Chapter 6: Retrieving Memory from Long-Term Storage Flashcards
A memory task in which experimental subjects are first presented with a list of words and later asked to recall the second word in a pair when presented with the first
paired associates learning
A phenomenon in which subsequently learned material lowers the probability of recalling earlier learned material
retroactive inference
A stimulus that helps a person recall or recognize stored information
retrieval cue
A phenomenon whereby retrieval time to retrieve a particular fact about a concept increases as more facts are known about that concept
fan effect
Strategies to facilitate retention and later retrieval of information
mnemonics
A memorization method that requires the learner to visualize an ordered series of physical locations as mnemonic cues for a list of information
method of loci
A principle of retrieval: at the time material is first put into LTM it is encoded in a particular way depending on context; at the time of recall, the person is at an advantage if the same contextually supplied info available at encoding is once again available
encoding specificity
The phenomenon that recall is easier when the pharmacological state of the person at recall matches his or her pharmacological state during encoding
state-dependent learning
The phenomenon that material is easier to retrieve when the learner is experiencing the same state or context that he was experiencing during the time of encoding
state-dependent memory
The empirical finding that people’s ability to recall information is best when their mood at the time of recall matches their mood at the time of learning
mood-dependent memory effect
A phenomenon in which recall of material that is presented repeatedly is superior when the presentations are some time apart rather than immediately following one another
spacing effect
The way the encoding of information varies as a function of context
encoding variability
A principle of memory that states a retrieval cue will be most effective when it is highly distinctive and not related to any other target memories
cue overload
The experimental finding that taking tests on material actually improves the learning of it, even when compared to simply repeatedly studying that material
testing effect
A memory system that is thought to hold memories of specific events with which the cognitive processor has had direct experience
episodic memory
A memory system that is thought to hold memories of general knowledge
semantic memory
A kind of memory that operates on distinct principles and stores a distinct kind of information
memory systems
Consciously recalled or recollected memory
explicit memory
Memory that is not deliberate or conscious but shows evidence of prior learning and storage
implicit memory
Priming that facilitates the cognitive processing of information after a recent exposure to that same information
repetition priming
A memory system thought to contain knowledge, facts, information, ideas, or anything that can be recalled and described in words, pictures, or symbols
declarative memory
A memory system thought to contain information concerning actions and sequences of actions (ex. knowing how to ride a bike)
procedural memory
States that memory does not depend on particular stores, but on the initial processing done to the information at the time of acquisition (shallow = less retention, deep = more retention)
levels-of-processing theory of memory
The retention of information even when it is not required of, or even intended by, the processor
incidental learning
