Chapter 7: Memory

Question 0

Memory

Answer 0

Internal record or representation of some prior event or experience

Ex: I remember that my best friend’s name is Matthew

Question 1

Sensory memory

Answer 1

First memory stage that holds sensory information; relatively large capacity, but duration is only a few seconds

Ex: I remember how he smelled like campfire when I hugged him last

Question 2

Constructive Process

Answer 2

Organizing and shaping of information during processing, storage, and retrieval of memories

Ex: I have my memories organized up until this moment in time

Question 3

Encoding

Answer 3

Processing information into the memory system

Ex: Sometimes I forget I’m in high school, it feels as though middle school was yesterday. It’s hard for me to process

Question 4

Storage

Answer 4

Retaining info over time

Ex: Every year I learn more and more in school and retain that information so I can’t take my finals at the end of the year

Question 5

Retrieval

Answer 5

Recovering info from memory storage

Ex: I tried to remember what I did for my third birthday, then I remembered that I had a scooby-doo themed party

Question 6

Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP)

Answer 6

Memory results from weblike connections among interacting processing units operating simultaneously rather than sequentially (also known as the connectionist model)

Ex: swimming in the ocean and seeing a large fin nearby then running for shore. Mind did not compute it was a shark, it just thought it was

Question 7

Short-term memory (STM)

Answer 7

Second memory stage that temporarily stores sensory information and decides whether to send it on to long-term memory (LTM); capacity is limited to five to nine items and duration is about 30 seconds

Ex: my mother asks me about every five minutes if I brushed my teeth

Question 8

Maintenance Rehearsal

Answer 8

Repeating information over and over to maintain it in short-term memory (STM)

Ex: asking me the names of everyone in class then having me take a test; 5 minutes later I’ll forget the names

Question 9

Chunking

Answer 9

Grouping separate pieces of information into a single unit (or chunk)

Ex: telephone numbers (only 7 digits)

Question 10

Long-term memory (LTM)

Answer 10

Third stage of memory that stores information for long periods of time; it’s capacity is virtually limitless, and its duration is relatively permanent

Ex: identic memories

Question 11

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

Answer 11

Subsystem within long-term memory that consciously stores facts, information, and personal life experiences

Ex: remembering my phone number or first grade teacher’s name

Question 12

Semantic memory

Answer 12

Subsystem of explicit/declarative memory that stores general knowledge; a mental encyclopedia or dictionary

Ex: vocab terms

Question 13

Episodic memory

Answer 13

Subsystem of explicit/declarative memory that stores memories of personally experienced events; a mental diary of a person’s life

Ex: first kiss

Question 14

Implicit (Nondeclarative) Memory

Answer 14

Subsystem within long-term memory consisting of unconscious procedural skills and simple classically conditioned response

Ex: how to tie my shoes

Question 15

Levels of Processing

Answer 15

Degree or depth of mental processing occurring when material is initially encountered; determines how well material is later remembered

Ex: whether we remember something because on now deeply or shallowly we process it. If we care about it on an emotional level or not

Question 16

Elaborative Rehearsal

Answer 16

Linking new information to previously stored material (also known as deeper levels of processing)

Ex: to understand not memorize. Deeper connection of memory

Question 17

Serial-position effect

Answer 17

Info at the beginning and end of a list is remembered better than material in the middle

Ex: give me a list of words. I’ll remember the first word and the most recent word said

Question 18

Retrieval Cue

Answer 18

Clue or prompt that helps stimulate recall or retrieval of a stored piece of information from a long-term memory

Ex: recall, recognition, and priming. Trying to remember what happened 5 days ago

Question 19

Recall

Answer 19

Retrieving a memory using a general cue

Ex: chewing gum while studying. Chewing gum while taking a test will help me remember the information

Question 20

Recognition

Answer 20

Retrieving a memory using a specific cue

Ex: chewing gum

Question 21

Priming

Answer 21

Prior exposure to a stimulus (or prime) facilitates or inhibits the processing of new information, even when one has no conscious memory of the initial learning and storage

Ex: how to make special bread

Question 22

Encoding specificity principle

Answer 22

Retrieval of info is improved when conditions of recovery are similar to the conditions when info was enclosed

Ex: study in a specific room, take a test in the same room with same conditions

Question 23

Relearning

Answer 23

Learning material a second time, which usually takes less time than original learning (also called the savings method)

Ex: amnesia. Learn everyone’s name again

Question 24

Retroactive interference

Answer 24

New information interferes with remembering old information; backward-acting interference

Ex: new information in science contradicts previous info learned

Question 25

Pro active interference

Answer 25

Old information interferes with remembering new information; forward-acting interference

Ex: old history interferes with new history info

Question 26

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) Phenomenon

Answer 26

Feeling that specific information is stored in long-term memory but of being temporarily unable to retrieve it

Ex: what’s the name of the singer singing the song. It’s on the tip of my tongue

Question 27

Misinformation effect

Answer 27

Distortion of a memory by misleading post-event info

Ex: remembering something the way you want to, not the way it really happened

Question 28

Source Amnesia

Answer 28

Forgetting the true source of a memory (also called source confusion or source misattribution)

Ex: channel surfing

Question 29

Sleeper Effect

Answer 29

Info from an unreliable source, which was initially discounted, later gains credibility because the source is forgotten

Ex: my mom

Question 30

Distributed practice

Answer 30

Practice (or study) seasons are interspersed with rest periods

Ex: spacing learning periods with rest sessions

Question 31

Massed practice

Answer 31

Time spent learning is grouped (or massed) into long, unbroken intervals (also known as cramming)

Ex: cramming

Question 32

Long-term potential ion (LTP)

Answer 32

Long-lasting increase in neural excitability, which may be a biological mechanism for learning and memory

Ex: playing tennis

Question 33

Retrograde Amnesia

Answer 33

Loss of memory for events before a brain injury; backward-acting amnesia

Ex: remembers everything after injury. Forgets old information

Question 34

Consolidation

Answer 34

Process by which neutral changes associated with recent learning become durable and stable

Ex: heavy rain on wet cement. Brain injury wipes away unstable memories because the cement hasn’t had time to harden

Question 35

Anterograde Amnesia

Answer 35

Inability to form new memories after a brain injury; forward-acting amnesia

Ex: remembers everything before the injury. amesic and forgets new info. Only remembers things that happened up until the accident

Question 36

Alzheimer’s disease (AD)

Answer 36

Progressive mental deterioration characterized by severe memory loss
Ex. Your grandma losing her memory

Question 37

Mnemonic Device

Answer 37

Memory-improvement technique based on encoding items in a special way

Ex: anagrams