Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology
AP Psychology: 60 practice questions with detailed explanations.
Unit Study Guide
Executive Summary
Unit 5 covers how information is encoded, stored, retrieved — and distorted — plus language, thinking, and intelligence.
Memory
The three-stage model: sensory memory (iconic/echoic), short-term/working memory (about 7±2 items), and long-term memory. Encoding can be automatic or effortful; elaborative and semantic encoding stick best. Explicit (declarative: episodic + semantic) vs implicit (procedural, classical conditioning) memory use different brain systems.
Retrieval and forgetting
Retrieval cues, context, and state dependence aid recall; the testing effect and spacing improve it. Forgetting follows interference (proactive: old blocks new; retroactive: new blocks old), retrieval failure, and decay. Memory is reconstructive: misinformation effects and source amnesia create false memories.
Thinking
Algorithms guarantee solutions; heuristics (availability, representativeness) are shortcuts that risk bias. Confirmation bias, belief perseverance, framing, and functional fixedness distort judgment.
Language
Phonemes, morphemes, syntax, and semantics build language. Chomsky's language acquisition device suggests innate grammar capacity; critical periods shape fluency.
Intelligence
Spearman's g, Gardner's multiple intelligences, and Sternberg's triarchic theory compete. IQ is normally distributed with mean 100 (SD 15). Tests must be reliable (consistent) and valid (measure what they claim). Fluid intelligence declines with age; crystallized grows.