Ch 08: Memory Flashcards
acronym
an abbreviation formed from the initial letters of other words and pronounced as a word
amnesia
loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma
anterograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occur after the brain trauma
retrograde amnesia
loss of memory for events that occurred prior to brain trauma
arousal theory
strong emotions trigger the formation of strong memories and weaker emotional experiences form weaker memories
bias
how feelings and view of the world distort memory of past events
chunking
organizing information into manageable bits or chunks
declarative memory; explicit memory
type of long-term memory of facts and events we personally experience; episodic and semantic memory
non declarative memory; implicit memory
memories that are not part of our consciousness; memories formed from behaviors
elaborative rehearsal
thinking about the meaning of the new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory
encoding
input of information into the memory system; semantic, visual, and acoustic
semantic encoding
input of words and their meaning
visual encoding
input of images
acoustic encoding
input of sounds, words, and music
engram
physical trace of memory
episodic memory
type of declarative memory that contains information about events we have personally experienced, also known as autobiographical memory
false memory syndrome
recall of false autobiographical memories
flashbulb memory
exceptionally clear recollection of an important event
long-term memory
continuous storage of information
memory consolidation
active rehearsal to move information from short-term memory into long-term memory
misinformation effect
after exposure to incorrect information, a person may misremember the original event
mnemonic device
memory aids that help organize information for encoding
proactive interference
old information hinders the recall of newly learned information
procedural memory
type of long-term memory for making skilled actions, such as how to brush your teeth, how to drive a car, and how to swim
recall
accessing information without cues
recognition
identifying previously learned information after encountering it again, usually in response to a cue
reconstruction
process of bringing up old memories that might be distorted by new information
rehearsal
conscious repetition of information to be remembered
retrieval
act of getting information out of long-term memory storage and back into conscious awareness
retroactive interference
information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information
semantic memory
type of declarative memory about words, concepts, and language-based knowledge and facts
seven sins of memory
transience, absentmindedness, blocking, misattribution, suggestibility, bias, persistence
short-term memory; working memory
holds about seven bits of information before it is forgotten or stored, as well as information that has been retrieved and is being used
storage
creation of a permanent record of information
suggestibility
effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories
transience
memory error in which unused memories fade with the passage of time
absentmindedness
lapses in memory that are caused by breaks in attention or our focus being somewhere else
blocking
memory error in which you cannot access stored information
misattribution
memory error in which you confuse the source of your information
persistence
failure of the memory system that involves the involuntary recall of unwanted memories, particularly unpleasant ones
levels of processing
information that is thought of more deeply becomes more meaningful and thus better committed to memory
