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178 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Anterograde Amnesia |
loss of memories for events that occur after the onset of amnesia |
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Attention |
focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli |
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Chunk |
group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit |
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Clustering
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tendency to remember similar items in groups |
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Conceptual Hierarchy |
classification system based on common properties among items |
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Connectionist Models |
a model of memory that assumes cognitive processes depend on patterns of activation in networks that resemble neural networks |
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Consolidation |
gradual conversion of info into memory codes stored into long-term memory |
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Decay Theory |
forgetting occurs because memory traces fade over time |
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Declarative Memory System |
handles factual info ex: names, dates, events |
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Destination Memory |
recalling to whom one has told what |
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Dual-coding theory
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memory is enhanced by forming semantic and visual codes, since either can lead to recall |
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Elaboration |
linking a stimulus to other info at the time of encoding |
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Encoding |
forming a memory code |
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Encoding Specificity Principle |
value of retrieval cue depends on how well it triggers a memory code |
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Episodic Memory System |
chronological recollections of personal experiences |
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Explicit Memory |
intention recollection of experiences |
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Flashbulb Memories |
unusually vivid recollections of specific |
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Forgetting Curve |
graphical representation of retention and forgetting over time |
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Hindsight Bias |
tendency to mould interpretation of the past to fit how events actually turned out |
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Implicit Memory |
when retention is exhibited without intention |
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Interference Theory |
proposes that people forget info because of competition from other material |
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Keyword Method |
associating a concrete word with an abstract word, and generating an image to represent the concrete word |
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Levels-of-processing Theory |
proposes that deeper levels of processing result in longer lasting memory codes |
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Link Method |
forming a mental image of items to be remembered in a way that links them together |
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Long-term Memory (LTM) |
unlimited capacity store that can hold information over lengthy periods of time |
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Long Term Potentiation |
a long-lasting increase in neural excitability at snypases |
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Method of Loci |
involves taking an imaginary walk along a familiar path where images of items to be remembered are associated with certain locations
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Misinformation effect |
occurs when participants' recall of an event they witnessed is altered by introducing misleading post-event info |
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Mnemonic Devices |
method used to increase recall of info |
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Non-Declarative Memory System/Procedural System |
houses memory for actions, skills, operations and conditioned responses |
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Proactive Interference |
when previously learned info interfered with retention of new info |
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Prospective Memory |
remembering to perform actions in the future |
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Reality Monitoring |
process of deciding whether memories are based on external or internal resources |
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Recall |
requires subjects to reproduce info on their own without any cues |
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Recognition |
requires subjects to select previously info from an array of options |
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Rehearsal |
repetitively verbalizing or thinking about the info |
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Relearning |
requires a subject to memorize info a second time to determine how much time is saved by having learned it before |
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Repression |
refers to keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in unconscious |
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Retrieval |
recovering info from memory stores |
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Retroactive Interference |
when new info impairs the retention of previously learned info |
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Retrograde Amnesia |
loss of memories for events that occurred prior to the onset of amnesia |
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Retrospective Memory |
remembering events or info from the past |
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Schema |
cluster of knowledge about a particular object or event from previous experience |
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Self-Referent Encoding |
deciding how or whether info is personally relevant |
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Semantic Memory System |
contains general knowledge that is not tied to the time when information was learned |
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Sensory Memory |
preserves info in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second ex: afterimage of light |
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Serial-Position Effect |
when subjects show better recall for items at the beginning and end of a list |
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Short-Term Memory |
a limited capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed info for up to 20 seconds |
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Source-Monitoring |
making attributions about the origins of memory |
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Source-Monitoring Error |
when a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source |
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Acquisition |
initial stage of learning something |
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Agoraphobia |
an intense fear of being in public places where it may be difficult to escape |
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Antecedents |
events that precede the target response |
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Avoidance Learning |
a response that prevents some aversive stimulus from occurring |
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Behaviour Modifications |
changing behaviour through the application of conditioning |
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Classical Conditioning |
a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that originally evoked by another stimulus |
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Secondary/Conditioned Reinforcers |
events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers |
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Conditioned Response |
a learned reaction to a conditioned stimulus |
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Conditioned Stimulus |
a previously neutral stimulus that has acquires the capacity to evoke a conditioned response |
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Conditioning |
involves learning connections between events that occur in an organism's environment |
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Continuous Reinforcement |
when every instance of a designated response is reinforced |
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Cumulative Recorder |
a graphic record of responding and reinforcement in a Skinner box |
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Discriminative Stimuli |
cues that influence operant behaviour by indicating the probably consequences (reinforcement or non reinforcement) of a response |
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Elicit |
draw forth |
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Emit |
send forth |
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Escape Learning |
an organism acquires a response that decreases or ends some aversive stimulation |
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Evaluative Conditioning |
changed in the liking of a stimulus that result from pairing that stimulus with other positive or negative stimuli |
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Extinction |
the gradual weakening and disappearance of a conditioned response |
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Fixed-Interval (FI) Schedule |
the reinforcer is given for the first response that occurs after a fixed time interval ex: rat is reinforced for the first level press after 2 minutes |
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Fixed-Ratio (FR) Schedule |
the reinforcer is given after a fixed number of non reinforced responses ex: reinforced for ever 10th lever press |
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Higher Order Conditioning |
a conditioned stimulus functions as if it were an unconditioned stimulus |
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Immunosuppression |
a decrease in the production of antibodies |
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Instinctive Drift |
when an animal's innate response tendencies interfere with conditioning processes |
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Instrumental Learning |
a form of learning in which responses come to be controlled by their consequences aka operant conditioning |
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Intermittent Reinforcement |
when a designated response is reinforced only some of the time |
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Latent Learning |
learning that is not apparent from behaviour when it first occurs |
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Law of Effect |
if a response in the presence of a stimulus leads to satisfying effects, the association between the stimulus and the response is strengthened |
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Learning |
change in behaviour or knowledge that is due to experience |
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Mirror Neurons |
are neurons that are activated by performing an action or by seeing a person perform the same action |
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Model |
who the organisms responding is influenced by in observational learning |
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Negative Reinforcement |
when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the removal of an aversive stimulus |
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Observational Learning |
when an organism's responding is influenced by the observation of others |
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Operant Chamber |
small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response while the consequences of the response are controlled |
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Operant Conditioning |
a form of learning where responses become controlled by their consequences |
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Partial Reinforcement/Intermittent Reinforcement |
when a designated response is reinforced only some of the time |
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Pavlovian Conditioning/Classical Conditioning |
a type of learning in which a stimulus acquires the capacity to evoke a response that was originally evoked by another stimulus |
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Phobias |
irrational fears of specific objects or situations |
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Positive Reinforcement |
when a response is strengthened because it is followed by the presentation of a rewarding stimulus |
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Preparedness |
a species-specific predisposition to be conditioned in certain ways and not others |
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Primary Reinforcers |
events that are inherently reinforcing because they satisfy biological needs ex: food, water, warmth, sex, affection |
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Punishment |
when an event following a response weakens the tendency to make that response |
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Reinforcement |
when an event following a response increases an organism's tendency to make that response |
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Reinforcement Contingencies |
the rules that determine whether responses lead to the presentation of reinforcers |
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Renewal Effect |
if a response is extinguished in a different environment than it was acquired, the extinguished response will reappear if the animal is returned to the original environment where acquisition took place |
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Resistance to Extinction |
when an organism continues to make a response after delivery of the reinforcer has been terminated |
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Schedule of Reinforcement |
determines which occurrences of a specific response result in the presentation of a reinforcer |
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Secondary Reinforcers |
are events that acquire reinforcing qualities by being associated with primary reinforcers |
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Shaping |
consists of the reinforcement of closer and closer approximations of a desired response |
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Skinner box |
small enclosure in which an animal can make a specific response that is recorded while the consequences of the response are controlled |
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Spontaneous Recovery |
the reappearance of an extinguished response after a period of non exposure to the conditioned stimulus |
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Stimulus Discrimination |
occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus does not respond in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimuli |
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Stimulus Generalization |
occurs when an organism that has learned a response to a specific stimulus responds in the same way to new stimuli that are similar to the original stimuli |
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Trial |
consists of any presentation of a stimulus or pair of stimuli |
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Unconditioned Response (UCR) |
an unlearned reaction to an unconditioned stimulus, that occurs without previous conditioning |
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Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) |
a stimulus that evokes an unconditioned response without previous conditioning |
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Variable-Interval (VI) Schedule |
the reinforcer is given for the first response after a variable time interval has elapsed ex: rat is reinforced for the first lever press after one minute interval has elapsed, but the following intervals are 3 minutes, 2 min, 4 min and so on |
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Variable-Ratio (VR) Schedule |
the reinforcer is given after a variable number of non reinforced responses ex: a rat is reinforced for every 10th lever press on the average
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Alcohol |
a variety of beverages containing ethyl alcohol |
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Ascending Reticular Activating System (ARAS) |
the afferent fibres running through the reticular formation that influence physiological arousal |
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Biological Rhythms |
periodic fluctuations in physiological functioning |
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Cannabis |
the hemp plant from which marijuana, hashish and THC are derived |
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Circadian Rhythm |
the 24-hour biological cycles found in humans and many other species |
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Dissociation |
a splitting off of mental processes into two separate, simultaneous streams of awareness |
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Electroencephalograph (EEG) |
a divide that monitors the electrical activity of the brain over time by means of recording electrodes attached to the scalp |
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Electromyograph (EMG) |
records muscular activity and tension |
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Electrooculograph (EOG) |
records eye movements |
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Hallucinogens |
diverse group of drugs that have powerful effects on mental and emotional functioning marked most prominently by distortions in sensory and perceptual experience |
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Hypnosis |
a systematic procedure that typically produces a heightened state of suggestibility |
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Insomnia |
chronic problems in getting adequate sleep |
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Latent Content |
the hidden or disguised meaning of the events in the plot |
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Lucid Dreams |
dreams in which people can think clearly about the circumstances of waking life and the fact that they are dreaming, yet they remain asleep in the midst of a vivid dream |
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Manifest Content |
the plot of a dream at the surface level |
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MDMA (ecstasy) |
a compound drug related to both amphetamines and hallucinogens, especially mescaline |
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Meditation |
practices that train attention to heighten awareness and make mental processes more voluntary |
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Mind Wandering |
refers to people's experience of task-unrelated thoughts |
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Narcolepsy |
a disease marked by sudden irresistible onsets of sleep during normal waking periods |
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Narcotics |
aka opiates, are drugs derived from opium that are capable of relieving pain |
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Neurogenesis |
refers to the formation of new neurons |
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Night Terrors |
abrupt awakenings from NREM sleep, accompanied by intense autonomic arousal and feelings of panic |
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Nightmares |
anxiety-arousing dreams that lead to awakening, usually from REM sleep |
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Non-REM (NREM) sleep |
consists of sleep stages 1-4, which are marked by no rapid eye movements, little dreaming and varied EEG activity |
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Opiates |
drugs derived from opium that relieve pain |
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Physical Dependence |
exists when a person must continue to take a drug to avoid physical withdrawal illness |
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Psychoactive Drugs |
chemical substances that change mental, emotional, or behavioural functioning |
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Psychological Dependence |
when a person must continue to take a drug to satisfy intense mental and emotional cravings |
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REM Sleep Behaviour Disorder |
troublesome dream enactments during REM periods |
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Sedatives |
sleep-inducing drugs that tend to decrease central nervous system (CNS) activation and behavioural activity |
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Sleep Apnea |
involves infrequent, reflexive gasping for air that awakens a person and disrupts sleep |
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Slow-wave Sleep (SWS) |
consists of sleep stages 3 and 4, during which high-amplitude, low frequency delta waves become prominent in EEG recordings |
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Somnambulism |
aka sleepwalking, occurs when a person arises and wanders about while remaining asleep |
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Stimulants |
drugs that tend to increase central nervous system activation and behavioural activity |
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Tolerance |
a progressive decrease in a person's responsiveness to a drug |
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Algorithms |
a methodical procedure for trying all possible alternative in searching for a solution |
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Availability Heuristic |
basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with which relevant instances come to mind ex: estimating divorce rates by recalling how many of you friends have divorced parents |
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Behavioural Economics |
field of study that examines the effects of human decision making processes on economic decisions |
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Belief Perseverance |
tendency to hang on to beliefs in the face of contradictory evidence |
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Cognition |
mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge |
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Confirmation Bias |
tendency to seek information that supports one's beliefs while ignoring disconfirming information |
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Conjunction Fallacy |
when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either happening alone |
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Decision Making |
evaluating alternatives and making choices among them |
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Fast Mapping |
the process by which children map a word onto a concept after just one exposure to the word |
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Field dependence-independence |
individual's tendency to rely primarily on external versus internal frames of reference when orienting themselves in space ex: airplane pilots |
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Framing |
how decision issues are posed or how choices are structured |
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Functional Fixedness |
tendency to perceive an item only in terms of its' most common use |
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Gambler's Fallacy |
belief that the odds of a chance event increase if the event hasn't occurred recently |
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Heuristic |
guiding principle or rule of thumb in solving problems or making decisions |
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Incubation Effect |
when new solutions surface for a previously unsolved problem after a period of not consciously thinking about the problem ex: sleeping on a problem and being able to solve it the next morning |
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Insight |
sudden discovery of the correct solution following incorrect attempt |
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Language |
symbols that convey meaning, plus rules for combining them, that can be used to generate an infinite variety of messages |
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Language Acquisition Divide (LAD) |
innate mechanism that facilitates the learning of language |
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Linguistic Relativity |
hypothesis that one's language determines the nature of one's thought |
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Mental Set |
exists when people persist in using problem solving strategies that worked in the past |
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Metalinguistic Awareness |
ability to reflect on the use of language ex: ability to make puns, jokes and metaphors |
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Morphemes
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smallest unit of meaning in a language |
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Myside Bias |
tendency to evaluate evidence in a manner slanted in favour of one's own opinions |
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Overextention |
when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a wider set of objects than meant to ex: ball referring to anything round |
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Overregularizations |
when grammatical rules are incorrectly generalized to cases where they do not apply ex: "goed", "foots", "hitted" |
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Phonemes |
smallest speech units that can be distinguished perceptually |
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Problem Solving |
active efforts to discover what must be done to achieve a goal that is not readily attainable |
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Problem Space |
set of possible pathways to a solution considered by the problem solver |
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Representativeness Heuristic |
basing the estimated probability of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of that event ex: heads or tails experiment |
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Risky Decision Making |
making choices under conditions of uncertainty |
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Semantics |
area of language concerned with understanding the meaning of words and word combinations |
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Syntax |
system of rules that specify how words can be arranged to form sentences |
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Telegraphic Speech |
mainly content words; articles, prepositions, and other less critical words are omitted ex: "give doll" instead of "can you please give me the doll?" |
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Theory of Bounded Rationality |
asserts that people tend to use simple strategies in decision making that focus on only a few available options and often result in "irrational" decisions that are less than optimal |
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Trial and Error |
trying possible solutions and discarding those that are in error until one words |
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Underextension |
occurs when a child incorrectly uses a word to describe a narrower set of objects than meant to ex: the word "doll" referring to a single favourite doll |
