Chapter 8: Memory Flashcards
1
Q
memory
A
- the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage and retrieval of information.
2
Q
recall
A
- a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
3
Q
recognition
A
- a measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.
4
Q
relearning
A
- a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again.
5
Q
encoding
A
- the process of getting information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning. - the process of getting information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.
6
Q
storage
A
- the process of retaining encoded information over time.
7
Q
retrieval
A
- the process of getting information out of memory storage.
8
Q
parallel processing
A
- processing many aspects of a stimulus or problem at once.
9
Q
sensory memory
A
- the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
10
Q
short-term memory
A
- activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.
11
Q
long-term memory
A
- the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
12
Q
working memory
A
- a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming sensory information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
13
Q
explicit memory
A
- retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare.” (Also called declarative memory.)
14
Q
effortful processing
A
- encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
15
Q
automatic processing
A
- unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-earned information, such as word meanings.
16
Q
implicit memory
A
- retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. (Also called non-declarative memory.)
17
Q
iconic memory
A
- a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
18
Q
echoic memory
A
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
19
Q
chunking
A
- organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
20
Q
mnemonics
A
- memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
21
Q
spacing effect
A
- the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
22
Q
testing effect
A
- enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
23
Q
shallow processing
A
- encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words.
24
Q
deep processing
A
- encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.
25
semantic memory
- explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory).
26
episodic memory
- explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory).
27
hippocampus
- a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious) memories—of facts and events—for storage.
28
memory consolidation
- the neural storage of a long-term memory.
29
flashbulb memory
- a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
30
long-term potentiation (LTP)
- an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory.
31
priming
- the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.
32
encoding specificity principle
- the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it.
33
mood-congruent memory
- the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.
34
serial position effect
- our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list.
35
anterograde amnesia
- an inability to form new memories.
36
retrograde amnesia
- an inability to retrieve information from one’s past.
37
proactive interference
- the forwardacting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.
38
retroactive interference
- the backward- acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.
39
repression
- in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
40
reconsolidation
- a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again.
41
misinformation effect
- occurs when misleading information has corrupted one’s memory of an event.
42
source amnesia
- faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. (Also called source misattribution .) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.
43
déjà vu
- that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
