Class Periods

17-23

AP Exam Weight

15-25%

Sub-Topics

8 Sections

🔍 Sensation vs Perception

• Sensation: Detection of physical stimuli by sense organs
• Perception: Brain's interpretation of sensory information
• Bottom-up Processing: Perception driven by sensory input
• Top-down Processing: Perception influenced by expectations
• Example: Eyes detect light waves (sensation), brain sees "red apple" (perception)

🧩 Gestalt Principles

• Figure-Ground: Distinguishing object from background
• Proximity: Objects close together seen as group
• Similarity: Similar objects grouped together
• Continuity: Prefer continuous, flowing lines
• Closure: Fill in gaps to complete patterns
• Common Fate: Objects moving together grouped

📏 Depth Perception

• Binocular Cues: Require both eyes
• Retinal Disparity: Slight difference between eye images
• Convergence: Eyes turn inward for close objects
• Monocular Cues: Work with one eye
• Linear Perspective: Parallel lines converge
• Relative Size: Distant objects appear smaller

🔄 Perceptual Constancies

• Size Constancy: Objects appear same size despite distance
• Shape Constancy: Objects maintain shape from different angles
• Color Constancy: Colors appear consistent despite lighting
• Brightness Constancy: Objects maintain brightness
• Example: Door appears rectangular even when opened at angle

🌀 Perceptual Illusions

• Definition: Misperception of actual stimuli
• Müller-Lyer Illusion: Line length affected by arrow direction
• Ponzo Illusion: Lines appear different lengths
• Ames Room: People appear to change size
• Purpose: Reveal how perception works

🎭 Context Effects

• Perceptual Set: Predisposition to perceive in certain way
• Context: Surrounding information affects perception
• Expectations: What we expect influences what we see
• Culture: Cultural background affects interpretation
• Example: B and 13 appear same but perceived differently

💭 Concepts and Categories

• Concept: Mental grouping of similar objects/events
• Prototype: Best example of a concept category
• Schema: Mental framework organizing knowledge
• Natural Categories: Fuzzy boundaries (bird, furniture)
• Artificial Categories: Clear rules (even numbers)
• Hierarchical Organization: Categories within categories

🔍 Problem-Solving Strategies

• Algorithm: Step-by-step procedure guaranteeing solution
• Heuristic: Mental shortcut, faster but not guaranteed
• Trial and Error: Testing different solutions randomly
• Means-End Analysis: Reduce difference between current and goal state
• Working Backward: Start from goal, work to current state
• Analogical Reasoning: Apply solutions from similar problems

🚧 Problem-Solving Obstacles

• Mental Set: Tendency to use familiar solutions
• Functional Fixedness: Can't see new uses for objects
• Confirmation Bias: Seek information confirming beliefs
• Anchoring Bias: Over-rely on first information
• Availability Heuristic: Judge by easily recalled examples
• Representative Heuristic: Judge by similarity to prototype

⚖️ Decision-Making Biases

• Framing Effect: Decisions influenced by how options presented
• Loss Aversion: Prefer avoiding losses over acquiring gains
• Overconfidence: Overestimate accuracy of beliefs/judgments
• Hindsight Bias: "I knew it all along" phenomenon
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: Continue investing due to past investment
• Status Quo Bias: Prefer current state of affairs

🎨 Creativity and Thinking

• Convergent Thinking: Narrowing down to single correct answer
• Divergent Thinking: Generating multiple creative solutions
• Creativity Components: Expertise, creative thinking, motivation
• Insight: Sudden realization of solution ("Aha!" moment)
• Incubation: Setting problem aside allows unconscious processing
• Brainstorming: Generate ideas without immediate evaluation

🧠 Language and Thought

• Linguistic Relativity: Language influences thought (Sapir-Whorf)
• Linguistic Determinism: Language determines thought (weak evidence)
• Universal Grammar: Innate language acquisition capacity
• Inner Speech: Verbal thoughts guide behavior
• Bilingual Advantage: Enhanced executive control
• Code-Switching: Alternating between languages/dialects

🏗️ Multi-Store Model

• Sensory Memory: Brief storage of sensory information
• Short-Term Memory: Limited capacity (~7±2 items), ~30 seconds
• Long-Term Memory: Unlimited capacity, permanent storage
• Attention: Transfers info from sensory to short-term
• Rehearsal: Transfers info from short-term to long-term
• Sequential Processing: Information flows through stages

🎭 Types of Long-Term Memory

• Explicit (Declarative): Conscious, intentional recall
• Episodic: Personal experiences and events
• Semantic: General knowledge and facts
• Implicit (Non-declarative): Unconscious influence
• Procedural: Skills and habits ("how to")
• Priming: Prior exposure influences later responses

⚙️ Working Memory

• Central Executive: Controls attention and processing
• Phonological Loop: Processes verbal and acoustic info
• Visuospatial Sketchpad: Processes visual and spatial info
• Episodic Buffer: Integrates information from multiple sources
• Active Processing: More than just storage
• Limited Capacity: Can only hold limited information

🔨 Constructive Memory

• Not Recording: Memory isn't like video recording
• Reconstruction: We rebuild memories from fragments
• Schema Integration: New info integrated with existing knowledge
• Memory Distortions: Reconstructions can be inaccurate
• Source Confusion: Remembering info but not source
• False Memories: Vivid memories of events that didn't happen

🧪 Memory Research Methods

• Free Recall: Remember items in any order
• Cued Recall: Hints provided to aid recall
• Recognition: Identify previously encountered items
• Relearning: Measure time saved when relearning
• Brain Imaging: fMRI, PET scans show brain activity
• Case Studies: Patients with memory disorders

🌐 Memory Networks

• Connectionist Models: Memory as network of connections
• Parallel Processing: Multiple pathways process simultaneously
• Spreading Activation: Activation spreads through network
• Priming Effects: Activation of related concepts
• Strength of Connections: Determines retrieval likelihood
• Neural Networks: Brain-inspired computer models

🔢 Levels of Processing

• Shallow Processing: Focus on physical characteristics
• Phonemic Processing: Focus on sound/pronunciation
• Semantic Processing: Focus on meaning (deepest level)
• Elaborative Rehearsal: Connect to existing knowledge
• Self-Reference Effect: Better memory when relating to self
• Deeper = Better: Deeper processing improves retention

⚡ Automatic vs Effortful Processing

• Automatic Processing: Unconscious, requires no effort
• Time/Space/Frequency: Automatically encoded
• Well-learned Skills: Become automatic with practice
• Effortful Processing: Conscious attention required
• New Information: Usually requires effort to encode
• Capacity Limits: Can only process limited info effortfully

🎯 Attention and Encoding

• Selective Attention: Focus on relevant information
• Divided Attention: Multitasking reduces encoding
• Cocktail Party Effect: Attend to meaningful stimuli
• Change Blindness: Fail to notice large changes
• Inattentional Blindness: Miss obvious when attention elsewhere
• Attention = Gateway: Must attend to encode effectively

🔄 Types of Rehearsal

• Maintenance Rehearsal: Simple repetition, keeps in STM
• Elaborative Rehearsal: Connect to meaning and prior knowledge
• Distributed Practice: Spacing study sessions over time
• Massed Practice: Cramming all at once (less effective)
• Testing Effect: Retrieval practice strengthens memory
• Generation Effect: Self-generated info better remembered

💡 Encoding Enhancement

• Visual Imagery: Create mental pictures
• Method of Loci: Associate with familiar spatial locations
• Acronyms/Acrostics: First letters form meaningful words
• Chunking: Group information into meaningful units
• Dual Coding: Combine verbal and visual encoding
• Distinctiveness: Unusual/unique items better remembered

🌟 Factors Affecting Encoding

• Motivation: Higher motivation improves encoding
• Emotion: Emotional events better encoded
• Organization: Structured information easier to encode
• Prior Knowledge: Relates new info to existing schemas
• Sleep: Adequate rest crucial for memory consolidation
• Age: Encoding efficiency changes across lifespan

🧠 Neural Basis of Storage

• Long-Term Potentiation (LTP): Strengthened synaptic connections
• Hebbian Learning: "Neurons that fire together, wire together"
• Consolidation: Process of stabilizing memories
• Hippocampus: Critical for forming new memories
• Distributed Storage: Memories stored across brain regions

⏰ Memory Duration

• Sensory Memory: Milliseconds to seconds
• Short-Term Memory: 15-30 seconds without rehearsal
• Long-Term Memory: Minutes to lifetime
• Flash Memories: Vivid memories of significant events
• Childhood Amnesia: Few memories before age 3-4

🎣 Retrieval Processes

• Recall: Retrieve information without cues
• Recognition: Identify previously encountered information
• Relearning: Learn previously learned material faster
• Tip-of-Tongue: Know information but can't retrieve it
• Context-Dependent: Environment aids retrieval

📉 Forgetting Theories

• Decay Theory: Memories fade over time
• Interference Theory: Competing memories disrupt retrieval
• Proactive Interference: Old memories interfere with new
• Retroactive Interference: New memories interfere with old
• Motivated Forgetting: Unconsciously forget traumatic memories

🎭 Theories of Intelligence

• General Intelligence (g): Single underlying factor
• Multiple Intelligences: Gardner's 8 types
• Triarchic Theory: Sternberg's analytical, creative, practical
• Emotional Intelligence: Understanding and managing emotions
• Fluid vs Crystallized: Processing speed vs accumulated knowledge

📊 Intelligence Testing

• IQ Formula: IQ = (Mental Age / Chronological Age) × 100
• Stanford-Binet: First major intelligence test
• Wechsler Scales: Separate verbal and performance scores
• Normal Distribution: Mean = 100, SD = 15
• Reliability: Consistent results over time
• Validity: Measures what it claims to measure