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 anacoustic code from the sensory memory

Visuospatial working memory – for a short time, it stores visual and spatial information

Central executive – responsible for integrating the aboveinformation with information from the long-term memory

brainstormingBrainstorming 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.

cognitionmetacognition

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.

conceptA 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.

connectionismConnectionism 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 thinkingMost 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 memoryPeople 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 traumaRetrograde – 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 theretrieval of older information.

forgetting: repressionRepression 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.

hierarchiesWithin 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 effectAn anchoring effect is a form of manipulation of one’s decision-making 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 biasBelief bias is when one’s beliefs and values affects the ability to see reason or logic in a contrary position.

hindrances: belief perseveranceBelief 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 illusionCognitive illusions are misinterpretations of stimuli, assumptions about what exists around a person.

hindrances: confirmation biasDo 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: framingThe 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 fixednessFunctional 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. 0 0 0

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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?

hindrances: hindsight biasHindsight 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 setsA 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 biasWhat 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.

incubationSometimes, 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 Modelencoding, 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: babblingBeginning 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 perspectiveAccording 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: grammarGrammar refers to a system of rules that governs a language, allowing people to communicate with and/or understand others.

language: holophraseHave 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: overgeneralizationAlso 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 Theoryshallow 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.

memoryMemory 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.

overlearningAs 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: heuristicHeuristic is a strategy of solving problems that includes a rule-of-thumb. 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 learningSometimes 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 errorAmerican 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 effectMost 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: primingPriming 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: recallRecall 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 cuesRetrieval 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 effectSo, your mother tells you to get on your bike, go down to the store and pick up the following items:

soda Now, look away. How much can youbread remember? The serial position effectmilk suggests that there is better recall ateggs the beginning (primacy effect) of listsbananas due to rehearsal and at the end of thecoffee lists (recency effect) due to items stillfilters in your short-term memory. Oftenbaby food though, the information in the middlecandy of lists are forgotten.ice creamcereal

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 networksSemantic 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 overwhelmedAllows for decision timeProvides 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 long-time 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 encodingIn short, visual encoding is how we remember what we see. However, this information does not stick around for long, forgotten easily.

thalamusThe thalamus integrates sensory input, such as vision, hearing, taste as well as skin sensation.