Chapter 8 - Retrieval

Question 1

Tip-of-the-tongue

Answer 1

An extreme form of pause, where the word takes a noticeable time to come out - although the speaker has a distinct feeling that he/she knows exactly what he/she wants to say.

Question 2

Retrieval

Answer 2

The process of recovering a target memory based on one or more cues, subsequently bringing that target into awareness.

Question 3

Target memory

Answer 3

The particular memory (fact, idea, experience) we are seeking during retrieval.

Question 4

Retrieval cues

Answer 4

Snippets of information that allows you to access a memory.

Question 5

Associations/links

Answer 5

Structural linkages between traces in memory that vary in strength.

Question 6

Content addressable memory

Answer 6

Any aspect of the content of a memory can serve as a reminder that could access the experience.

Question 7

Activation level

Answer 7

The variable internal state of a memory trace that contributes to its accessibility at a given point. High activation → Highly accessible.

Question 8

Cue-specification

Answer 8

The careful specification of what we are trying to remember

Question 9

Cue-maintenance

Answer 9

Maintenance of a cue in working memory

Question 10

Interference resolution process

Answer 10

Help to overcome interference from competing memories brought to mind instead of the target.

Question 11

Post-retrieval monitoring

Answer 11

Decision processes that evaluate whether what we have retrieved is what we are seeking.

Question 12

Retrieval mode

Answer 12

The cognitive set, or frame of mind, that orients a person towards the act of retrieval, ensuring that stimuli are interpreted as retrieval.

Question 13

Encoding specificity principle

Answer 13

The more similar the cues available at retrieval are to the conditions present at encoding, the more effective the cues will be.

Question 14

Context cues

Answer 14

Retrieval cues that specify aspects of the conditions under which a desired target was encoded, including (for example) the location and time of the event.

Question 15

Direct/explicit memory tests

Answer 15

Any of a variety of memory assessments that overtly prompt participants to retrieve past events.

Question 16

Cryptomnesia

Answer 16

When a person believes they are creating something new, such as a piece of artwork, but is recalling a similar work they have encountered.

Question 17

Repetition priming

Answer 17

Enhanced processing of a stimulus arising from recent encounters with that stimulus, a form of implicit memory.

Question 18

Repetition suppression

Answer 18

Stimulus repetitions are typically associated with reduced neural activity in the brain region that responds to the stimulus.

Question 19

Context-dependent memory

Answer 19

The finding that memory benefits when the spatio-temporal, mood, physiological, or cognitive context at retrieval matches that present at encoding.

Question 20

Mood-congruent memory

Answer 20

Bias in the recall of memories such that negative mood makes negative memories more readily available than positive, and vice versa. Unlike mood dependency, it does not affect the recall of neutral memories.

Question 21

Mood-dependent memory

Answer 21

A form of context dependent effect whereby what is learnt in a given mood, whether positive, negative or neutral, is best recalled in that mood.

Question 22

Reconstructive memory

Answer 22

An active and inferential process of retrieval whereby gaps in memory are filled-in based on prior experience, logic, and goals.

Question 23

Recognition memory

Answer 23

A person’s ability to correctly decide whether he/she has encountered a stimulus previously in a particular context.

Question 24

Distractors/lures/foils

Answer 24

Non-studied items that are part of recognition tests, forcing the rememberer to show their skill at making good discriminations.

Question 25

Dual-process theories of recognition

Answer 25

A class of recognition models that assumes that recognition memory judgments can be based on two independent forms of retrieval process: recollection and familiarity.

Question 26

Recollection

Answer 26

The slower, more attention-demanding component of recognition memory in dual process models, which involves retrieval of contextual information about the memory.

Question 27

Familiarity-based recognition

Answer 27

A fast, automatic recognition process based on the perception of a memory’s strength. Proponents of dual process models consider familiarity to be independent of the contextual information characteristic of recollection.

Question 28

Source monitoring

Answer 28

The processes of examining the origins of what we retrieve and deciding whether it is from a particular source.