Chapter 9: Memory Flashcards
Memory
persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information. -
Flashbulb Memory
clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. -
Encoding
processing of information into the memory system– for example, by extracting meaning. -
Storage
retention of encoded information over time. -
Retrieval
process of getting information out of memory storage. -
Sensory Memory
immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. -
Short-term Memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten. -
Long-term Memory
relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences. -
Automatic Processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings. -
Effortful Processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort. -
Rehearsal
conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage. -
Spacing Effect
tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice. -
Serial Position Effect
our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list. -
Visual Encoding
encoding of picture images. -
Acoustic Encoding
encoding of sound, especially the sound of words. -
Semantic Encoding
(most effective) encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words. -
Imagery
mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding. -
Mnemotics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. -
Chuncking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically. -
Iconic Memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second. -
Echoic Memory
a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds. -
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief; rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory (Biological bases for memory). - Biological
Amnesia
the loss of memory. -
Implicit Memory
[Procedural Memory] retention independent of conscious recollection. -
Explicit Memory
[Declarative Memory] memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”. -
Hippocampus
a neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage. -
Recall
a measure or memory in which the person must retrieve info. learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test. -
Recognition
measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test. -
Relearning
memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time. -
Priming
activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory. -
Déjà vu
that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience. -
Mood-congruent Memory
tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood. -
Proactive interference
disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information. -
Retroactive interference
Repression
(psychoanalytic theory) the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories. -
Misinformation Effect
incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event (Did you see the.. vs Did you see a…). -
Source Amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. -
