6 Memory Flashcards
Memory
The ability to remember the things that we have experienced, imagined, and learned
Information-processing model
A computerlike model used to describe the way humans encode, store, and retrieve information
Sensory registers
Entry points for raw information from the senses
Attention
The selection of some incoming information for further processing
Short-term memory (STM)
Working memory; briefly stores and processes selected information from the sensory registers
Chunking
The grouping of information into meaningful units for easier handling by short-term memory
Rote rehearsal
Retaining information in memory simply by repeating it over and over
Long-term memory (LTM)
The portion of memory that is more or less permanent, corresponding to everything we “know”
Serial position effect
The finding that when asked to recall a list of unrelated items, performance is better for the items at the beginning and end of the list
Elaborative rehearsal
The linking of new information in short-term memory to familiar material stored in long-term memory
Schema (plural: Schemata)
A set of beliefs or expectations about something that is based on past experience
Episodic memory
The portion of long-term memory that stores personally experienced events
Semantic memory
The portion of long-term memory that stores general facts and information
Procedural memory
The portion of long-term memory that stores information relating to skills, habits, and other perceptual-motor tasks
Emotional memory
Learned emotional responses to various stimuli
Explicit memory
Memory for information that we can readily express in words and are aware of having; theses memories can be intentionally retrieved from memory
Implicit memory
Memory for information that we cannot readily express in words and may not be aware of having; theses memories cannot be intentionally retrieved from memory
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
Knowing a word, but not being able to immediately recall it
Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)
A long-lasting change in the structure or function of a synapse that increases the efficiency of neural transmission and is thought to be related to how information is stored by neurons
Decay theory
A theory that argues that the passage of time causes forgetting
Retrograde amnesia
The inability to recall events preceding an accident or injury, but without loss of earlier memory
Retroactive interference
The process by which new information interferes with information already in memory
Proactive interference
The process by which new information interferes with information already in memory
Proactive interference
The process by which information already in memory interferes with new information
