2 Cognition

Explain how internal and external factors influence perception.

• Perception is influenced by whether one primarily relies on external sensory information (bottom-up processing) or internal prior expectations (top-down processing).
• Schemas and perceptual sets are internal factors that filter perceptions of the world.
• Contexts, experiences, and cultural experiences and expectations are external factors that filter perceptions of the world.
• Perceptual principles proposed by Gestalt psychology (closure, figure and ground, proximity, and similarity) help explain how humans organize their perceptual world.
• Attention is an interaction of sensation and perception that is affected by internal and external processes.
  • i. Some experiences of attention can be selective, such as with the cocktail party effect, where people attend to mentions of their names or specific topics in loud or distracting environments.
  • ii. Inattention can lead to a type of “blindness” to aspects of the environment. Change blindness occurs when changes to the environment are not perceived due to inattention.

Explain how visual perceptual processes produce correct or incorrect interpretations of stimuli.

• Binocular depth cues of retinal disparity (the difference between the images projecting onto the retina) and convergence (the merging of the retinal images by the brain) utilize images from each eye to provide perception of depth.
• Monocular depth cues (relative clarity, relative size, texture gradient, linear perspective, and interposition) give the illusion of depth on flat or two-dimensional surfaces.
  • Exclusion: The AP Psychology Exam will only address the listed monocular depth cues in EK
• Visual perceptual constancies maintain the perception of an object even when the images of the object in the visual field change.
• Apparent movement can be visually perceived even when objects are not actually moving.

Explain how psychological concepts and theories account for thinking, problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making. UNIT 2 Cognition

• Concepts form the basis of thought. Prototypes are the ideal example for any given concept.
• People form and modify schemas, or frameworks for thinking, through assimilation (taking in new information but not changing the schema in light of it) and accommodation (taking in new information and changing the schema to incorporate the new information).
• Algorithms address problems by attempting all possible solutions until the correct one is found.
• Heuristics address problems by using mental shortcuts to make judgments. Using heuristics can lead to errors in judgment when decisions are made according to prior expectations or stereotypes (representativeness heuristic) or recalling the first or most vivid example that comes to mind (availability heuristic).
• Decision making can be influenced by prior experiences that were successful (mental set) or circumstances surrounding a decision (priming and framing).
• Cognitive processes such as gambler’s fallacy and sunk-cost fallacy can hinder people from making good decisions.
• Executive functions are cognitive processes that allow individuals to generate, organize, plan, and carry out goal-directed behaviors and experience critical thinking.
• Creativity is a way of thinking that includes generating novel ideas and engaging in divergent (versus convergent) thinking. Creative thinking is hindered by functional fixedness.

Explain how the types, structures, and processes of memory work. UNIT 2 Cognition

• Memories for learned knowledge, events, and experiences are differentiated by how they are processed by, stored in, and retrieved by the brain.
  • i. Explicit memory is a type of memory that is more easily described or explained to others. Types of explicit memory include episodic and semantic.
  • ii. Implicit memory is more challenging to describe or explain to others. Procedural memory is a type of implicit memory for procedures and processes.
  • iii. Prospective memory is a type of memory related to future actions.
• Long-term potentiation, a process by which synaptic connections between neurons become stronger with frequent activation, is a biological process for memory.
• The working memory model examines how our primary memory system—working memory— engages in a dynamic interaction with several components, namely the central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad, to process information into long-term memory.
• The multi-store model proposes three interacting systems (sensory memory [including iconic and echoic memory], short-term memory, and long-term memory) that information must pass through to be remembered. This model focuses on the impact of automatic and effortful processing on memory encoding, storage, and retrieval.
• The levels of processing model proposes that memory is encoded on three levels from shallowest to deepest: structural, phonemic, and semantic.

Explain how different encoding processes work to get information into memory.

• Encoding involves processes and strategies to get information into memory. How information is encoded can determine how effectively information is stored and retrieved.
• Mnemonic devices, such as method of loci, are processes that aid in encoding information into working and long-term memory.
• Encoding can be improved by the process of grouping information together into meaningful chunks (“chunking”), categories, or hierarchies.
• The spacing effect is a process that can cause significant differences in encoding and memory consolidation depending on whether the information is encoded all at once (massed practice) or distributed over time (distributed practice).
• Encoding processes can be affected by the order of how the information is presented, called the serial position effect. The serial position effect predicts that information presented at the beginning of a list (primacy effect) or the end of a list (recency effect) will be more memorable than information presented in the middle of a list.

Explain how memory storage processes retain information in memory.

• Sensory memory, short-term memory, working memory, and long-term memory are processes that differ in storage duration, capacity, and content.
• Storage may be prolonged by rehearsing information over time (maintenance rehearsal). Rehearsing information over time in ways that promote meaning (elaborative rehearsal) helps with memory retention.
• Some people demonstrate highly superior autobiographical memory which may indicate that there are biological processes for superior memory storage. Autobiographical memory may also explain why memories connected to our own lives or selves are more memorable.
• Storage processes may be negatively affected by physical impairment and developmental limitations, such as amnesia (retrograde and anterograde), Alzheimer’s disease, and infantile amnesia.

Explain how memory retrieval processes get information out of memory.

• The process of memory retrieval occurs through recall (remembering without cues) or recognition (which relies on retrieval cues).
• The process of memory retrieval can be enhanced when people are in the same environmental space (context-dependent memory), mood (mood-congruent memory), or physical state (state-dependent memory) as they were when they encoded the information to be retrieved.
• Successful retrieval is more likely when using retrieval practice processes, including testing effect and metacognition.

Explain possible reasons why memory failure or errors may occur.

• The forgetting curve shows that time is a significant factor in forgetting. Forgetting occurs rapidly after initial learning and levels off over time.
• Many memories are difficult to retrieve due to encoding failure, interference (proactive or retroactive), or inadequate retrieval (i.e., tip-ofthe-tongue phenomenon).
• Psychodynamic theorists believe that information or memories can be forgotten to defend the ego from distress (repression).
• The accuracy of memories may be affected by the misinformation effect, source amnesia, or constructive memory (via memory consolidation and imagination inflation).

Explain how modern and historical theories describe intelligence.

• Throughout history, consensus about how to define and measure intelligence continues to be elusive and can be subject to bias. Researchers debate whether intelligence is a general ability (called g) or is comprised of multiple abilities.

Explain how intelligence is measured.

• Early formal intelligence tests yielded an intelligence quotient (IQ), which divided mental age by chronological age. In modern times, IQ scores are often used to identify students for educational services.
  • Exclusion: Labeling or describing cognitive abilities and disabilities are outside the scope of the AP Psychology Exam.
• All psychological assessments, including intelligence tests, should adhere to sound psychometric principles to be considered useful.
  • i. A test is said to be standardized when it is administered using consistent procedures and environments.
  • ii. A test is considered valid if it measures what it is designed to measure. Types of validity include construct and predictive.
  • iii. A test is considered reliable if it yields similar results each time it is administered. Types of reliability include test-retest and split-half.
• Researchers strive to develop assessments of intelligence that are socio-culturally responsive to reduce stereotype threat and potential inequity that may occur due to stereotype lift.

Explain how systemic issues relate to the quantitative and qualitative uses of intelligence assessments.

• IQ scores across much of the world have generally increased over time (Flynn Effect) due to societal factors, such as higher socioeconomic status and access to better health care and better nutrition.
• IQ scores tend to vary more within a group than between groups. Personal and sociocultural biases can impact the interpretation of individual IQ scores and the score’s relationship with other outcomes. Poverty, discrimination, and educational inequities can negatively influence intelligence scores of individuals and societal groups around the world.
• Scores from intelligence tests have been used to limit access to jobs, military ranks, educational institutions, and immigration to the US.

Explain how academic achievement is measured and experienced as compared to intelligence.

• Some academic tests attempt to measure what someone knows (achievement tests) or predict how someone will perform in the future (aptitude tests).
• People’s beliefs about whether intelligence is fixed from birth (fixed mindset) or malleable due to experience (growth mindset) can affect academic achievement. 65