intro to psych

Thinking

• Thinking is a complex mental activity that involves processing, organizing, understanding, and communicating information.
• While memory is a part of thinking, it is not the only component.
• Thinking involves making decisions, comparing information, and using it to solve problems.

Mental Imagery

• Short-term memories are encoded as sounds and visual images, creating a mental picture of the world.
• Echoic memory is helpful for processing meaningful incoming stimuli.

Selective Attention and Sensory Memory

• Selective attention operates in two stages, filtering incoming stimuli based on simple physical characteristics and then further processing stimuli that meet a certain threshold of importance.
• Sensory memory stores every single experience but only long-lasting memories of meaningful and important events and concepts are stored as long-term memories.

Elaborative Rehearsal

• Elaborative rehearsal transfers information from short-term memory to long-term memory by making the information meaningful.
• Connecting new information with existing knowledge is an effective way to achieve elaborate rehearsal.

Types of Long-Term Memory

• Nondeclarative (Implicit) LTM stores memories for skills and procedures, such as tying shoes or riding a bicycle.
• Declarative (Explicit) LTM stores factual information that can be consciously recalled and verbalized.

Schemas and Scripts

• Schemas are mental generalizations about objects, places, events, and people.
• Scripts are schemas that involve familiar sequences of activities.

Problem-Solving and Decision-Making Strategies

• Images and concepts are mental tools used for problem-solving and decision-making.
• Problem-solving involves achieving a goal through thinking and specific actions.
• Decision-making involves identifying, evaluating, and choosing amongst alternatives.

Algorithms and Heuristics

• Algorithms are specific rules that guarantee a solution.
• Heuristics are educated guesses based on prior experiences that help narrow down potential solutions.

Representativeness Heuristic

• The representativeness heuristic categorizes objects based on their similarity to members of a particular group.

Motivation

• Motivation is the process that initiates, directs, and sustains activities to fulfill physical or psychological needs or wants.
• Motivation can be driven by external rewards or the avoidance of unpleasant consequences.

Extrinsic Motivation

• In extrinsic motivation, actions are performed to achieve an outcome separate from the individual.

Drive-Reduction Theory

• Drive-reduction theory proposes that needs lead to psychological tension and a physical arousal that motivates action to fulfill the need and reduce the tension.
• This tension is called a drive.

Needs and Drives

• Needs are essential requirements for an organism's survival.
• When a need is not met, it creates psychological tension (a drive) that motivates action to satisfy the need.

Need for Affiliation

• The need for affiliation (nAff) is a psychological need for friendly social interactions and relationships.
• Individuals high in nAff seek to be liked and respected by others.

Need for Power

• The need for power (nPow) is a desire to control and influence others.
• Individuals high in nPow want to have an impact on others and see their ideas implemented.

Explore the intricacies of thinking and memory in this psychology quiz. Discover how mental imagery, selective attention, and elaborative rehearsal play crucial roles in processing information. Test your understanding of these cognitive processes and their significance in everyday life.