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178 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
sensation |
Messages from senses that provide a link to the environment |
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perception |
Making sensations into meaningful experiences |
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accessory structure in sensation |
Modifies energy, funnels information to sensory receptors |
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transduction in sensation |
Environmental energy changed into neural energy (how it gets changed to neural energy) |
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sensory receptors in sensation |
adapt to stimuli and stop firing as much |
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sensory nerves in sensation |
Carry output from sensory receptors to central nervous system |
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thalamus in sensation |
process and relay neural responses (except smell0 |
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sensory cortex in sensation |
Produces the sensation and perception, further processes happen |
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amplitude |
determines loudness, signal strength, distance from base to peak |
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wavelength/frequency |
determines pitch, distance between peaks, short wavelength means a high pitch, long wavelength means a low pitch, humans can hear between 20 and 20,000 Hz, normal conversation is from 2,000-4,000 Hz |
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Describe hearing process |
Accessory structure modifies sound, it’s converted into neuronal signals, auditory nerves carry output from sensory receptors to central nervous system, neural energy travels to the thalamus, sound information gets relayed to the auditory cortex |
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pinna |
visible, external part of the ear that serves as a concentrator, funneling sound waves from the environment into the structure of the ear |
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tympanic membrane |
eardrum, when sounds hit it, it causes three tiny bones to vibrate in the middle of the ear |
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Ear bones |
Hammer, anvil, and stirrup; vibration of these bones amplifies the vibration from the eardrum, and the last bone (stirrup) causes a membrane covering the opening of the inner ear to vibrate |
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oval window |
a membrane whose vibrations set off another chain reaction in the inner ear |
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basilar membrane |
Membrane that runs through the middle of the cochlea |
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hair cells |
Receptors for sound; when they’re bent up against the other membrane, it causes them to send a neural message through the auditory nerve |
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auditory nerve |
contains the axons of all the receptor neurons |
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auditory cortex |
Interprets sounds |
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nerve deafness |
Hair cells don’t fire in the cochlea (helped by cochlear implants) |
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conduction deafness |
Middle ear bones are fused and can’t vibrate (helped by hearing aid) |
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light intensity |
determines brightness, amount of energy in light, light wave amplitude |
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wavelength of light |
determines color, distance between peaks |
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saturation of light |
purity, determined by the combination of wave patterns |
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Describe the vision process |
cessory structure modifies light -> light is converted into a neuronal signal -> Optic nerves carry output from sensory receptors through the optic chiasm to central nervous system -> Neural energy traveles to the lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus -> visual information gets relayed to the visual cortex |
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cornea |
transparent protective layer (lasik changes chape of cornea) |
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pupil |
opening behind cornea |
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iris |
color part of the eye, muscle that adjusts pupil, allows more or less light in |
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lens |
Bends light rays through accommodation to focus |
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accommodation |
coordinating changes in vergence, lens shape, and pupil size |
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retina |
back surface of the eye |
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fovea |
central part of retina, sharpest vision |
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photoreceptors |
detect light |
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rods |
peripheral, sensitive to light/no light |
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cones |
3 pigments, center of retina, mostly in fovea, color vision and ability to see detail |
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dark adaption |
When the eye recovers its ability to see when going from a brightly lit state to a dark state |
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where is acuity the greatest |
in the fovea because it is dense in cone receptors |
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blind spot |
Happens due to a “hole” in the retina where all the axons of ganglion cells leave the retina; there are no rods or cones here |
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trichromatic color theory |
Any color of light can be produced by mixing pure versions of blue, green, and red light in different ratios. Three types of cones – short/blue, medium/green, long/yellow, explains color blindness |
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opponent-process theory |
visual elements sensitive to color are grouped into three pairs, each pair member inhibits the other (red-green, blue-yellow, black-white). Explains after-images |
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somesthetic senses |
senses of the body (taste, hearing, vision, smell, touch) |
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skin senses |
Having to do with pressure, touch, temperature, and pain |
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kinesthetic senses |
Having to do with the location of body parts in relation to each other |
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vestibular senses |
Having to do with movement and body position |
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gate control theory |
Pain signals pass through a “gate” (representation of relative balance in neural activity of cells in the spinal cord that receive information from the body and send information to the brain) located in the spinal cord |
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absolute threshold |
The minimum amount of stimulus energy that can be detected 50% of the time; minimum intensity we can perceive |
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subliminal stimuli |
Below 50% threshold, not aware you’re perceiving it |
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supraliminal stimuli |
Above 50% threshold |
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difference threshold |
Smallest detectable difference between stimuli. Relationship between perception of stimuli and actual strength of stimulus. Based on percentage. (+3% weight, you won’t notice) |
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weber's law |
Smallest detectable difference in energy is a constant fraction of stimulus intensity |
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liklihood |
organize elements based on most likely arrangement |
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simplicity |
organize elements to provide simplest perception |
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proximity |
close objects grouped |
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similarity |
similar objects grouped |
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continuity |
group to make continuous form |
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closure |
group to fill in missing info |
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figure-ground processing |
our perceptual processes actively try to assign some stimuli to the foreground (figure-part that has meaning) and some to the meaningless background (ground) |
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perceptual constancy |
objects appear the same despite changes on the retina (size, shape, brightness) |
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interposition |
or overlap. If one object seems to be blocking another object, people assume that the blocked object is behind the first object and, therefore, further away |
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linear perspective |
the tendency for lines that are actually parallel to seem to converge (drawing a road pointed away from you) |
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texture gradient |
items that are close are distinctly textured, but items far away have smaller and finer texture |
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convergence |
a muscle cue in which the rotation of the eyes to focus on the object indicates whether it is near (high convergence) or far (low convergence) (eyes crossing to follow an object coming closer) |
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binocular disparity |
the difference between the images that each eye sees. If something is close, it has high disparity, if something is far, it has low disparity |
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bottom-up processing |
stimulus first analyzed into basic features |
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top-down processing |
using knowledge and past experience to recognize stimuli
Useful when stimulus is ambiguous, use expectancies, schemas, motivation (virgin Mary on a grilled cheese) |
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feature detectors |
cells that activate in response to specific features |
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overt attention |
move your eyes to focus attention |
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covert attention |
shifting attention without changing your body |
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divided attention |
multitasking |
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inattentional blindness |
blind to unattended information |
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change blindness |
missing changes in environment due to inattentional blindness |
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nonassociative learning |
impact of one stimulus, learning in its simplest form |
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associative learning |
process by which two pieces of information from the environment are repeatedly linked so that we begin to connect them in our mind |
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habituation |
adapting attention to constant stimulation, no longer new |
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sensitization |
novel/new stimuli automatically attracts attention and causes an exaggerated response |
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classical conditioning |
learning to elicit an involuntary, reflex-like, response to a stimulus other than the original, natural stimulus that normally produces the response |
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unconditioned stimulus |
original input that always elicits the unlearned response. Natural, preexisting, refletive |
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unconditioned response |
an automatic and involuntary response |
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conditioned stimulus |
previously neutral stimulus that now elicits the conditioned response (learned) |
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conditioned response |
learned response elicited by the conditioned stimulus |
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extinction |
gradual disappearance of the conditioned response |
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reconditioning |
quick relearning of conditioned response after extinction |
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spontaneous recovery |
reappearance of conditioned response after extinction |
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stimulus generalization |
stimuli similar enough to conditioned stimulus to elicit conditioned response |
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stimulus discrimination |
stimuli different enough from the conditioned stimulus so that it does not elicit conditioned response |
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operant conditioning |
learning consequences of behavior alters future behavior |
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positive reinforcement |
good thing added, future response more likely |
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negative reinforcement |
bad thing removed, future response more likely |
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punishment I |
bad thing added, future response less likely |
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punishment II |
good thing removed, future response less likely |
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escape conditioning |
remove myself from a situation by making an excuse |
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avoidance conditioning |
avoiding a situation in the first place |
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primary reinforcers |
meets an organism’s basic needs (food, water) |
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secondary reinforcers |
something you’ve learned to like (money) |
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shaping |
reinforce responses that are closer to the desired response |
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continuous reinforcement |
reinforcement every time a response occurs (learn faster) |
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fixed ration reinforcement |
reinforcement after a fixed number of responses (putting set amount of money into a vending machine to get food) |
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variable ratio reinforcement |
reinforcement after a varying number of responses (slot machines) |
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fixed interval reinforcement |
reinforcement at the first response after a fixed time has passed (feeding cats at 9am and 7pm every day) |
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variable interval reinforcement |
reinforcement at the first response after some varying period of time (sit in one place however long it takes for Reveille to walk by) |
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latent learning |
learning that occurs in the absence of reinforcement and is not demonstrated until later, when reinforcement occurs |
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cognitive map |
mental representations of the environment |
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insight |
complex problems can be solved using insight, “aha” moment |
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observational learning |
when people learn by watching others responses |
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vicarious conditioning |
learns the consequences of an action by watching others |
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social learning theory |
learning by modeling and observational learning |
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encoding |
Code information and put it into information |
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acoustic encoding |
Store information as sound |
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visual encoding |
Information mentally represented as an image |
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semantic encoding |
Information as general meaning (getting the gist of something) |
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storage |
Maintain in memory |
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retreival |
Recover from memory |
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levels-of-processing model |
How deep something is encoded. If something is processed more thoroughly, it is easier to remember |
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maintenance rehersal |
Shallow processing, repetition, good for short term but not long term |
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elaborative rehersal |
Deep processing, relating new information to information already in memory, mnemonics, visual imagery encoding and organizational encoding |
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information-processing model |
classification of memories based on duration as sensory, short-term and long-term. Attention moves information between the stores |
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sensory memory |
briefly retains information from sense organs |
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short-term memory |
temporarily holds information in conscious |
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long-term memory |
can retain information for long periods |
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working memory |
manipulates information in short-term memory (add, subtract, multiply, divide) |
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immediate memory span |
longest list of items that a person can repeat back in correct order immediately after presentation 50% of the time |
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chunking |
organizing information into meaningful groups |
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episodic memory |
memory of a specific event |
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semantic memory |
facts |
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procedural memory |
skills |
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implicit long-term memory |
unintentional recognition and influence of prior experiences |
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explicit long-term memory |
intentionally trying to remember, consciously aware of doing, not automatic |
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semantic encoding |
processing and encoding of sensory input that has particular meaning or can be applied to a context |
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primacy effect |
items from the beginning of a list are more likely to be recalled |
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recency effect |
items seen most recently are more likely to be recalled |
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transfer-appropriate processing |
how well does encoding match retrieval processes (study for multiple choice vs essay test) |
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retreival |
calling up information stored in memory (remembering) |
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recall |
retrieve without help |
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recognition |
retrieval aided by clues |
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retrieval clues |
stimuli that helps us remember and recognize information |
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context-dependent memory |
memory can be helped or hindered by similarities or differences between learning and recall environments (study in coffee shop and test in quiet room) |
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state-dependent memory |
memory can be aided or impeded by a person’s internal state (happy when studying, happy when testing) |
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transience |
forgetting over time, use it or lose it, forget half of information by an hour later |
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decay |
loss of a physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed due to not using it |
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retroactive interference |
new information interferes with the retrieval of older information |
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proactive interference |
older or previously learned material interferes with learning and subsequent retrieval of new information |
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absent-mindedness |
a form of forgetfulness that results from inattention (lapse of attention that results in memory failure, issue with encoding) |
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blocking |
the inability to retrieve some information once it is stored. Tip of the tongue, repression |
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anterograde amnesia |
loss of events after an injury, unable to encode new long term memories, doesn’t affect procedural memories |
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retrograde amnesia |
loss of events before an injury, old information cannot be recalled from memory, may recover some memories over time |
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flashbulb memory accuracy |
Flashbulb memories are affected by decay and other memory types of forgetting just like other memories |
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constructive processing memory accuracy |
In constructive processing, every time a memory is recalled, it is changed slightly for the next recollection |
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false memory syndrome accuracy |
false memory syndrome happens by suggestion of others |
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misinformation effect |
misleading information becomes part of the memory in misinformation effect |
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grammar |
how words should be put together |
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phoneme |
basic unit of sound in a language (single letter, consonant blends, pronunciation of letters) can change meaning is you change phoneme |
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morpheme |
smallest unit of language with meaning (basic words, combination of phonemes, prefixes or suffixes) |
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word |
combination of morphemes |
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syntax |
system of rules for combining words and phrases to form grammatically correct sentences |
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semantics |
rules that determine the meaning of words and sentences |
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surface structure |
word string produced |
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deep structure |
abstract relationships, why one sentence can have more than one meaning |
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sensitivity period |
if children are not exposed to any human language before a certain age, their language abilities never fully develop (birth to 12 years old) |
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language acquisition device |
system of principles a child is born with to help develop language |
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how sensitivity period relates to Genie |
Genie was the first test subject they had to test these theories due to her unique predicament |
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algorithms |
specific, step-by-step procedure for solving certain types of problems, formal solution, takes time and effort |
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heuristics |
time saving mental shortcuts used in making complex and uncertain decisions and judgments, informal solutions, under time pressure or something unimportant or something very confusing |
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anchoring-adjustment |
when making a decision, people tend to use rough estimation as a starting point or anchor and adjust slightly from that point, anchors aren’t always relevant |
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representativeness |
the tendency to classify something according to how similar it is to a typical case, looks like a duck and walks like a duck so it must be a duck |
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availability |
the tendency to base a judgment on how quickly or easily examples come to mind, events that are more available in memory are judged as more likely to occur, used in frequency probability judgments and social judgments |
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conjunction fallacy |
when people think that two events are more likely to occur together than either individual event |
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framing effects |
when people give different answers to the same problem depending on how the problem is frames |
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confirmation bias |
seeking out information that confirms what you currently think |
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mental sets |
sticking with an old strategy, even though a new one might work better |
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functional fixedness |
using familiar objects in familiar ways, rather than creative ways |
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multiple hypotheses |
it is hard to focus on multiple theories. The most available theories are not always the most correct (scratching on a window. From a tree or killer based on if you just watched a scary movie) |
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intelligence |
a mental ability that enables people to learn from one’s experiences, acquire knowledge, and use resources effectively in adapting to new situations or solving problems |
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purity/timbre |
determined by combination of wave patterns, sound quality (piano vs guitar playing the same note) |
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false-consensus effect |
the tendency of people to overestimate the level to which other people share their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, our own opinions are important so everyone else must feel this way |
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aptitude test |
measure a person’s readiness to learn and cognitive abilities |
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achievement test |
measure what a person has accomplished |
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reliability |
producing consistent results each time it is given to the same individual or group of people |
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validity |
degree to which a test measures what it’s supposed to measure |