AP®︎ Psychology: Unit 2 Flashcards

The process by which the brain organizes and interprets sensory information as meaningful objects, events, and relationships

Perception that begins with sensory stimulation and builds elementary features into a complete representation

The use of prior knowledge, expectations, experiences, and context to interpret sensory information

An organized mental framework that structures related knowledge, expectations, and understanding about a category, situation, person, object, or event

A readiness or predisposition to perceive a stimulus in a particular way

The influence of surrounding information, circumstances, or environmental cues on how a stimulus is perceived

The approach emphasizing that perception organizes sensations into meaningful wholes rather than separate parts

The tendency to perceive an incomplete figure as complete by filling in missing boundaries

The organization of a visual field into an attended figure and the background against which it appears

The tendency to group elements that are near one another

The tendency to group elements that share visual characteristics such as shape, color, size, or orientation

The focusing of awareness on selected stimuli or features

Concentrating awareness on one stimulus or task while other available information receives less processing

The tendency for personally significant information, such as one’s name, to capture attention outside the current focus

Failure to notice a visible and unexpected stimulus because attention is focused elsewhere

Failure to perceive an environmental change because attention is elsewhere or viewing continuity is interrupted

The ability to perceive distance and three-dimensional relationships

Depth information that depends on input from both eyes

The difference between the images projected onto the two retinas, with greater disparity generally indicating a nearer object

The inward turning of the eyes when focusing on a nearby object, with greater turning signaling a closer object

Depth information available to either eye alone that can also create depth on flat surfaces

The tendency to perceive clearer, sharper objects as nearer and hazier objects as farther away

When objects are assumed to have similar actual sizes, the one producing the smaller retinal image is perceived as farther away

The gradual change from coarse, detailed nearby texture to finer, denser, less distinct distant texture

The tendency for parallel lines to appear to converge as they extend into the distance

A depth cue in which an object blocking part of another is perceived as nearer than the partly hidden object

Tendencies to perceive familiar objects as stable even when their retinal images change

Perceiving an object’s actual size as relatively stable despite changes in the size of its retinal image

Perceiving an object’s shape as stable despite viewing-angle changes in the shape of its retinal image

Perceiving familiar surface colors as relatively stable under differing illumination

Perceiving an object’s relative lightness as stable despite changes in illumination

The perception of motion when no object is actually moving continuously through the perceived path

Apparent continuous movement produced by rapidly presenting a sequence of slightly different still images

Apparent movement in which adjacent stationary lights flashing in sequence seem to be one moving light

A mental category that groups objects, events, ideas, or people sharing relevant features

The ideal or most typical example of a concept, used as a standard for categorization

Interpreting new information through an existing schema without changing the schema

Modifying an existing schema or creating a new one to incorporate new information

A systematic, step-by-step procedure that attempts possible solutions according to a rule until the correct one is found

A mental shortcut or rule of thumb that finds a likely answer efficiently but does not guarantee correctness

Judging likelihood by resemblance to a prototype, expectation, or stereotype, often while neglecting base rates

Judging probability, frequency, or importance by how easily examples come to mind

The tendency to approach a new problem with a strategy that worked on previous problems

The influence of exposure to one stimulus on the processing of or response to a later stimulus

The influence of how logically equivalent information or choices are presented, such as as gains or losses

The mistaken belief that previous independent outcomes change the probability of the next random event

Allowing an irrecoverable past investment to improperly influence whether to continue a present course of action

Cognitive control processes used to generate, organize, plan, monitor, and carry out goal-directed behavior

The careful evaluation of claims, evidence, assumptions, and reasoning to reach well-supported conclusions

Thinking that generates ideas, approaches, or products that are both novel and useful or appropriate

Generating many possible ideas or solutions from a single starting point

Narrowing possibilities to identify a single best or correct answer

A cognitive bias that limits an object to its usual function, preventing consideration of alternative uses

The persistence of learning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval

Memory that is consciously accessible and can be relatively easily stated or described

Explicit memory for personally experienced events, often including where and when they occurred

Explicit memory for facts, concepts, meanings, and general knowledge

Memory that influences behavior without requiring conscious recollection and is often expressed through performance

Implicit memory for learned skills, procedures, and sequences of action

Memory for an intended future action—remembering to do something later

A lasting strengthening of synaptic transmission following repeated activation of a neural pathway, serving as a biological mechanism of memory storage

A model in which the central executive coordinates the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad to maintain and manipulate information

The working-memory component that directs attention and coordinates other components and limited mental resources

The working-memory component that temporarily holds and works with verbal and auditory information

The working-memory component that temporarily holds and manipulates visual images and spatial relationships

A model in which information moves among sensory, short-term, and long-term memory through attention, processing, and retrieval

The immediate and extremely brief preservation of a detailed trace of sensory stimulation after the stimulus ends

Sensory memory that retains visual information for approximately 0.2 to 0.5 seconds

Sensory memory that retains auditory information for approximately 3 to 4 seconds

The limited-capacity store that holds active information in conscious awareness for about 15 to 30 seconds without rehearsal

A limited-capacity active-memory system that temporarily holds and manipulates information during thinking

The relatively enduring and essentially unlimited storage of knowledge, experiences, and learned skills for periods ranging from hours to a lifetime

Encoding that occurs with little deliberate attention or conscious effort

Encoding that requires conscious attention and deliberate mental work

Transforming incoming information into a mental representation that the memory system can process and use

The retention of encoded information over time

Accessing encoded and stored information so it becomes available for thought, report, or behavior

A model proposing that deeper encoding produces stronger retention, progressing from structural to phonemic to semantic processing

Shallow encoding focused on a stimulus's physical or visual features

Encoding focused on sound, deeper than structural processing but shallower than semantic processing

Deep encoding focused on meaning and associations, generally producing the strongest retention

A memory strategy that connects new information to an organized, familiar, or easily imagined representation

A mnemonic that links items to vivid images at ordered locations along a familiar route, which is mentally retraced for recall

Grouping separate pieces of information into larger, meaningful units called chunks

Organizing information at multiple levels from broad categories to narrower subcategories and specific examples

The finding that distributed practice generally produces better long-term retention than equivalent massed practice

Distributed practice spreads learning across sessions separated in time; massed practice concentrates it into one continuous or closely grouped session

The tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a sequence better than items in the middle

Better memory for items near the beginning of a sequence, often because they receive more attention and rehearsal

Better memory for items near the end of a sequence because they remain readily available in working memory during immediate recall

Rote repetition that keeps information active in short-term memory without adding meaning

Connecting new information with meaning, prior knowledge, imagery, examples, categories, or personal experience to improve long-term retention

The unusual ability to recall personal experiences and their dates with exceptional detail, without having perfect memory for everything

The tendency to remember information better when it is connected to oneself

A significant loss of memory or ability to form memories, often associated with brain injury, disease, surgery, or severe psychological trauma

Loss of memories formed before the onset of an injury or disorder

An inability or severe difficulty forming new long-term memories after the onset of an injury or disorder

A progressive neurodegenerative disorder that damages memory and other cognitive abilities, often affecting new episodic learning before remote memories

The ordinary inability of older children and adults to recall autobiographical episodes from the earliest years of life, especially before about age 3

Retrieval that requires generating previously learned information without the target answer being presented for identification

Retrieval that requires identifying previously learned information when it is presented

An external or internal stimulus or condition that helps activate information in memory

Improved retrieval when the external environment at retrieval matches or contains cues from the environment present during encoding

The tendency for a current emotional mood to make memories with a matching emotional tone more accessible

Improved retrieval when the internal physiological state at retrieval matches the state present during encoding

The deliberate attempt to bring learned information to mind in order to strengthen later retrieval

The finding that retrieving information through testing produces better later retention than spending equivalent time only restudying or rereading

Awareness and regulation of one’s own thinking and learning, including monitoring knowledge and adjusting study strategies

The pattern in which retention declines rapidly soon after learning and then levels off over time

Failure to form a retrievable long-term memory because information was not adequately encoded

Competition between sets of information that makes learning or accurate retrieval more difficult

Interference in which older information disrupts the learning or retrieval of newer information

Interference in which newer information disrupts the retrieval of older information

A temporary inability to retrieve stored information despite partial access and a strong feeling that recall is close

The psychodynamic defense mechanism that unconsciously keeps distressing thoughts, feelings, or memories out of awareness

The alteration of a later memory report by misleading information encountered after an event

Remembering information while forgetting or misidentifying where that information originated

The rebuilding of a memory from stored information, schemas, expectations, and later information rather than replaying an exact recording

The process through which a newly encoded memory becomes stable and integrated into long-term storage

An increase in confidence that an event occurred after the event has been imagined

The ability to learn from experience, reason, solve problems, and adapt effectively to new situations

Spearman’s broad mental ability that contributes to performance across many different cognitive tasks

The theory that intelligence consists of relatively distinct linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic capacities

The psychologist who proposed that intelligence consists of multiple relatively distinct capacities rather than one general ability

The theory that intelligence includes three connected forms: analytical, creative, and practical intelligence

The psychologist who proposed the triarchic theory dividing intelligence into analytical, creative, and practical forms

The ability to analyze information, evaluate alternatives, compare ideas, and solve familiar academic problems

The ability to handle novel situations, generate original ideas, and combine information in new ways

The ability to apply knowledge effectively by adapting to, shaping, or selecting everyday environments

The ability to perceive, understand, use, and manage emotions in oneself and others

The chronological-age level whose typical performance matches a person’s performance on an intelligence test

A person’s actual age measured from birth

Historically, mental age divided by chronological age and multiplied by 100: IQ = mental age ÷ chronological age × 100

Researchers who developed an early intelligence assessment to identify French schoolchildren needing educational assistance and introduced mental age

Terman’s United States adaptation of Binet and Simon’s early intelligence assessment

The psychologist who developed widely used intelligence scales for adults and children and helped establish modern deviation IQ scoring

The study of measuring psychological characteristics

Administering and scoring a test with consistent directions, time limits, materials, rules, and testing conditions

The extent to which evidence supports interpreting and using a test score for its intended purpose

The extent to which an assessment actually measures the theoretical construct it is intended to measure

The extent to which a test score accurately forecasts a relevant future outcome

The consistency with which a test produces similar results when the measured characteristic has not changed

Consistency measured by correlating the same participants’ scores on the same test given on two occasions

Internal consistency measured by dividing a test into comparable halves and correlating the two sets of scores

Reduced performance caused by concern that one may confirm a negative stereotype about one’s group

Improved performance that can occur when a favorable social comparison makes one’s group seem relatively advantaged

The general rise in intelligence-test performance across generations in much of the world because of changing societal and environmental conditions

A test intended to measure knowledge and skills a person has already learned

A test intended to predict future performance or a person’s capacity to benefit from particular instruction or training

The belief that intelligence is essentially stable and cannot be substantially developed

The belief that intellectual abilities can develop through experience, effective effort, instruction, strategies, feedback, and help