Cognition Basics
Mental process of thinking, knowing, and understanding
What is cognition?
Trying different solutions until one works
What is trial and error?
Memory of personal experiences
What is episodic memory?
Putting information into memory
What is encoding?
First stage of memory that briefly holds info
What is sensory memory?
Mental grouping of similar objects or ideas
What is a concept?
Step-by-step method that guarantees a solution
What is an algorithm?
Memory of facts and knowledge
What is semantic memory?
Keeping information over time
What is storage?
Memory that lasts about 18 seconds without rehearsal
What is short-term memory?
Best example of a concept
What is a prototype?
Mental shortcut used to solve problems quickly
What is a heuristic?
Memory of skills like riding a bike
What is procedural memory?
Getting information out of memory
What is retrieval?
Memory with unlimited capacity
What is long-term memory?
A robin being a typical bird
What is a prototype?
Type of Heuristic where you judge based on what comes to mind easily
What is the availability heuristic?
Clear, emotional memory of an important event
What is flashbulb memory?
Repeating information over and over
What is maintenance rehearsal?
Remembering first items in a list
What is the primacy effect?
Why the brain uses concepts
To organize information and make thinking easier
Getting stuck and unable to see new solutions
What is fixation?
Brain structure that forms new memories
What is the hippocampus?
Connecting new information to what you already know
What is elaborative rehearsal?
Remembering last items in a list
What is the recency effect?