept or framework that helps people to
organize and interpret information- schemas from prior encounters with the
environment influence the way we encode, make inferences about, and retrieve
information.
i. A script is a schema for an event, often containing information about
physical features, people, and typical occurrences.
b. Connectionism- also called parallel distributed processing (PDP), the theory that
memory is stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons, several of
which may work together to process a single memory.
16. Long-term potentiation states that if two neurons are activated at the same time, the
connection between them- and thus the memory- may be strengthened.
17. There are different parts of the brain active with different types of long-term memory:
a. Explicit memory- the hippocampus, the temporal lobes in the cerebral cortex and
the parts of the limbic system (amygdala) play a role. The left frontal lobe is
active when encoding new information and the right is more active when
retrieving information.
b. Implicit memory- the cerebellum is the most active with regards to implicit
memory; - priming is related to the hippocampus and the temporal lobes
functioning.
18. Retrieval- the memory process that occurs when information that was retained in memory
comes out of storage.
19. Serial position effect- the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list
more readily than those in the middle- has two components:
a. Primacy effect- refers to better recall for items at the beginning of the list, usually
because those are rehearsed the most.
b. Recency effect- better recall for the items at the end of a list
20. Recall is the memory task in which the individual has to retrieve previously learned
information, such as on essay tests.
21. Recognition is a memory task in which the individual only has to identify learned items,
such as on multiple-choice tests.
22. Encoding specificity principle states that information present at the time of encoding or
learning tends to be effective as a retrieval cue.
23. Context-dependent memory a process in which people are able to remember better when
they attempt to recall information in the same context in which they learned it.
24. Autobiographical memory- a special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person’s
recollection of his or her life experiences.
a. Reminiscence bump- the effect that adults remember more events from the second
and third decades of life than any others.
b. Three-level hierarchical structure of autobiographical memory:
i. Level 1- Life Time Periods- long segments of time measured in years and
even decades.
ii. Level 2- General Events- extended composite episodes measured in days,
weeks, or months.
iii. Level 3- Event-Specific Knowledge- individual episodes measured in
seconds, minutes, or hours.
25. Flashbulb memory- the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall
with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events.
26. Repression is a defense mechanism by which a person is so traumatized by an event that
he or she forgets it and then forgets the act of forgetting- the main function is to protect
the individual from threatening information.
27. Motivated forgetting- forgetting that occurs when something is so painful or anxietyladen that remembering it is intolerable.
28. Hermann Ebbinghaus was the first person to conduct scientific research on forgetting
using nonsense syllables- meaningless combinations of letters that are unlikely to have
been learned already such as zeq, xid, lek, and riy- and was able to develop a learning
curve for these syllables. This allowed for the determination of how quickly we forget
information.
29. Encoding failure occurs when the information was never entered into long-term memory.
30. Interference theory states that people forget not because memories are lost from storage
but because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember- there are
two types:
a. Proactive interference- occurs when material that was learned earlier disrupts the
recall of material learned later.
b. Retroactive interference- occurs when material learned later disrupts the retrieval
of information learned earlier.
31. Decay theory states that when we learn something new, a neurochemical memory trace
forms, but over time this trace disintegrates; suggests that the passage of time always
increases forgetting.
32. Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon- a type of effortful retrieval that occurs when we are
confident that we know something but cannot quite pull it out of memory.
33. Retrospective memory- remembering information from the past
34. Prospective memory- remembering information about doing something in the futureincluding intentions- includes two parts:
a. Timing- when we have to do something
b. Content- what we have to do.
35. Amnesia- loss of memory.
36. Anterograde amnesia- a memory disorder that affects the retention of new information
and events.
37. Retrograde amnesia- memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events.
38. Know who H.M. is- discussed on pgs. 216 and 234.
39. Read through study tips on the science of memory pgs. 234-236.
Chapter 8
1. Cognition is the way in which information is processed and manipulated in remembering,
thinking, and knowing.
2. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a scientific field that focuses on creating machines capable
of performing activities that require intelligence when they are done by people.
3. Cognitive psychology became a label for approaches that sought to explain observable
behavior by investigating mental processes and structures that we cannot directly
observe- thinking, problem solving, reasoning, and decision-making.
4. Thinking- the mental process of manipulating information mentally by forming concepts,
solving problems, making decisions, and reflecting critically or creatively.
5. Concept- a mental category that is used to group objects, events, and characteristics.
6. Concepts are important for four reasons:
a. Concepts allow us to generalize.
b. Concepts allow us to associate experiences and objects.
c. Concepts aid memory by making it more efficient so that we do not have to
reinvent the wheel each time we come across a piece of information.
d. Concepts provide clues about how to react to a particular object or experience.
7. Prototype model- a model emphasizing that when people evaluate whether a given
item reflects a certain concept, they compare the item with the most typical item(s) in
that category and look for a “family resemblance” with that item’s properties.
8. Problem solving- the mental process of finding an appropriate way to attain a goal
when the goal is not readily available and involves several steps:
a. Find and frame problems
b. Develop good problem-solving strategies
c. Evaluate solutions
d. Rethink and redefine problems and solutions over time
9. Some effective strategies for problems solving are:
a. Subgoals- intermediate goals or intermediate problems that put us in a better
position for reaching the final goal or solution.
b. Algorithms- strategies—including formulas, instructions, and the testing of all
possible solutions—that guarantee a solution to a problem.
c. Heuristics- shortcut strategies or guidelines that suggest a solution to a
problem but do not guarantee an answer.
10. Obstacles to problem-solving:
a. Fixation- using a prior strategy and failing to look at a problem from a fresh
new perspective.
i. Functional fixedness- occurs when individuals fail to solve a problem
because they are fixated on a thing’s unusual functions
11. Reasoning is the mental activity of transforming information to reach conclusions and
is one of two types:
a. Inductive reasoning- reasoning from specific observations to make
generalizations.
b. Deductive reasoning- reasoning from a general case that is known to be true to
a specific instance.
12. Decision-making- the mental activity of evaluating alternatives and choosing among
them and is considered to have two systems:
a. Automatic- System 1- involves processing that is rapid, heuristic, and intuitive
(gut instinct)
b. Controlled- System 2- slower, effortful, and analytical and usually is used in
solving difficult problems.
13. Different types of heuristics and biases:
a. Confirmation bias- tendency to search for and use information that supports,
rather than refutes, one’s ideas.
b. Base rate fallacy- tendency to ignore information about general principles in
favor of very specific but vivid information.
c. Hindsight bias- tendency to report falsely, after the fact, that one accurately
predicted an outcome.
d. Representativeness heuristic- tendency to make judgments about group
membership based on physical appearance or one’s stereotype of a group
rather than available base rate information.
e. Availability heuristic- prediction about the probability of an event based on
the ease of recalling or imagining similar events.
14. Good problem-solving strategies include:
a. Critical thinking- thinking reflectively and productively and evaluating the
evidence. Two mental habits which improve critical thinking are:
i. Mindfulness- the state of being alert and mentally present for one’s
everyday activities.
ii. Open-mindedness- the state of being receptive to other ways of
looking at things.
b. Creativity- the ability to think about something in novel and unusual ways and
to devise unconventional solutions to problems—falls into two categories but
is more efficient when used together.
i. Divergent thinking- thinking that produces many solutions to the same
problem.
ii. Convergent thinking- thinking that produces the single best solution to
a problem.
15. Creative thinkers display several characteristics:
a. Flexibility and playful thinking.
b. Inner motivation.
c. Willingness to face risk.
d. Objective evaluation of work.
16. Intelligence- all-purpose ability to do well on cognitive tasks, to solve problems, and
to learn from experience.
17. Charles Spearman came up with the idea that intelligence is a general ability which he
called g.
18. Validity is the extent to which a test measures what it is intended to measure.
19. Reliability is the extent to which a test yields a consistent, reproducible measure of
performance.
20. Standardization- the development of uniform procedures for administering and
scoring a test and the creation of norms for the test.
21. Alfred Binet and Theophile Simon were asked to develop a test to determine which
students did not learn effectively from regular classroom instruction. Binet came up
with the idea of comparing a person’s mental abilities to the mental abilities typical
for a particular age.
22. Mental age- an individual’s level of mental development relative to that of others.
23. Intelligence quotient (IQ)- an individual’s mental age divided by chronological age
multiplied by 100.
24. Normal distribution- a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve, with a majority of the scores
falling in the middle of the possible range and few scores appearing toward the
extremes of the range.
25. Culture-fair tests- intelligence tests that are intended to be culturally unbiased.
26. Heritability- the proportion of observable differences in a group that can be explained
by differences in the genes of the group’s members.
27. Gifted- possessing high intelligence (an IQ of 130 or higher) and/or superior talent in
a particular task.
28. Intellectual disability- a condition of limited mental ability in which an individual has
a low IQ, usually below 70 on a traditional intelligence test, and has difficulty
adapting to everyday life.
29. Assessment of a person’s level of adaptive behavior is done within three life domains:
a. Conceptual skills- literacy, understanding of numbers, money, and time.
b. Social skills- interpersonal skills, responsibility, self-esteem, and ability to
follow rules and obey.
c. Practical skills- activities of daily living such as personal care, occupational
skills, health care, travel/transportation, and use of the telephone.
30. Triarchic theory of intelligence- Sternberg’s theory that intelligence comes in three
forms:
a. Analytical intelligence- ability to analyze, judge, evaluate, compare, and
contrast.
b. Creative intelligence- ability to create, design, invent, originate, and imagine.
c. Practical intelligence- the ability to use, apply, implement, and put ideas into
practice.
31. Gardner suggests there are nine types of intelligence, or “frames of mind”:
a. Verbal- thinking in words and use of language to express meaning- such as
authors, journalists, speaker.
b. Mathematical- the ability to carry out mathematical operations- such as
scientist, engineer, accountant.
c. Spatial- ability to think three-dimensionally- such as architects, artists, and
sailors.
d. Bodily-kinesthetic- the ability to manipulate objects and to be physically
adept- such as surgeons, craftspersons, dancers, and athletes.
e. Musical- ability to be sensitive to pitch, melody, rhythm, and tone- such as
composers and musicians.
f. Interpersonal- ability to understand and interact effectively with others- such
as teachers and mental health professionals.
g. Intrapersonal- ability to understand oneself- such as theologians and
psychologists.
h. Naturalist- ability to observe patterns in nature and understand natural humanmade systems- such as farmers, botanists, ecologists, and landscapers.
i. Existentialist- ability to grapple with the big questions of human existence
with special sensitivity to issues of spirituality- such as philosophers.
32. Language- a form of communication—whether spoken, written, or signed—that is
based on a system of symbols.
33. Infinite Generativity- the ability of language to produce an endless number of
meaningful sentences- has five basic rule systems:
a. Phonology- a language’s sound system.
i. Phonemes- basic sounds.
b. Morphology- a language’s rules for word formation.
i. Morpheme- the smallest unit of language that carries meaning.
c. Syntax- a language’s rules for combining words to form acceptable phrases
and sentences.
d. Semantics- the meaning of words and sentences in a particular language.
e. Pragmatics- the useful character of language and the ability of language to
communicate even more meaning than is said.
34. Linguistic relativity hypothesis- Whorf’s view that language determines the way we
think.
35. Noam Chomsky theorizes that humans are born biologically prewired to learn
language at a certain time and in a certain way.
36. Broca’s area contributes to speech production while Wernicke’s area in involved in
language comprehension.
37. Read the section on Environmental Influences on language on page 267.
38. Cognitive appraisal- individuals’ interpretation of the events in their lives as harmful,
threatening, or challenging and their determination of whether they have the resources
to cope effectively with the events.
39. Coping- managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve life’s problems,
and seeking to master or reduce stress.
40. Cognitive reappraisal- regulating one’s feelings about an experience by reinterpreting
that experience or thinking about it in a different way or from a different angle.
Chapter 9
1. Development- the pattern of continuity and change in human capabilities that occurs
throughout life, involving both growth and decline. These changes occur on three
different levels:
a. Physical processes- involve changes in an individual’s biological naturebiological growth processes are referred to as maturation.
b. Cognitive processes- involve changes in an individual’s thought, intelligence,
and language.
c. Socioemotional processes- involve changes in an individual’s relationships
with other people, in emotions, and in personality.
2. Cross-sectional studies- a number of people of different ages are assessed at one
point in time, and differences are noted.
3. Cohort effects- differences between individuals that stem not necessarily from their
ages but from the historical and social time period in which they were born and
developed.
4. Longitudinal study- assesses the same participants multiple times over a lengthy
period.
5. Nature- an individual’s biological inheritance, especially his or her genes.
6. Nurture- an individual’s environmental and social experiences.
7. Resilience- a person’s ability to recover from or adapt to difficult times.
8. Development is divided into three periods:
a. Germinal- weeks 1 and 2- zygote
b. Embryonic- weeks 3 through 8- embryo
c. Fetal- months 2 through 9- fetus
9. Teratogen is any agent that causes a birth defect.
10. Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders- a cluster of abnormalities and problems that appear
in the offspring of mothers who drink alcohol heavily during pregnancy.
11. Preterm infant- one who is born prior to 37 weeks after conception and is at risk for
developmental difficulties.
12. Infant reflexesa. Rooting
b. Gripping
c. Toe curling
d. Moro or Startle
e. Galant
13. Preferential looking- research technique that involves giving an infant a choice of
what object to look at.
14. Cognitive development- how thought, intelligence, and language processes change
as people mature.
15. Jean Piaget- developmental psychologist who proposed theory of cognitive
development- described two processes responsible for how people use and adapt
their schemas:
a. Assimilation- when individuals incorporate new information into existing
knowledge
b. Accommodation- an individual’s adjustment of his or her schema to new
information.
16. According to Piaget, we go through four stages:
a. Sensorimotor stage- lasting from birth to 2 years of age, during which infants
construct an understanding of the world by coordinating sensory experiences
with motor (physical) actions.
i. The goal for the sensorimotor stage is object permanenceunderstanding that objects and events continue to exist even when
they cannot be directly seen- peek-a-boo.
b. Preoperational stage- lasting from about 2 to 7 years of age- during which
thought is more symbolic than sensorimotor thought.
i. The goal for this stage is successful comprehension of the
conservation task- a belief in the permanence of certain attributes of
objects despite superficial changes.
ii. Thoughts are egocentric- unable to put self into someone else’s
mental state.
iii. Decisions are usually intuitive- based upon instinct rather than logic.
c. Concrete operational stage- lasting from 7 to 11 years- during which the
individual uses operations and replaces intuitive reasoning with logical
reasoning in concrete situations.
i. Thought processes are in concrete reasoning, not abstract or
hypothetical.
d. Formal operational stage- 11 years to 15 years and continues into adulthoodfeatures thinking about things that are not concrete, making predictions, and
using logic to come up with hypotheses about the future.
17. Temperament- an individual’s behavioral style and characteristic way of respondingthree basic types:
a. Easy- generally in positive mood, quickly establishes regular routines in
infancy, and easily adapts to new experiences.
b. Difficult- tends to react negatively and to cry frequently, engages in irregular
daily routines, and is slow to accept new experiences.
c. Slow-to-warm-up- has a low activity level, is somewhat negative, is
inflexible, and displays a low intensity of mood.
18. Infant attachment- the close emotional bond between an infant and its caregiver.
Mary Ainsworth studied different attachments using “strange situations.” Different
classifications of attachment styles:
a. Secure attachment- the ways that infants use their caregiver, usually their
mother, as a secure base from which to explore the environment.
b. Insecure attachment- avoids the mother, or is ambivalent toward her and may
not even notice she is not around or might respond with intense distress with
her absence and then rage when she returns.
19. Erik Erikson devised a theory of development in social and emotional capacities:
a. Trust vs. mistrust- up to 18 months- trust is built when basic needs are met
and sets stage for lifelong expectation that the world will be a good and
pleasant place.
b. Autonomy vs. shame and doubt- 18 months to 3 years- infants discover will
of their own and assert their sense of independence- if not allowed to, then
can respond with shame and doubt of their own abilities.
c. Initiative vs. guilt- 3 to 5 years- must develop more purposeful behavior to
cope with challenges within their growing social world- now asked to be
more responsible.
d. Industry vs. inferiority- 6 to puberty- usually enthusiastic and growing
imagination and energy is dedicated to mastering knowledge and skills.
e. Identity vs. identity confusion- 10-20 years- must find out who they are, what
they are about, and where they are going- must reconcile own wishes and
desires with others’ expectations.
f. Intimacy vs. isolation- 20 to 30s- face task of forming intimate relationships
with others but can be fearful of losing self in another person.
g. Generativity vs. stagnation- 40 to 50s- need to assist the younger generation
in developing and leading useful lives.
h. Integrity vs. despair- late adulthood- looking back and evaluating lifetime
achievement and can be a positive or negative experience.
20. Diana Baumrind describes four basic parenting styles:
a. Authoritarian parenting style- a restrictive, punitive style in which the parent
exhorts the child to follow the parent’s directions and to value hard work and
effort.
b. Authoritative parenting style- encourages the child to be independent but still
places limits and controls on behavior.
c. Neglectful parenting style- characterized by a lack of parental involvement in
the child’s life.
d. Permissive parenting style- characterized by the placement of few limits on
the child’s behavior.
21. Lawrence Kohlberg developed a theory based on the development of moral thinking:
a. Preconventional level- based on punishments and rewards from the external
world.
b. Conventional level- abides by standards such as those learned from parents
or society’s laws.
c. Postconventional level- the individual recognizes alternative moral courses,
explores the options, and then develops an increasingly moral code.
22. Prosocial behavior- behavior intended to benefit other people.
23. Adolescence:
a. Puberty- period of rapid skeletal and sexual maturation that occurs mainly in
early adolescence.
b. Androgens- main class of male sex hormones.
c. Estrogens- main class of female sex hormones.
24. James Marcia proposed the theory of identity status to describe a person’s position in
the development of an identity- claimed there are two dimensions:
a. Exploration- refers to a person’s investigating various options for a career
and for personal values.
b. Commitment- involves making a decision about which identity path to follow
and making a personal investment in attaining that identity.
25. Emerging adulthood- transitional period from adolescence to adulthood, spanning
approximately 18 to 25 years of age.
26. Jeffrey Arnett identified five main features of emerging adulthood:
a. Identity exploration
b. Instability
c. Self-focus
d. A feeling of being “in between”
e. Access to various life possibilities and an opportunity to transform one’s life