chapter 7 vocab Flashcards
Acoustic encoding
the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
Amnesia
the loss of memory
Automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, frequency, well-learned information
Anterograde amnesia
a person loses memories for events that occur after the injury
Declarative (explicit) memory
handles factual information
Chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
Decay theory
proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time
Deja vu
cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience, “I’ve experienced this before”
Echoic memory
a momentary sensory memory at auditory stimuli
Effortful processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system, extracting meaning
Flashbulb memories
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Forgetting curve
graphs retention and forgetting over time
Hindsight bias
tendency to mold one’s interpretation of the past to fit how events actually turned out “We knew all along”
Hippocampus
part of the limbic system involved in learning and memory
Interference theory
proposes that people forget information because of competition from other material
Levels of processing theory
proposes that deeper levels of processing result in longer-lasting memory codes
Memory
the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information
Long-term memory
an unlimited capacity store that can hold information over lengthy periods of time
Long-term potentiation
an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation, involving persistent strengthening of synapses that leads to a long-lasting increase in signal transmission between neurons.
Misinformation effect
incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event
Mnemonic devices
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Mood congruent/convergent memory
tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood
Nondeclarative (implicit) memory
houses memory for actions, skills, conditioned responses, and emotional responses
Parallel processing
the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously
Photographic (eidetic) memory
a rare ability in some people to recall images and sounds after short exposure
Priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
Proactive interference
the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information, when old memories disrupt the retrieval of new memories
Procedural memory
remembering how to do things
Prospective memory
remembering to perform actions in the future
Recall
a measure of memory in which a person must retrieve information learned earlier
Recognition
a measure of memory in which the person needs only identity items previously learned
Rehearsal
the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it storage
Relearning measure (effect)
a measure of memory that assesses the amount of times saved when learning material a second time
Repression
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety, arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Retention
refers to the proportion of material retained (remembered)
Retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory storage
Retrospective memory
remembering events from the past or previously learned information
Retroactive interference
the disrupt effect of new learning on the recall of old information
Retrograde amnesia
a person loses memories for events that occurred prior to the injury
Schema
an organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object/event abstracted from previous experience with the object or event
Serial position effect (curve)
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
Short-term memory
a limited-capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed information for up to about 20 seconds
Spacing effect
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention
State-dependent memory
phenomenon when what we learn in 1 state may be easily recalled when we are in that state again
Storage
the retention of encoded information over time
Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
temporary inability to remember something you know, accompanied by a feeling that it’s just out of reach
Visual encoding
the encoding of picture images
Working memory
a new understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious active processing of memory
