Chapter 6

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

the retention of information or experience over time as the result of encoding, storage and retrieval

Question 2

encoding

Answer 2

the first step to memory; the process in which information gets into memory storage

Question 3

selective attention

Answer 3

focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others

Question 4

divided attention

Answer 4

concentrating on more than one activity at the same time

Question 5

sustained attention

Answer 5

the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a long period of time

Question 6

levels of processing

Answer 6

a continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory

Question 7

elaboration

Answer 7

the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at a given level of memory coding

Question 8

storage

Answer 8

the retention of information over time and how this information is represented in memory

Question 9

atkinson-shiffrin theory

Answer 9

memory storage involves sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

Question 10

sensory memory

Answer 10

involves holding information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant

Question 11

echoic memory

Answer 11

auditory sensory memory

Question 12

iconic memory

Answer 12

visual sensory memory

Question 13

short-term memory

Answer 13

limited-capacity memory system in which information is retained for as long as 30 seconds

Question 14

chunking

Answer 14

making large amounts of information more manageable

Question 15

working memory

Answer 15

allows individuals to hold information temporarily as they perform cognitive tasks

Question 16

phonological loop

Answer 16

specialized in storing speech based information about the sounds of language

Question 17

visual-spatial sketchpad

Answer 17

stores visual and spatial information

Question 18

central executive

Answer 18

plays important roles in attention, planning, and organizing

Question 19

long-term memory

Answer 19

a relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time

Question 20

explicit memory

Answer 20

the conscious recollection of information that can be verbally communicated

Question 21

semantic

Answer 21

a person’s knowledge about the world

Question 22

episodic

Answer 22

the retention of information about the where, when, and what of life happenings-that is how individuals remember life’s episodes

Question 23

implicit memory

Answer 23

behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience

Question 24

procedural

Answer 24

memory for skills

Question 25

priming

Answer 25

the activation of information that people already have in storage that helps them remember new information better and faster

Question 26

retrieval

Answer 26

the memory process that occurs when information that was retained in memory comes out of storage

Question 27

serial position effect

Answer 27

the tendency to recall the items at the beginning an end of the list, rather than the middle

Question 28

recall

Answer 28

retrieve previously learned information (essay)

Question 29

recognition

Answer 29

recognize learned items (mcq)

Question 30

encoding specificity principle

Answer 30

information present at the time of encoding or learning tends to be effective as a retrieval que

Question 31

context dependent memory

Answer 31

attempt to recall info in the same context it is learned

Question 32

autobiographical memory

Answer 32

a special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person’s recollections of their lives experiences

Question 33

flashbulb memory

Answer 33

the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events

Question 34

motivated forgetting

Answer 34

forgetting that occurs when something is so painful or anxiety-laden that remembering it is intolerable

Question 35

ebbinghaus’s forgetting curve

Answer 35

made a memorized list of 13 nonsense syllables and then assessed how many of them he could remember as time passed

Question 36

interference theory

Answer 36

people forget not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember

Question 37

proactive

Answer 37

situation in which material that was learned earlier disrupts the recall of material that was learned later

Question 38

retroactive interference

Answer 38

situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier

Question 39

decay theory

Answer 39

when an individual learns something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms, but over time this trace disintegrates; suggests that the passage of time always increases forgetting

Question 40

tip of the tongue phenomenon

Answer 40

a type of effortful retrieval associated with a persons feeling that they know something but they cannot quite pull it from memory

Question 41

anterograde

Answer 41

affects the retention of new information and events

Question 42

retrograde

Answer 42

memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events