Chapter 9 Key Terms

Question 1

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Answer 1

memory

Question 2

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Answer 2

flashbulb memory

Question 3

processing of information into the memory system- for ex., by extracting meaning

Answer 3

encoding

Question 4

the retention of encoded information over time

Answer 4

storage

Question 5

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Answer 5

retrieval

Question 6

immediate, very brief recording of sensory info in the memory system

Answer 6

sensory memory

Question 7

activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten (such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing)

Answer 7

short-term memory

Question 8

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

Answer 8

long-term memory

Question 9

a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

Answer 9

working memory

Question 10

coordinate auditory & visual-spatial elements in working memory

Answer 10

central executive processor

Question 11

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

Answer 11

automatic processing

Question 12

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Answer 12

effortful processing

Question 13

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

Answer 13

rehearsal

Question 14

poorest memories are for what was said by the person just before them

Answer 14

next-in-line effect

Question 15

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

Answer 15

spacing effect

Question 16

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

Answer 16

serial position effect:

Question 17

the encoding of picture images

Answer 17

visual encoding

Question 18

the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

Answer 18

acoustic encoding

Question 19

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

Answer 19

semantic encoding

Question 20

asked how well adjectives describe yourself, remember the words better

Answer 20

self-reference effect

Question 21

mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding

Answer 21

imagery

Question 22

people tend to recall events more positively than at the time it occurred

Answer 22

rosy retrospection

Question 23

memory aids, especially techniques using vivid imagery & organizational devices

Answer 23

mnemonics

Question 24

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Answer 24

chunking

Question 25

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

Answer 25

iconic memory

Question 26

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

Answer 26

echoic memory

Question 27

an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

Answer 27

long-term potentiation (LTP)

Question 28

the loss of memory

Answer 28

amnesia

Question 29

retention independent of conscious recollection

Answer 29

implicit (procedural) memory

Question 30

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”

Answer 30

explicit (declarative) memory

Question 31

a neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage

Answer 31

hippocampus

Question 32

reactions and skills learned during infancy reach far into our future, yet as adults we cannot recall anything (explicitly) of our first three years

Answer 32

infantile amnesia

Question 33

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

Answer 33

recall

Question 34

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Answer 34

recognition

Question 35

a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

Answer 35

relearning

Question 36

anchor points you use to access target info when you want to retrieve it later

Answer 36

retrieval cues

Question 37

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Answer 37

priming

Question 38

memory without explicit remembering

Answer 38

“memoryless memory”

Question 39

that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before;” cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Answer 39

déjà vu

Question 40

what we learn in one state is sometimes most easily recalled when we are in that state again

Answer 40

state-dependent memory

Question 41

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

Answer 41

mood-congruent memory

Question 42

inattention to details produces encoding failure

Answer 42

absent-mindedness

Question 43

storage decay over time

Answer 43

transience

Question 44

inaccessibility of stored information

Answer 44

blocking

Question 45

confusing the source of information

Answer 45

misattribution

Question 46

the lingering effects of misinformation

Answer 46

suggestibility

Question 47

belief-colored recollections

Answer 47

bias

Question 48

unwanted memories

Answer 48

persistence

Question 49

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Answer 49

proactive interference

Question 50

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Answer 50

retroactive interference

Question 51

old information can facilitate our learning of new information

Answer 51

positive transfer

Question 52

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Answer 52

repression

Question 53

incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event

Answer 53

misinformation effect

Question 54

more likely to think they had actually done such things the first time

Answer 54

imagination inflation

Question 55

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, hear about, read about, or imagined; at the heart of many false memories

Answer 55

source amnesia (source misattribution)