Download Unit 7 Cognition Notes

KSS Psych 12AP
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Unit 7 Cognition Notes
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= the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage and retrieval of information.
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= the processing of information into the memory systems – for example, by extracting meaning.
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= the process of retaining encoded information over time.
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= the process of getting information out of memory storage.
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= the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information
processing for many functions. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers
and of conscious problem solving.
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= the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
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= 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.
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= the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills,
and experiences.
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= 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.
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= memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare.” (Also called declarative
memory)
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= encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
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= unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time and frequency, and of welllearned information, such as word meanings.
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= retention independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory)
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= a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no
more than a few tenths of a second.
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= a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still
be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
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= organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
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= memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
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= the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved
through massed study or practice.
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= enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading information. Also sometimes
referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
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= encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.
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= encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.
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= a neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.
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= a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
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= an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for
learning and memory.
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= a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learning earlier, as on a fill-inthe-blank test.
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= a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a
multiple-choice test.
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= a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.
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= the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.
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= the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.
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= our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list.
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= an inability to form new memories.
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= an inability to retrieve information from one’s past.
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= the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
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= the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
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= in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxietyarousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
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= incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.
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= 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.
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= that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may
unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
Improving Memory
Rehearse repeatedly
Make the material meaningful
Activate retrieval cues
Use mnemonic devices
Minimize interference
Sleep more
Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to help determine what you do not yet know
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= the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
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= a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people.
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= a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick
and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a
prototypical bird, such as a robin).
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= the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas.
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= narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution.
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= expands the number of possible problem solutions (creativity thinking that diverges in different
directions).
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= a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with
the usually speedier – but also more error-prone – use of heuristics.
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= a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently;
usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms.
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= a sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
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= a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort
contradictory evidence.
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= a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the
past.
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= an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious
reasoning.
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= judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular
prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information.
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= estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to
mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common
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= the tendency to be more confident than correct – to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and
judgments.
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= clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they are formed has been discredited.
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= the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgements.
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= our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning.
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= in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.
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= in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a
prefix).
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= in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. In a
given language, semantics is the set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds, and syntax is the set of
rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.
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= beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously
utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language.
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= the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single
words.
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Two-Word Stage____________________
= beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word
statements.
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= early speech state in which a child speaks like a telegram – “go car” – using mostly nouns and verbs.
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= impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s area (impairing
speaking) or to Wernicke’s area (impairing understanding).
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= controls language expression – an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs
the muscle movements involved in speech.
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= controls language reception – a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression;
usually in the left temporal lobe.
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= Whorf’s hypothesis that language determines the way we think.
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