Chapter 6: Memory Flashcards
memory
The process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information.
sensory memory
The initial, momentary storage of information, lasting only an instant.
short-term memory
Memory that holds information for 15 to 25 seconds
long-term memory
Memory that stores information on a relatively permanent basis, although it may be difficult to retrieve.
chunk
A group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit in short-term memory.
rehearsal
The repetition of information that has entered short-term memory.
working memory
A memory system that holds information temporarily while actively manipulating and rehearsing that information.
declarative memory
Memory for factual information: names, faces, dates,
and the like.
procedural memory
Memory for skills and habits, such as riding a bike or hitting a baseball; sometimes referred to as nondeclarative memory.
semantic memory
Memory for general knowledge and facts about the
world, as well as memory for the rules of logic that are used to deduce other facts
episodic memory
Memory for events that occur in a particular time, place, or context.
semantic networks
Mental representations of clusters of interconnected
information
tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
The inability to recall information that one realizes one knows—a result of the difficulty of retrieving information from long-term memory.
recall
Memory task in which specific information must be retrieved.
recognition
Memory task in which individuals are presented with a stimulus and asked whether they have been exposed to it in the past or to identify it from a list of alternatives.
levels-of-processing theory
The theory of memory that emphasizes the degree to which new material is mentally analyzed.
explicit memory
Intentional or conscious recollection of information.
implicit memory
Memories of which people are not consciously aware but that can affect subsequent performance and behavior.
priming
A phenomenon that occurs when exposure to a word or concept (called a prime) later makes it easier to recall information related to the prime.
flashbulb memories
Memories of a specific, important, or surprising emotionally significant event that are recalled easily and with vivid imagery.
constructive processes
Processes in which memories are influenced by the meaning we give to events
schemas
Organized bodies of information stored in memory that bias the way new information is interpreted, stored,
and recalled.
autobiographical memory
Our recollections of our own life experiences
decay
The loss of information in memory through its nonuse
interference
The phenomenon by which information in memory disrupts the recall of other information.
cue-dependent forgetting
Forgetting that occurs when there are insufficient
retrieval cues to rekindle information that is in memory.
proactive interference
Interference in which information learned earlier disrupts the recall of material learned later.
retroactive interference
Interference in which material that was learned later
disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier.
Alzheimer’s disease
A progressive brain disorder that leads to a gradual
and irreversible decline in cognitive abilities.
amnesia
Memory loss that occurs without other mental difficulties.
retrograde amnesia
Amnesia in which memory is lost for occurrences
prior to a certain event, but not for new events.
anterograde amnesia
Amnesia in which memory is lost for events that follow an injury.
Korsakoff’s syndrome
A disease that afflicts long-term alcoholics, leaving
some abilities intact but including hallucinations and a tendency to repeat the same story.
