Chapter 5: Working Memory

Question 1

The calling to mind of previously stored information

Answer 1

retrieval

Question 2

The cognitive processes by which information is translated into a mental or internal representation and stored

Answer 2

encoding

Question 3

The mental representation of stored information

Answer 3

memory trace

Question 4

The mental “holding on” to information between the time it is encoded and the time it is retrieved

Answer 4

storage

Question 5

The processes that prevent information from being retrieved from a memory store

Answer 5

forgetting

Question 6

Model of memory that assumes information is retrieved, processed, and stored differently for each kind of memory

Answer 6

modal model

Question 7

A memory store thought to hold on to incoming sensory information for very brief periods

Answer 7

sensory memory

Question 8

A memory store thought to hold onto incoming information for up to 20-30 seconds; also called primary memory; thought to have a small capacity

Answer 8

short-term memory

Question 9

A memory store thought to have a large, possibly infinite capacity that holds on to incoming information for long periods of time, perhaps permanently, also called secondary memory

Answer 9

long-term memory

Question 10

The phenomenon that items at the beginning or end of a list of items are more easily recalled than are items from the middle of the list

Answer 10

serial position effect

Question 11

The improvement in retention of information learned at the beginning of a task

Answer 11

primacy effect

Question 12

The improved retention of information learned at the end of a task

Answer 12

recency effect

Question 13

A mnemonic strategy of repeating information either aloud or silently to facilitate retention and later retrieval

Answer 13

rehearsal

Question 14

A sensory memory for visual stimuli

Answer 14

icon

Question 15

A sensory memory for auditory material

Answer 15

echo

Question 16

The sum total of cognitive resources available at any given time

Answer 16

capacity

Question 17

The formation of individual units of information into larger units; often used as a means of overcoming short-term memory limitations

Answer 17

chunking

Question 18

The form in which information is mentally or internally represented

Answer 18

coding

Question 19

The amount of time a memory trace remains available for retrieval

Answer 19

retention duration

Question 20

A hypothesized process of forgetting in which material is thought to erode, break apart, or otherwise disintegrate or fade

Answer 20

decay

Question 21

A hypothesized process of forgetting in which material is thought to be buried or otherwise displaced by other information, but still exists somewhere in the memory store

Answer 21

interference

Question 22

A search for information in which several stores or slots of information are simultaneously examined to match to the target

Answer 22

parallel search

Question 23

A search for information in which several stores or slots of information are sequentially examined for match to the target

Answer 23

serial search

Question 24

A search for information that stops when a target is found

Answer 24

self-terminating search

Question 25

A search for information in which each item in a set is examined, even after the target is found

Answer 25

exhaustive search

Question 26

a memory structure consisting of a limited-capacity work space that can be allocated into either storage space or control processing

Answer 26

working memory

Question 27

Proposed component of working memory responsible for directing the flow of information and selecting what information to work with

Answer 27

central executive

Question 28

Proposed component of working memory responsible for subvocally rehearsing auditory information

Answer 28

phonological loop

Question 29

Proposed component of working memory that maintains visual or spatial information

Answer 29

visuospatial sketch pad

Question 30

Proposed component of working memory responsible for linking information across domains to form integrated units of visual, spatial, and verbal information with information in long term memory

Answer 30

episodic buffer

Question 31

A process hypothesized for long-term learning in which neural circuits in the hippocampus are subjected to repeated and intense electrical stimulation, resulting in hippocampal cells that are more sensitive to stimuli than they were previously

Answer 31

long-term potentiation