Chap 6: Memory Strategies Flashcards
Memory strategies
You perform mental activities that can help you improve your encoding and retrieval
Foresight bias
Occurs when people have been studying for a future exam, and they are overconfident about how they will perform on this exam
Total-time hypothesis
The amount that you learn depends on the total time you devote to learning
Retrieval practice effect
You try to recall important concepts from memory; if retrieval is difficult —and you succeed— your learning is enhanced
Distributed-practice effect
You will remember more material if you spread your learning trials over time (spaced learning). You’ll remember less if you try “cramming”, by learning the material all at once (massed learning)
Desirable difficulties
A learning situation that is somewhat challenging, but not too difficult
A delay of at least __________ between practice sessions is especially effective in boosting long-term retention
One day
Testing effect
Taking a test is actually an excellent way to boost your long-term recall for academic material
Mnemonics
Mental strategies designed to improve your memory
Mental imagery
We mentally represent objects, actions, or ideas that are not physically present
Keyword method
You identify an English word that sounds similar to the new word you want to learn; then you create an image that links the keyword with the meaning of this new word
Organization
A mnemonic strategy in which people try to bring semantic order to the material they want to learn
Chunking
We combine several small units into larger units
Hierarchy
A system in which items are arranged in a series of classes, from most general classes to the most specific
First letter technique
You take the first letter of each word you want to remember, and then you compose a word or sentence from those letters
Narrative technique
Instructs people to make up stories that link a series of words together
Prospective memory
Remembering that you need to do something in the future
External memory aid
Any device external to yourself that facilitates your memory in some way
Metacognition
Refers to your knowledge and control of your cognitive processes
Self-knowledge
What people believe about themselves (behaviour, personality, attitudes etc.)
Metamemory
People’s knowledge, monitoring, and control of their memory
Calibration
Measures people’s accuracy in estimating their actual performance
Tip-of-the-tongue effect
Describes your subjective experience of knowing the target word for which you are searching, yet you cannot recall it right now
Feeling-of-knowing effect
Describes the subjective experience of knowing some information, but you cannot recall it right now
Embodied cognition
A perspective that emphasizes how our abstract thoughts are often expressed by our motor behaviour
Meta comprehension
Refers to your thoughts about language comprehension
