Chapter 8

Question 1

An inability to form new memories.

Answer 1

Anterograde amnesia

Question 2

An inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

Answer 2

Retrograde amnesia

Question 3

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.

Answer 3

proactive interference

Question 4

The backward-acting disruptive of new learning on the recall of old information.

Answer 4

retroactive interference

Question 5

Occurs when misleading information has corrupted one’s memory of an event.

Answer 5

misinformation effect

Question 6

Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined (also called source misattribution). This, along with the misinformation effect, are at the heart of many false memories.

Answer 6

source amnesia

Question 7

That eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

Answer 7

deja vu

Question 8

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory).

Answer 8

Semantic memory

Question 9

Explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory).

Answer 9

episodic memory

Question 10

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious) memories - of facts and events - for storage.

Answer 10

hippocampus

Question 11

The neural storage of a long-term memory.

Answer 11

memory consolidation

Question 12

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

Answer 12

flashbulb memory

Question 13

An increase in a cell’s firing potential after a brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory.

Answer 13

long-term potentiation

Question 14

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.

Answer 14

priming

Question 15

The idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it.

Answer 15

encoding specificity principle

Question 16

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.

Answer 16

mood-congruent memory

Question 17

Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list.

Answer 17

serial position effect

Question 18

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

Answer 18

memory

Question 19

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Answer 19

recall

Question 20

A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.

Answer 20

recognition

Question 21

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.

Answer 21

relearning

Question 22

The process of getting information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning.

Answer 22

encoding

Question 23

The process of retaining encoded information over time.

Answer 23

storage

Question 24

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

Answer 24

retreival

Question 25

Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions.

Answer 25

parallel processing

Question 26

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

Answer 26

sensory memory

Question 27

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.

Answer 27

short term memory

Question 28

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Answer 28

long-term memory

Question 29

A newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

Answer 29

working memory

Question 30

Retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" (also called declarative memory).

Answer 30

explicit memory

Question 31

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Answer 31

effortful processing

Question 32

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

Answer 32

automatic processing

Question 33

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection (also called nondeclarative memory).

Answer 33

implicit memory

Question 34

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Answer 34

iconic memory

Question 35

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Answer 35

echoic memory

Question 36

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Answer 36

chunking

Question 37

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Answer 37

mnemonics

Question 38

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

Answer 38

spacing effect

Question 39

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

Answer 39

testing effect

Question 40

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words.

Answer 40

shallow processing

Question 41

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

Answer 41

deep processing