Familiarity in AP Psychology

Definition

Familiarity refers to the simple awareness of something due to previous exposure or experience. It's a basic psychological concept that influences our recognition, memory, and decision-making processes.

Related terms

Recognition:

This is the cognitive process that matches information from a stimulus with information retrieved from memory. Like recognizing your favorite song when it comes on the radio.

Habituation:

This is a decrease in response to a stimulus after being repeatedly exposed to it. Like getting used to the sound of traffic if you live near a busy road.

Priming:

This is an implicit memory effect where exposure to one stimulus influences the response to another stimulus. Like seeing an actor in a movie and then being more likely to recognize them in another film.