Chapter 10 Flashcards
source misattribution
The inability to distinguish an actual memory of an event from information you learned about the event elsewhere.
confabulation
Confusion of an event that happened to someone else with one that happened to you, or a belief that you remember something when it never actually happened.
explicit memory
Conscious, intentional recollection of an event or of an item of information.
recall
The ability to retrieve and reproduce from memory previously encountered material.
recognition
The ability to identify previously encountered material.
implicit memory
Unconscious retention in memory, as evidenced by the effect of a previous experience or previously encountered information on current thoughts or actions.
priming
A method for measuring implicit memory in which a person reads or listens to information and is later tested to see whether the information affects performance on another type of task.
relearning method
A method for measuring retention that compares the time required to relearn material with the time used in the initial learning of the material.
parallel distributed processing (PDP) model
A model of memory in which knowledge is represented as connections among thousands of interacting processing units, distributed in a vast network, and all operating in parallel.
sensory register
A memory that momentarily preserves extremely accurate images of sensory information.
short-term memory (STM)
In the three-box model of memory, a limited capacity memory system involved in the retention of information for brief periods it is also used to hold information retrieved from long-term memory for temporary use.
chunk
A meaningful unit of information; it may be composed of smaller units.
working memory
In many models of memory, a cognitively complex form of short-term memory; it involves active mental processes that control retrieval of information from long-term memory and interpret that information appropriately for a given task.
long-term memory (LTM)
In the three-box model of memory, the memory system involved in the long term storage of information.
procedural memories
Memories for the performance of actions or skills (“knowing how”).
declarative memories
Memories of facts, rules, concepts, and events (“knowing that”); they include semantic and episodic memories.
semantic memories
Memories of general knowledge, including facts, rules, concepts, and propositions.
episodic memories
Memories of personally experienced events and the contexts in which they occurred.
serial-position effect
The tendency for recall of the first and last items on a list to surpass recall of items in the middle of the list
long-term potentiation
A long-lasting increase in the strength of synaptic responsiveness, thought to be a biological mechanism of long-term memory.
consolidation
The process by which a long-term memory becomes durable and relatively stable.
mnemonics
Strategies and tricks for improving memory, such as the use of a verse or a formula.
maintenance rehearsal
Rote repitition of material in order to maintain its availability in memory.
elaborative rehearsal
Association of new information with already stored knowledge and analysis of the new information to make it memorable.
deep processing
In the encoding of information, the processing of meaning rather than simply the physical or sensory features of a stimulus.
decay theory
The theory that information in memory eventually disappears if it is not accessed; it applies better to short-term than to long-term memory.
retroactive interference
Forgetting that occurs when recently learned material interferes with the ability to remember similar material stored previously.
proactive interference
Forgetting that occurs when previously stored material interferes with the ability to remember similar more recently learned material.
cue-dependent forgetting
The inability to retrieve information stored in memory because of insufficient cues for recall.
state-dependent memory
The tendency to remember something when the rememberer is in the same physical or mental state as during the original learning or experience
mood-congruent memory
The tendency to remember experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood and overlook or forget experiences that are not.
amnesia
The partial or complete loss of memory for important personal information.
repression
In psychoanalytic theory; the selective, involuntary pushing of threatening or upsetting information into the unconscious.
childhood amnesia
The inability to remember events and experiences that occurred during the first 2 or 3 years of life.
