AP Psychology Unit 7 Flashcards

Memory Concepts

• Memory: Persistence of learning over time through storage and retrieval of information.
• Encoding: The process of transforming information into a form suitable for storage in the memory system.
• Storage: Retention of encoded information over time, crucial for memory retention.
• Retrieval: The action of recalling or accessing information stored in memory.

Types of Memory

• Sensory Memory: Immediate and brief recording of sensory input for a fraction of a second.
• Short-Term Memory: Activated memory holding a limited number of items briefly (around 7 items).
• Long-Term Memory: A vast and relatively permanent storage for knowledge, skills, and experiences.
• Working Memory: An updated view of short-term memory focused on active processing of information.

Memory Processing Models

• Parallel Processing: Simultaneous processing of multiple aspects of information, contrasting with linear processing in traditional computing.
• Automatic Processing: Unconscious encoding of incidental details such as time and frequency.
• Effortful Processing: Requires conscious effort and focus when encoding information.

Methods and Techniques

• Rehearsal: Conscious repetition of information to encode it for storage.
• Spacing Effect: Better long-term memory retention through distributed study sessions compared to massed practice.
• Chunking: Organizing information into familiar, manageable units to enhance recall.

Types of Memory Recall

• Iconic Memory: Brief sensory memory of visual stimuli; lasts a few tenths of a second.
• Echoic Memory: Brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli; sounds can be recalled for 3-4 seconds post exposure.
• Long-Term Potentiation: Increased synaptic firing potential, believed to be essential for learning and memory.

Memory Phenomena

• Flashbulb Memory: Vivid recollection of emotionally significant events.
• Amnesia: Loss of memory, which can be either retrograde (prior memories) or anterograde (new memory formation).
• Implicit Memory: Unconscious retention independent of conscious recollection, such as skills.
• Explicit Memory: Memory that requires conscious effort, including facts and personal experiences.

Memory Retrieval and Interference

• Recall: Retrieving information without cues, akin to fill-in-the-blank tests.
• Recognition: Identifying previously learned information with cues, similar to multiple-choice tests.
• Relearning: The time saved in learning material that was previously studied.
• Proactive Interference: Older information disrupting the recall of newer information.
• Retroactive Interference: Newer learning interfering with the recall of old information.

Cognitive Biases and Heuristics

• Confirmation Bias: Searching for information that supports existing beliefs and ignoring contradictory evidence.
• Representativeness Heuristic: Assessing the probability of events based on how well they match existing prototypes.
• Availability Heuristic: Estimating the frequency of events based on how easily examples come to mind.

Language and Cognition

• Language: System of spoken, written, or signed words used to communicate meaning.
• Phoneme: The smallest sound unit in language.
• Morpheme: The smallest unit of meaning in a language.
• Grammar: Rules that govern the structure and meaning of language.
• Semantics: The study of meaning in language.
• Syntax: Rules for arranging words into coherent sentences.

Stages of Language Development

• Babbling Stage: Starting around 4 months, infants make various sounds not related to their household language.
• One-Word Stage: From ages 1 to 2, children primarily express themselves with single words.
• Two-Word Stage: Starting around age 2, children begin to form simple two-word sentences.
• Telegraphic Speech: An early speech stage where children communicate in simplified phrases like "go car."

Theories of Cognitive Processing

• Linguistic Determinism: Hypothesis suggesting that the structure of language influences how we think and perceive the world.