Chapter 6: Memory Flashcards
The ability to recall information; the retention of acquired information.
Memory.
The ability to recall perceived objects within seconds after stimulus has been removed.
Immediate memory (sensory memory).
Storage mechanism involves remembering events experienced in the past few days.
Short-term memory (STM).
Stores information indefinitely and its capacity is limitless; recalls events in the distant past that have received repeated attention.
Long-term memory (LTM).
This refers to the initial recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Sensory memory.
Information in the sensory memory is held for how many seconds?
1/2 to 4 seconds (0.5 - 4s).
This is a momentary sensory memory of a visual stimuli. Only lasts for few tenths of a second.
Iconic memory.
A momentary sensory memory for auditory stimuli. Can last up to 3 or 4 seconds.
Echoic memory.
The duration of storage/capacity in short-term memory.
7 ± 2 seconds (5 - 9 seconds).
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier.
Recall.
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned. Easier than recall.
Recognition.
This refers to activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations of memory.
Priming.
This refers to when you are able to retrieve information better when you are in the same context you learned it in.
Context Effects Memory Retrieval.
The retention of things without conscious recollection; skill memory.
Implicit memory (procedural memory).
It is a type of long-term memory that is concerned with recollection of facts and events.
Explicit memory.
The three (3) factors that result in forgetting.
- Encoding failure
- Storage decay
- Retrieval failure
Information never enters the memory system.
Encoding failure.
The idea that we cannot attend to everything in our environment.
Selective attention (attention is selective).
Over time, we just forget things.
Storage decay.
Failure to retrieve information from long-term memory.
Retrieval failure.
The idea that forgetting takes place simply through the passage of time. With the passage of time, the normal metabolic processes in the brain causes decay of the memory.
Decay through disuse.
This theory states that if a person does not access and use the memory representation they have formed, the memory trace will fade or decay over time.
Decay theory.
In 1914, he came up with the decay theory in his book “The Psychology of Learning.”
Edward Thorndike.
The disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new information.
Proactive interference.
The disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old information.
Retroactive interference.
Refers to the loss of memory.
Amnesia.
Amnesiac patients typically have losses in what type of memory?
Explicit memory.
It is the memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.
Explicit memory (declarative memory).
The form of amnesia wherein you can’t recall memories from your past.
Retrograde amnesia.
The form of amnesia wherein you can’t form new memories but can still remember things from before you developed this amnesia.
Anterograde amnesia.
The seven (7) sins of memory.
- Absent-mindedness
- Transience
- Blocking
- Misattribution
- Suggestibility
- Bias
- Persistence
A sin of memory involving inattention to details leading to encoding failure.
Absent-mindedness.
A sin of memory associated with the fact that unused information fades.
Transience.
A sin of memory where you are unable to access stored information.
Blocking.
A sin of memory where you are confusing the source of the information.
Misattribution.
A sin of memory resulting from the lingering effects of misinformation.
Suggestibility.
A sin of memory resulting from beliefs or colored recollections.
Bias.
A sin of memory wherein unwanted memories won’t go away.
Persistence.
