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Intro. to Psych--Exam 2
MBI--Dr. Frank Hamilton's thurs. afternoon class.
211
Psychology
Undergraduate 2
11/09/2011

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Term
Zygote
Definition
The fertilized egg; it enters a 2-week period of rapid call division and develops into an embryo.
Term
Developmental Psychology-
Definition
A branch of psychology that studies physical, cognitive, and social change throughout the life span.
Term
Embryo
Definition
The developing human organism from about 2 weeks after fertilization through the second month.
Term
Fetus-
Definition
The developing human organism from 9 weeks after conception to birth.
Term
Teratogens-
Definition
Agents, such as chemicals and viruses, that can reach the embryo fo fetus during prenatal development and cause harm.
Term
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS)-
Definition
Physical and cognitive abnormalities in children cause by a pregnant woman’s heavy drinking. In severe cases, symptoms include noticeable facial disproportions.
Term
Maturation-
Definition
Biological growth processes that enable orderly changes in behavior, relatively uninfluenced by experience.
Term
Cognition
Definition
- All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
Term
Schema-
Definition
A concept or framework that organizes and interprets information.
Term
Assimilation-
Definition
Interpreting our new experiences in terms of our existing schemas.
Term
Accommodation-
Definition
Adapting our current understandings (schemas) ro incorporate new information.
Term
Sensorimotor Stage-
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from birth to about 2 years of age) during which infants know the world mostly in terms of their sensory impressions and motor activities.
Term
Object Permanence-
Definition
The awareness that things continue to exist even when not perceived.
Term
Preoperational Stage-
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the stage (from about 2 to 6 or 7 years of age) during which a child learns to use language but does not yet comprehend the mental operations of concrete logic.
Term
Conservation-
Definition
The principle (which Piaget believed to be a part of concrete operational reasoning) that properties such as mass, volumes, and number remain the same despite changes in the forms of objects.
Term
Egocentrism-
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the preoperational child’s difficulty taking another’s point of view.
Term
Theory of Mind-
Definition
People’s ideas about their own and others’ mental states—about their feelings, perceptions, and thoughts and the behaviors these might predict.
Term
Concrete Operational Stage-
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (from about 6 or 7 years of age) during which children gain the mental operations that enable them to think logically about concrete events.
Term
Formal Operational Stage-
Definition
In Piaget’s theory, the stage of cognitive development (normally beginning about age 12) during which people begin to think logically about abstract concepts.
Term
Reflecting on Piaget’s Theory
Definition
Piaget’s emphasis on how the child’s mind grows through interaction with the physical environment is complemented by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky’s emphasis on how the child’s mind grows through interaction with the social environment.
Term
Stranger anxiety-
Definition
The fear of strangers that infants commonly display, beginning by about 8 months of age.
Term
Origins of Attachment-
Definition
An emotional tie with another person; shown in young children by their seeking closeness to the caregiver and showing distress on separation. Contact and Familiarity are both important to attachment.
Term
Critical period-
Definition
An optimal period shortly after birth when an organism’s exposure to certain stimuli or experience produces proper development.
Term
Imprinting-
Definition
The process by which certain animals form attachments during a critical period very early life.
Term
Attachment Differences
Definition
Secure attachment and insecure attachment. i.e. comfortable in mothers presence and want contact with her or cling to mother and are indifferent from coming and going.
Term
Basic trust
Definition
- According to Erik Erikson, a sense that the world is predictable and trustworthy; said to be formed during infancy by appropriate experiences with responsive caregivers.
Term
Parenting Styles
Definition
Authoritarian parents impose rules and expect obedience.
Permissive parents submit to their children’s desires. They make few demands and use little punishment.
Authoritative parents are both demanding and responsive. They exert control by setting rules and enforcing them, but they also explain the reasons for the rules.
Term
Adolescence
Definition
- The transition period from childhood to adulthood, extending from puberty to independence.
Term
Puberty
Definition
- The period of sexual maturation, during which a person becomes capable of reproducing.
Term
ii. Primary sex characteristics
Definition
ii. Primary sex characteristics- The body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia) that make sexual reproduction possible.
Term
iii. Secondary sex characteristics
Definition
- Nonreproductive sexual characteristics, such as female breasts and hips, male voice quality, and body hair.
Term
iv. Menarche
Definition
- (meh-NAR- key) the first menstrual period.
Term
1. Preconvention Morality-
Definition
Before age 9, most children’s morality focuses on self-interest: They obey rules either to avoid punishment or to gain concrete rewards.
Term
2. Conventional Morality-
Definition
2. Conventional Morality- By early adolescence, morality focuses on caring for other and on upholding laws and social rules, simply because they are the laws and rules.
Term
3. Post conventional Morality
Definition
- With the abstract reasoning of formal operational thought, people may reach a third moral level. Actions are judged “right” because they flow from people’s rights of from self-defined, basic ethical principles.
Term
Identity
Definition
- Our sense of self; according to Erickson, the adolescent’s task is to solidify a sense of self by testing and integrating various roles.
Term
2. Social Identity
Definition
- The “we” aspect of our self-concept; the part of our answer to “who am I?” that comes from our group memberships.
Term
Intimacy
Definition
- In Erickson’s theory, the ability to form close, loving relationships; a primary developmental task in late adolescence and early adulthood.
Term
i. Emerging adulthood
Definition
For some people in modern cultures, a period from the late teens to mid-twenties, bridging the gap between adolescent dependence and full independence and responsible adulthood.
Term
Menopause
Definition
- The time of natural cessation of menstruation; also refers to the biological changes a woman experiences as her ability to reproduce declines.
Term
memory (aging)
Definition
recognitions stays stable and recall goes down with aging
Term
1. Crystallized intelligence-
Definition
Our accumulated knowledge and verbal skills; tends to increase with age.
Term
2. Fluid intelligence-
Definition
Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood. 2- Our ability to reason speedily and abstractly; tends to decrease during late adulthood.
Term
1. Social clock-
Definition
The culturally preferred timing of social events as marriage, parenthood, and retirement.
Term
Sensation
Definition
--The process by which our sensory receptors and nervous system receive and represent stimulus energies from our environment. (happens in PNS)
Term
Perception
Definition
--the process of organizing and interpreting sensory information, enabling us to recognize meaningful objects and events. (happens in CNS)
Term
bottom-up processing
Definition
--analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain’s integration of sensory information.
Term
top-down processing
Definition
--information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations
Term
Psychophysics
Definition
--the study of relationships between the physical characteristics of stimuli, such as their intensity, and our psychological experience of them.
Term
absolute threshold
Definition
--the minimum stimulation needed to detect a particular stimulus 50 percent of the time.
Term
subliminal
Definition
--below one’s absolute threshold for conscious awareness.
Term
priming
Definition
--the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
Term
masking stimulus
Definition
--a stimulus which interrupts the brain’s processing before it can consciously perceive an image or word priorly flashed.
Term
Much of our information processing ...
Definition
...occurs automatically, out of sight, off the radar screen of our conscious mind.
Term
difference threshold
Definition
--the minumum difference between two stimuli required for detection 50 percent of the time. We experience the difference as a just noticeable difference (jnd), which is another name for it.
Term
Weber’s law-
Definition
-the principle that, to be perceived as different, two stimuli must differ by a constant minimum percentage (rather than a constant amount). The exact proportion varies, depending on the stimulus.
Term
Sensory adaptation
Definition
--diminished sensitivity as a consequence of constant stimulation. After constant exposure to a stimulus, our nerve cells fire less frequently. This gives us the freedom to focus on informative changes in our environment without being distracted by the constant chatter of uninformative background stimulation.
We perceive the world not exactly as it is, but as it is useful for us to perceive it.
Term
wavelength
Definition
--the distance from the peak of one light or sound wave to the peak of the next. Electromagnetic wavelengths vary from the short blips of cosmic rays to the long pulses of radio transmission.
Term
hue
Definition
--the dimension of color that is determined by the wavelength of light; what we know as color names blue, green, and so forth.
Term
intensity
Definition
--the amount of energy in a light or sound wave, which we perceive as brightness or loudness as determined by the wave’s amplitude.
Term
What is the energy that we see as visible light?
Definition
a thin slice of the whole spectrum of electromagnetic energy. The hue we perceive in a light depends on its wavelength, and its brightness depends on its intensity.
Term
Retina
Definition
--the light-sensitive inner surface of the eye, containing the receptor rods and cones plus layers of neurons that begin the processing of visual information
Term
accommodation
Definition
Term
rods
Definition
--retinal receptors that detect black, white, and gray; necessary for peripheral and twilight vision, when cones don’t respond.
Term
cones
Definition
--retinal receptor cells that are concentrated near the center of the retina and that function in daylight or in well-lit conditions. The cones detect fine detail and give rise to color sensation.
Term
optic nerve
Definition
--the nerve that carries neural impulses from the eye to the brain.
Term
blind spot-
Definition
-the point at which the optic nerve leaves the eye, creating a “blind spot” because no receptor cells are located there.
Term
fovea
Definition
--the central focal point in the retina around which the eye’s cones cluster
Term
feature detectors
Definition
--nerve cells in the brain that respond to specific features of a stimulus, such as shape, angle or movement.
Term
parallel processing
Definition
--the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.
Term
Youn-Helmholtz trichromatic (three-color) theory
Definition
--the theory that the retina contains three different color receptors--one most sensitive to red, one to green, and one to blue--which, when stimulated in combination, can produce the perception of any color.
Term
opponent-processing theory-
Definition
-the theory that opposing retinal processes (red-green, yellow-blue, white-black) enable color vision. For example, some cells are stimulated by green and inhibited by red; others are stimulated by red and inhibited by green.
Term
So, color processing occurs in two stages...
Definition
The retina’s cones for red, green, and blue respond in varying degrees to different color stimuli (Young-Helmholtz); then the cones’ signals are processed by the nervous system’s opponent-process cells, en route to the visual cortex of the brain.
Term
audition
Definition
--the sense or act of hearing
Term
frequency
Definition
--the number of complete wavelengths that pass a point in a given time (for example, per second).
Term
pitch
Definition
--a tone’s experienced highness or lowness; depends on frequency.
Term
amplitude
Definition
--strength of sound waves; determines their loudness
Term
middle ear-
Definition
-the chamber between the eardrum and cochlea containing three tiny bones (hammer, anvil, and stirrup) that concentrate the vibrations of the eardrum on the cochlea’s oval window.
Term
cochlea
Definition
--a coiled, bony, fluid-filled tube in the inner ear through which sound waves trigger nerve impulses.
Term
inner ear-
Definition
-the innermost part of the ear, containing the cochlea, semicircular canals, and vestibular sacs.
Term
THe movement of fluid in the cochlea...
Definition
causes the hair cells to move; hair cells trigger neural impulses. Hair cell damage is what causes hearing loss. The brain interprets loudness from the number of activated hair cells.
Term
kinesthesis
Definition
--the system for sensing the position and movement of individual body parts. This sense works together with vision.
Term
vestibular sense
Definition
--the sense of body movement and position, including the sense of balance. This is in your head: The semicircular canals and vestibular sacs in the inner ear sense the movement of the fluid in the cochlea that comes from your head rotating or tilting.
Term
Four basic variations of skin sensations:
Definition
pressure, cold, warmth, and pain.
Term
gate-control theory
Definition
--the theory that the spinal cord contains a neurological “gate” that blocks pain signals or allows them to pass on to the brain. The “gate” is opened by the activity of pain signals traveling up small nerve fibers and is closed by activity in larger fibers or by information coming from the brain.
Term
sensory interaction-
Definition
the principle that one sense may influence another, as when the smell of food influences its taste. Smell and taste are both chemical senses.
Term
gestalt
Definition
--an organized whole. Gestalt psychologists emphasized our tendency to integrate pieces of information into meaningful wholes.
Term
figure-ground-
Definition
-the organization of the visual field into objects (the figures) that stand out from their surroundings (the ground). For example, the words on this page are the figure and the white page is the ground.
Term
grouping
Definition
--the perceptual tendency to organize stimuli into coherent groups.
Term
depth perception
Definition
--the ability to see objects in three dimensions although the images that strike the retina are two-dimensional; allows us to judge distance.
Term
visual cliff-
Definition
-a laboratory device for testing depth perception in infants and young animals.
Term
binocular cues-
Definition
-depth cues, such as retinal disparity, that depend on the use of two eyes.
Term
retinal disparity
Definition
--a binocular cue fro 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.
Term
monocular cues-
Definition
-depth cues, such as interposition and linear perspective, available to either eye alone.
Term
relative height--
Definition
perception of things higher in our field of vision as farther away
Term
relative size-
Definition
-most people perceive the smaller of two images as farther away
Term
interposition
Definition
--If one object partially blocks our view of another, we perceive it as closer
Term
linear perspective
Definition
--parallel lines appear to converge with distance, the more they converge, the grater their perceived distance. e.g. railroad tracks.
Term
relative motion
Definition
--as we move, objects that are actually stable may appear to move, if you maintain a fixation point.
Term
light and shadow-
Definition
-nearby objects reflect more light, thus comparing two identical objects, the dimmer one will seem farther away.
Term
perceptual constancy-
Definition
- perceiving objects as unchanging (having consistent shapes, size, lightness, and color) even as illumination and retinal images change.
shape and size constancy
color constancy--perceiving familiar objects as having consistent color, even if changing illumination alters the wavelengths reflected by the object.
lightness constancy
ability to hear distinct words in our own language
Term
perceptual adaptation-
Definition
-in vision, the ability to adjust to an artificially displaced or even inverted visual field.
Term
perceptual set-
Definition
-a mental predisposition to perceive one thing and not another. Based on experiences, assumptions, and expectations.
Term
extrasensory perception (ESP)
Definition
--the controversial claim that perception can occur
apart from sensory input; includes telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition.
Term
parapsychology
Definition
--the study of paranormal phenomena, including ESP and psychokinesis.
Term
Learning
Definition
: A relatively permanent change in an organism’s behavior due to experience
Term
John Lock and David Hume ...
Definition
agree with Aristotle: We learn from association
* Associating sounds/smells/etc
* Animals learn by association (Example: Disturbed by a squirt of water, the sea slug Aplysia protectively withdraws its gill) The animal relates the squirt to the impending shock…
Term
Associative learning:
Definition
Learning that certain events occur together. The events may be two stimuli or a response and its consequences…Linking two events that occur close together
Term
Conditioning
Definition
: The process of learning associations
Term
-Classical conditioning
Definition
: A type of learning in which one learns to link two or more stimuli and anticipate events… We learn to associate two stimuli and thus to anticipate events
Term
-Operant conditioning:
Definition
We learn to associate a response (our behavior) and its consequence and thus to repeat acts followed by good results and avoid acts followed by bad result
Term
Conditioning is not the only form of learning…
Definition
through observational learning, we learn from other’s experiences.
Term
In summation of conditioning:
Definition
By conditioning and by observation we humans learn and adapt to our environments. We learn to expect and prepare for significant events such as good or pain (classical conditioning). We also learn to repeat acts that bring good results and to avoid acts that bring bad results (operant conditioning). By watching others we learn new behaviours (observational learning). And through language, we also learn things we have neither experienced nor observed.
Term
Behaviorism
Definition
: The view that psychology 1. Should be an objective science that 2. studies behavior without reference to mental processes. Most research psychologists today agree with 1 but not with 2
Term
Pavlov’s Dog:
Definition
During conditioning, Pavlov presented a neutral stimulus (a tone) just before an unconditioned stimulus (food in mouth). The neutral stimulus then became a conditioned stimulus producing a conditioned response.
Term
Five major conditioning process:
Definition
acquisition, extinction, spontaneous recovery, generalization, and discrimination.
Term
Neutral stimulus:
Definition
In classical conditioning, a stimulus that elicits no response before conditioning
Term
Unconditioned response:
Definition
In classical conditioning, the unlearned, naturally occurring response to the unconditioned stimulus, such as salivation when food is in the mouth
Term
Unconditioned stimulus
Definition
: In classical conditioning, a stimulus that unconditionally- naturally and automatically- triggers a response.
Term
Conditioned response:
Definition
In classical conditioning, the learned response to a previously neutral (but now conditioned) stimulus.
Term
Conditioned stimulus:
Definition
In classical conditioning, a previously neutral stimulus that, after association with an unconditioned stimulus, comes to trigger a conditioned response
Term
Abrevs. for Classical Conditioning.
Definition
NS: Neutral Stimuli
US: Unconditioned Stimulus
UR: Unconditioned Response
CS: Conditioned Stimulus
CR: Conditioned Response
Term
Acquisition: (Initial learning):
Definition
in classical conditioning, the initial stage, when one links a neutral stimulus and an unconditioned stimulus so that the neutral stimulus begins triggering the conditioned response. In operant conditioning, the strengthening of a reinforced response.
Term
Higher-order conditioning:
Definition
A procedure in which the conditioned stimulus in one conditioning experience is paired with a new neutral stimulus, creating a second (often weaker) conditioned stimulus. Higher order conditioning: A new neutral stimulus can become a new conditioned stimulus.
Term
Discrimination
Definition
In classical conditioning the learned ability to distinguish between a conditioned stimulus and stimuli that do not signal an unconditioned stimulus.
Term
Extinction:
Definition
The diminishing of a conditioned response; occurs in classical conditioning when an unconditioned stimulus does not follow a conditioned stimulus; occurs in operant conditioning when a response is no longer reinforced.
Term
Spontaneous recovery:
Definition
The reappearance, after a pause, of an extinguished conditioned response
Term
Generalization:
Definition
The tendency, once a response has been conditioned, for stimuli similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit similar responses.
Term
Biological Predispositions:
Definition
Gave rats a particular taste, sight, or sound and later gave them radiation or drugs that led to nausea and vomiting… sick rats developed aversions to tastes but not to sights or sounds….
Term
Biopsyhcholsocial influences on learning:
Definition
Today’s learning theorist recognize that our learning results not only from environmental experiences, but also from cognitive and biological influences.
Term
Respondent behavior:
Definition
Behavior that occurs as an automatic response to some stimulus.
Term
Operant conditioning:
Definition
A type of learning in which behavior is strengthened if followed by a reinforce or diminished if followed by a punisher
Term
Operant behavior:
Definition
Behavior that operates on the environment, producing consequences
Term
Law of effect:
Definition
Thorndike’s principle that behavior followed by favorable consequences become more likely.
Term
Operant Chamber:
Definition
In operant conditioning research, a chamber (also known as a Skinner box) containing a bar or key that an animal can manipulate to obtain a food or water reinforce; attached devices record the animal’s rate of bar pressing or key pecking
Term
Shaping:
Definition
An operant conditioning procedure in which reinforces guide behavior toward closer and closer approximations of the desired behavior
Term
Reinforce:
Definition
In operant condition, any event that strengthens the behavior it follows
Term
Positive reinforcement:
Definition
Increasing behaviors by presenting a positive stimuli, such as food. A positive reinforce is any stimulus that, when presented after a response, strengthens the response
Term
Negative reinforcement:
Definition
Increasing behaviors by stopping or reducing negative stimuli. A negative reinforce is any stimulus that, when removed after a response, strengthens the response.
Term
Primary reinforce:
Definition
An innately reinforcing stimulus, such as one that satisfies a biological need.
like getting food when hungry or having a painful headache go away
Term
Conditioned reinforce:
Definition
A stimulus that gains its reinforcing power through its association with a primary reinforce; also known as a secondary reinforce.
like money, good grades, etc.
Term
Operant Conditioning Term Description Examples
(Ways to Increase Behavior)
Definition
Positive reinforcement Add a desirable stimulus Getting a hug; receiving a paycheck
Negative reinforcement Remove an aversive stimulus Fastening seatbelt to turn off beeping
Term
Continuous reinforcement:
Definition
reinforcing the desired response every time it occurs.
Term
Partial (intermittent) reinforcement:
Definition
Reinforcing a response only part of the time; results in slower acquisition of a response but much greater resistance to extinction than does continuous reinforcement.
Term
Fixed-ration schedule:
Definition
In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response only after a specified number of responses
Term
Variable-Ration schedule
Definition
: In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response after an unpredictable number of responses
Term
Fixed-interval schedule:
Definition
In operant conditioning a reinforcement schedule, that reinforces a response only after a specified time has elapsed.
Term
Variable-interval schedule:
Definition
In operant conditioning, a reinforcement schedule that reinforces a response at unpredictable time intervals
Term
Cognitive map
Definition
: A mental representation of the layout of one’s environment. For example, after exploring a maze, rats act as if they have learned a cognitive map of it.
Term
Latent learning:
Definition
Learning that occurs but is not apparent until there is an incentive to demonstrate it.
Term
Type of Punisher Description Possible Examples

(Ways to Decrease Behavior)
Definition
Positive punishment Administer an aversive stimulus Spanking; receiving a parking ticket
Negative punishment Withdraw a desirable stimulus Time-out from privileges (such as time with friends); revoked driver’s license
Term
Positive punishment
Definition
Administer an aversive stimulus Spanking; receiving a parking ticket
Term
Negative punishment
Definition
Withdraw a desirable stimulus Time-out from privileges (such as time with friends); revoked driver’s license
Term
Natural athletes:
Definition
Animals can most easily learn and retain behaviors that draw on their biological predispositions, such as cats’ inborn tendency to leap high and land on their feet.
Term
Observational learning:
Definition
Learning by observing others.
Term
Modeling:
Definition
The process of observing and imitating a specific behavior
Term
Mirror neurons:
Definition
Frontal lob neurons that ire when performing certain actions or when observing another doing so. The brain’s mirroring of another’s action may enable imitation and empathy.
Term
Prosocial behavior:
Definition
Positive, constructive, helpful behavior. The opposite of antisocial behavior.
Term
Memory
Definition
: persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
Term
Encoding
Definition
*: the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.
Term
Storage
Definition
*: the retention of encoded information over time.
Term
Retrieval
Definition
*: the process of getting information out of memory storage
Term
* Short-term memory:
Definition
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.
Term
* Long-term memory:
Definition
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills and experiences.
Term
* Working memory:
Definition
a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
Term
* To remember any event...
Definition
, we must get information into our brain (encoding), retain that information (storage), and later get it back out (retrieval).
Term
Connectionism:
Definition
* view memories as emerging from interconnected neural networks. (Modern model). (Richard Atkinson, Richard Shiffrin).
Term
3 stages of memory formation
Definition
1. We first record to-be-remembered information as a fleeting sensory memory.
2. From there, we process information into a short-term memory bin, where we encode it through rehearsal.
3. Finally, information moves into long-term memory for later retrieval.
Term
Automatic Processing (subconscious, what you ate for dinner).
Definition
Definition: unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
Term
* Space:
Definition
while studying, you often encode the place on a page where certain material appears; later, when struggling to recall that information, you may visualize its location.
Term
* Time:
Definition
while going about your day, you unintentionally note the sequence of the day’s events. Later, when you realize you’ve left your coat somewhere, you can re-create that sequence and retrace your steps.
Term
* Frequency
Definition
: you effortlessly keep track of how many times things happen, thus enabling you to realize that “this is the third time I’ve run into her today.”
Term
* Well-learned material:
Definition
* Well-learned material: for example, when you see words in your native language, perhaps on the side of a delivery truck, you cannot help but register their meaning. At such times, automatic processing is so effortless that it is difficult to shut off.
Term
Effortful Processing (intentional, understanding and retaining this study guide)
Definition
Definition: encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
Term
* Rehearsal:
Definition
the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
Term
* Amount remembered...
Definition
depends on the time spent learning it
Term
* Spacing effect:
Definition
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
Term
* Serial position effect:
Definition
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
Term
Encoding Meaning:
Definition
The amount remembered deends both on the time spent learning and on your making it meaningful.
Term
* Imagery:
Definition
mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with encoding.
Term
* Mnemonics [nih-MON-iks]:
Definition
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
Term
* Chunking:
Definition
organizing items into familiar, manageable units, often occurs automatically.
o When we organize words or concepts into hierarchical groups, (concepts in the chapter, for example), we remember them better than we see them presented randomly.
Term
Sensory Memory: 2 components
Definition
1. 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
2. Echoic memory: a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
Term
* Long-term potential (LTP)
Definition
an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
Term
* Flashbulb memory:
Definition
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.o Stress hormones are a factor in forming these memories
Term
Amnesia
Definition
*: the loss of memory.
Term
* Implicit memory:
Definition
retention independent of conscious recollection. (also called nondeclarative memory).
Term
* Explicit memory:
Definition
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare.” (also called declarative memory)
Term
* Hippocampus:
Definition
a neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.
Term
* Cerebellum:
Definition
plays an important part in our forming and storing of implicit memories.
Term
o Recall:
Definition
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
Term
o Recognition:
Definition
a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
Term
Relearning
Definition
o: a measure of memory that accesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.
Term
Priming
Definition
*: the activation, often unconsciously, or particular associations in memory
Term
* Déjà vu:
Definition
that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
Term
* Mood-congruent memory:
Definition
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.
Term
Forgetfulness
Definition
Encoding failure leads to forgetting
Term
Forgetfulness
Definition
Encoding failure leads to forgetting
Term
Retrieval failure –
Definition
Retrieval failure – “tip of the tongue” phenomena
Term
* Proactive interference:
Definition
* Proactive interference: the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
Term
* Retroactive interference:
Definition
the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
Term
Motivated forgetting
Definition
(a form of denial) – pg. 280-281
Term
Repression:
Definition
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from a consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
Term
Misinformation effect:
Definition
incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.
Term
Source amnesia:
Definition
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (also called source misattribution). Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.
Term
Repressed or constructed memories of abuse?
Definition
o Sexual abuse happens – can leave victims predisposed to problems ranging from sexual dysfunction to depression
o Injustice happens – innocent falsely convicted, and guilty evaded responsibility
o Forgetting happens – many abused were young and may not have understood the meaning of their experience. Forgetting isolated past events, both negative and positive, is an ordinary part of everyday life.
Term
o Recovered memories are commonplace –
Definition
cued by a remark or experience. Debate is whether the unconscious mind sometimes forcibly represses painful experiences and if so, if they can be retrieved by certain therapist-aided techniques.
Term
o Memories of things happening before the age of 3 are unreliable –
Definition
most psychologists doubt “recovered” memories of abuse during infancy. The older the child was when suffering sexual abuse, and the more severe the abuse, the more likely it is to be remembered.
Term
o Memories “recovered” under hypnosis
Definition
or the influence of drugs are especially unreliable – “age-regressed” hypnotized subjects incorporate suggestions into their memories, even memories of “past lives”.
Term
o Memories, whether real or false, can be emotionally upsetting
Definition
– people knocked by unconscious in unremembered accidents have later developed stress disorders after being haunted by memories they constructed from photos, news reports, and friends’ accounts.
Term
Improving Memory
Definition
o Study repeatedly (spaced)
o Make the material meaningful
o Activate retrieval cues
o Use mnemonic devices
o Minimize interference
o Sleep More
o Test Your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to help determine what you do not
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