PSYS 001 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Terror Management Theory, Semantic Memory, Explicit Memory

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Psychological Science
• Course: PSYS 001
• Professor: Lawrence Rudiger

Document Summary

Psychology: the scientific study of mind & behavior. Terror management theory: psychological conflict that results from having a desire to live, but realizing that death is inevitable. Meta-cognitive awareness: thinking about our own thinking/knowledge. Being able to correctly identify what you do or do not know. Overconfidence phenomenon: there is a weak relationship between ones perceived accuracy and one"s true accuracy. This is a general trait of human cognition however; it can be minimized with practice. Nature vs. nurture: the relationship between a person"s biology/genetics and their environment: nature and nurture are incredible linked because a person"s environment can bring out certain genetic traits etc. Explicit memory: refers to knowledge or experiences that can be intentionally remembered. There are two types: episodic memory: when one recalls first hand experiences that occur on a daily basis, semantic memory: the knowledge of facts or concepts such as capitals or math.