Cog key terms

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

The process by which we retain information about events that have happened in the past.

Question 2

flashbulb memory

Answer 2

Where an individual has a detailed recollection of the context in which they first heard about an important event.

Question 3

Short term memory

Answer 3

Our memory for immediate events. Short term memories last for a very short time and disappear unless they are rehearsed. The STM has limited duration and capacity.

Question 4

Long term memory

Answer 4

Memory for the events that have happened in the past. This lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 100 years. LTM has potentially unlimited duration and capacity.

Question 5

forgetting

Answer 5

The inability to recall or recognise something that has been previously learned. May be due to lack of availability (decay) or lack of accessibility (cue dependent forgetting)

Question 6

multi-store model

Answer 6

Explains memory in terms of three stores (sensory, STM & LTM). The transfer of data can be explained in terms of attention and rehearsal.

Question 7

reconstructive memory

Answer 7

Fragments of stored information are reassembled during recall and the gaps are filled in by our explanations as beliefs to produce a coherent narrative (e.g. Next 3 terms)

Question 8

schema processing

Answer 8

Memory processing based on prior knowledge in the form of schemas which could results in distortion

Question 9

false memories

Answer 9

Recalling an event that never happened and believing it to be true

Question 10

confabulation

Answer 10

A memory based on fabricated, distorted or misinterpreted memory often believed t be true in spite pf contradictory evidence.
* E.g. Loftus and Palmer
○ Experiment 1: verb effect
○ Experiment 2: broken glass
distortion of memory

Question 11

eye witness testimony

Answer 11

The evidence provided in court by a person who witnessed a crime, with a view to identifying a perpetrator.

Question 12

articulatory process

Answer 12

Part of the phonological loop that repeats sounds or words to keep them in working memory until they are needed

Question 13

capacity

Answer 13

The amount of information that can be held in memory

Question 14

central executive

Answer 14

Part of working memory that coordinated other components

Question 15

chunking

Answer 15

method of increasing STM by grouping information into larger units

Question 16

episodic buffer

Answer 16

part of working memory which is a temporary store integrating information from the other components

Question 17

episodic memory

Answer 17

type of long-term memory for information about specific experiences and events in our lives

Question 18

inner scribe

Answer 18

stores information about the physical relationship of items (part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad)

Question 19

phonological loop

Answer 19

part of working memory that deals with auditory information

Question 20

primary acoustic store

Answer 20

part of the phonological loop which stores words heard

Question 21

procedural memory

Answer 21

LTM for “knowing how”

Question 22

retrieval

Answer 22

the recall of stored memories

Question 23

retroactive interference

Answer 23

occurs when newly learned information interferes with and impedes the recall of previously learned informations

Question 24

semantic memory

Answer 24

type of LTM for information about the world that is not linked to particular contexts or events

Question 25

sensory register

Answer 25

store of sensory information that lasts no more than a few seconds

Question 26

visuo-spatial sketch pad

Answer 26

part of working memory that deals with visual information