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Credit Sprint's Guide to AP® Psychology, Unit 2: Cognition

AP® weight 15–25%CLEP® Cognition

Unit 2 covers how people take in, store and use information: attention, the stages of memory, forgetting, problem solving, decision making, language, intelligence and how psychologists measure it. Expect scenario questions that ask you to name the memory process or the cognitive error.

The three-stage model of memorySensorya second or two Workingabout 20 seconds Long-termlasting, large attentionencodingretrieval Information must be noticed, encoded and stored

What you need to know

  • The Atkinson-Shiffrin model has three stores: sensory memory (a fleeting copy of input), short-term or working memory (about seven items for roughly 20 seconds unless rehearsed) and long-term memory (unlimited and lasting). Encoding moves information in, storage keeps it, and retrieval brings it out. Chunking and rehearsal expand working memory.
  • Long-term memory splits into explicit memory (episodic events and semantic facts, which you can state) and implicit memory (procedural skills, priming and conditioned responses). Deep, meaningful processing, the spacing effect, the testing effect, mnemonics and the serial position effect (primacy and recency) improve recall. Context, mood and state dependence affect retrieval.
  • Forgetting comes from encoding failure, decay, interference (proactive: old blocks new; retroactive: new blocks old) and retrieval failure such as the tip-of-the-tongue effect. Memory is reconstructive: Loftus showed that wording and misleading information can alter eyewitness memory. Amnesia can be anterograde (cannot form new memories) or retrograde (cannot recall old ones). Flashbulb memories feel vivid but are not always accurate.
  • Thinking relies on concepts and prototypes. An algorithm guarantees a solution; a heuristic is a quick rule of thumb. Common heuristics and errors include the availability heuristic, representativeness heuristic, confirmation bias, anchoring, framing, overconfidence, hindsight bias, belief perseverance, functional fixedness and mental set. Insight is a sudden solution, and creativity combines divergent thinking with expertise.
  • Language has phonemes (sounds), morphemes (smallest meaningful units), syntax and semantics. Children pass through babbling, one-word, two-word and telegraphic stages. Chomsky argued for an inborn language ability, Skinner for reinforcement, and Whorf's linguistic relativity says language shapes thought. Critical periods matter for language learning.
  • Intelligence theories include Spearman's g factor, Gardner's multiple intelligences, Sternberg's triarchic theory (analytical, creative, practical) and the fluid versus crystallized distinction. IQ was originally mental age divided by chronological age, and modern tests compare a person to the norm with a mean of 100 and SD of 15 (Wechsler). Good tests are standardized, reliable and valid. Flynn effect describes rising scores over generations, and stereotype threat can lower performance.
  • Test measurement concepts include standardization, norms, predictive and construct validity, and bias. Heritability describes variation in a group and does not say how much of one person's trait is genetic. Environments such as nutrition, schooling and enrichment also shape cognitive scores.

Exam traps

Watch forProactive interference is old information blocking new learning; retroactive interference is new information blocking old. Remember: proactive = forward in time.
Watch forAlgorithms guarantee an answer but can be slow; heuristics are fast shortcuts that can cause errors. Availability is about how easily examples come to mind.
Watch forRecall, recognition and relearning are different measures of retention. Multiple choice tests recognition, essay tests recall.
Watch forExplicit (declarative) memory includes episodic and semantic; implicit (nondeclarative) includes procedural, priming and conditioning. Riding a bike is procedural.

Key terms

  • Encoding: The process of getting information into memory.
  • Storage: The process of retaining information over time.
  • Retrieval: The process of getting information back out of memory.
  • Working memory: The active part of memory that holds and manipulates information for a short time.
  • Chunking: Grouping individual pieces of information into larger meaningful units to remember more.
  • Explicit memory: Memories of facts and experiences that you can consciously recall and state.
  • Implicit memory: Memory that influences behavior without conscious recall, including skills and conditioned responses.
  • Episodic memory: Explicit memory of personal experiences and events.
  • Semantic memory: Explicit memory of general facts and knowledge.
  • Procedural memory: Implicit memory of how to do things, such as riding a bike.
  • Priming: Activating associations in memory without awareness, which influences later responses.
  • Spacing effect: Better long-term retention when study sessions are spread out instead of crammed.
  • Testing effect: Better retention after retrieving information from memory than after only rereading it.
  • Serial position effect: The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list best.
  • Mnemonic device: A memory aid, such as an acronym or imagery, that organizes information for easier recall.
  • Proactive interference: Old learning interferes with recall of new information.

Practice questions

Five of the 87 Unit 2 questions in Credit Sprint. Every choice is explained in the app.

1. Which term best fits this description: relying too heavily on the first piece of information when making a judgment?
  1. Standardization
  2. Phoneme
  3. Anchoring bias
  4. Working memory
Show answer

Anchoring bias. Anchoring bias fits this description: Relying too heavily on the first piece of information when making a judgment.

2. Which statement best defines the term Priming?
  1. Activating associations in memory without awareness, which influences later responses
  2. The tendency to approach a problem in a way that worked before
  3. Believing our judgments are more accurate than they actually are
  4. Better retention after retrieving information from memory than after only rereading it
Show answer

Activating associations in memory without awareness, which influences later responses. Priming is defined this way: Activating associations in memory without awareness, which influences later responses.

3. Which term best fits this description: information is easier to recall when the person is in the same physical or emotional state as when they learned it?
  1. Multiple intelligences
  2. Chunking
  3. State-dependent memory
  4. Serial position effect
Show answer

State-dependent memory. State-dependent memory fits this description: Information is easier to recall when the person is in the same physical or emotional state as when they learned it.

4. Which statement best defines the term Misinformation effect?
  1. Memory is altered when misleading information is introduced after an event
  2. New learning interferes with recall of old information
  3. Implicit memory of how to do things, such as riding a bike
  4. Early two-word speech that uses mostly nouns and verbs, like "want juice"
Show answer

Memory is altered when misleading information is introduced after an event. Misinformation effect is defined this way: Memory is altered when misleading information is introduced after an event.

5. Which term best fits this description: the ability to reason quickly and solve new problems, which tends to decline with age?
  1. Storage
  2. Retrieval
  3. Serial position effect
  4. Fluid intelligence
Show answer

Fluid intelligence. Fluid intelligence fits this description: The ability to reason quickly and solve new problems, which tends to decline with age.