The initial process of detecting and encoding environmental energy

The process of organizing and interpreting sensations into meaningful experiences; subjective bc of top-down processing

bottom-up and top-down processing

is the processing of sensory information as it enters the sensory structures and travels to the brain; stimulus driven and automatic

is the brain's use of existing knowledge, beliefs, and expectations to interpret the sensory stimulation; hypothesis driven, memory based, and effortful

attention

A phenomenon in which people fail to notice perceptual changes without attention to those changing features.

occurs when we interpret an ambiguous stimulus in accordance with our past experiences; top-down processing, context is critical

occurs when we use the present context of sensory input to determine its meaning

sensory input -> SENSORY MEMORY -> attention/recognition-> SHORT TERM MEMORY <-encoding/retrieval-> LONG TERM MEMORY

Temporary storage places, one from each sense for incoming sensory information

the visual sensory register that holds an exact copy of the incoming visual input but only for a brief period of time; less than a second, accurate but not under conscious control

Participants had to report the entire matrix

an experimental procedure in which participants report one row of matrix and given a cue right after

Memory stage in which the attended information from sensory memory enters consciousness; where you are doing your present conscious cognitive processing; rehearse info before LTM and recall info from LTM; must concentrate on info in STM or lost in 30 seconds

A memory task in which a small amount of information is briefly presented and then the participant is distracted from rehearsing the information for a variable period of time, after which the participant has to recall the information.

A memory task in which the participant is given a series of items one at a time and then has to recall the items in the order in which they were presented.

the average number of items an individual can remember across a series of memory span trials; humans is 5 to 9 (7+/-2)

a meaningful unit in a person's memory

Allows storage of information for a long period of time(perhaps permanently)and its capacity is essentially unlimited

explicit memory and implicit memory

(also called declarative memory) LTM for facts and personal experiences and requires conscious recall

semantic and episodic

are memories for factual knowledge that is true of everyone (e.g., the current President of the United States)

are memories for personal life experiences (e.g., high school graduation)

(also called non-declarative memory) is LTM that influences our behavior, but does not require conscious awareness or declarative statements (e.g., for most adults, driving a car; walking)

procedural and conditioning memories

are memories for motor tasks that have a physical procedural aspect to them

memories that have become automatic responses to certain stimuli

are people with severe memory deficits following brain surgery or injury

the inability to form long-term memories for events following brain surgery or trauma

is the inability to remember events before, especially just before, the surgery or trauma

participants are given a list of words one at a time and then asked to recall them in any order they wish

tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well; result of superior recall from LTM

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well; caused by recall from STM

encoding, storage, retrieval

the process of maintaining information in a memory stage

the processing of transferring information from one memory system to the next

effortful processing and automatic processing

occurs subconsciously and does not require attention

occurs consciously and requires attention

proposes that deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting memory codes

Rehearsing information by relating new information to information already in long-term memory; provides more retrieval cues to facilitate retrieval

easier to remember because connections provide more retrieval cues and lend more meaning to the new information

proposed that the cues (internal and external) present during encoding serve as the best cues for retrieval

is memory that depends upon the relationship of one's physiological state at the time of encoding and at the time of retrieval

effects attest to the fact that memory is better when our mood is the same during encoding and retrieval

is the fact that we retrieve experiences that are congruent with our current mood

the process of bringing stored information from long-term memory to the conscious level in short-term memory

is a measure of retrieval that requires the reproduction of the information with essentially no retrieval cues

is a measure of retrieval that only requires the identification of the information in the presence of retrieval cues

The processing of information to solve problems and make judgments and decisions.

a situation in which there is a goal, but it is not clear how to reach the goal

clear specifications of the start state (where you are), goal state (where you want to be) and the processes for reaching the goal state (how to get there); clear path to the solution

lacking clear specification of the start state, goal state, or the processes for reaching the goal state; without a clear (obvious) path to a solution

interpreting and trying to solve the problem

fixation and functional fixedness

is the inability to create a new interpretation of a problem

is the inability to see that an object can have a function other than its typical one

mental set

the tendency to use previously successful solution strategies without considering others that are more appropriate for the current problem

a new way to interpret a problem that immediately yields the solution

algorithm and heuristic

A step-by-step procedure that guarantees a correct answer to a problem

a problem-solving strategy that seems reasonable given one's past experience with solving problems, especially similar problems, but does not guarantee a correct answer to a problem

a heuristic for estimation problems in which one uses his or her initial estimate as an anchor estimate and then adjusts the anchor up or down (often insufficiently)

A problem-solving heuristic in which one attempts to solve a problem by working from the goal state back to the start state.

A problem-solving heuristic in which the distance to the goal state is decreased systematically by breaking the problem down into subgoals and achieving these subgoals.