Exam 2

Question 1

memory span

Answer 1

the number of items (ex: digits; words) that an individual can recall immediately in the correct order; it is used as a measure of the capacity of short-term memory

Question 2

chunks

Answer 2

stored units formed from integrating smaller pieces of information

Question 3

rehearsal

Answer 3

subvocal reiteration of verbal material; often used in the attempt to increase the amount of information that can be remembered

Question 4

recall

Answer 4

retrieving information from long-term memory in the presence or absence of cues

Question 5

recency effect

Answer 5

the tendency in free recall for the last few items (typically two or three) to be much more likely to be recalled than those from the middle of the list; this effect has been used to measure the capacity of short-term memory

Question 6

working memory

Answer 6

a system that can store information briefly while other information is processed

Question 7

central executive

Answer 7

the most important component of working memory; it is involved in planning and the control of attention and has limited capacity (task setting, monitoring, energization)

Question 8

phonological loop

Answer 8

a component of working memory in which speech-based information is processed and stored and subvocal articulation occurs

Question 9

visuo-spatial sketchpad

Answer 9

a component of working memory that is used to process visual and spatial information and to store this information briefly

Question 10

episodic buffer

Answer 10

a component of working memory that is used to integrate and to store briefly information from the phonological loop, the visuo-spatial sketchpad, and long-term memory

Question 11

phonological similarity effect

Answer 11

supports existence of phon loop; the finding that immediate recall of word lists in the correct order is impaired when the words sound similar to each other

Question 12

word-length effect

Answer 12

supports existence of phon loop; fewer long words than short ones can be recalled immediately after presentation in the correct order

Question 13

dysexecutive syndrome

Answer 13

a condition in which damage to the frontal lobes causes impaired functioning of the central executive involving deficits in organizing and planning behavior

Question 14

reading span

Answer 14

the greatest number of sentences read for comprehension for which an individual can recall all the final words more than 50% of the time

Question 15

operation span

Answer 15

the maximum number of items (arithmetical questions and words) for which an individual can recall all the last words

Question 16

dual component model

Answer 16

theory that attentional control and long-term memory are the two components of working-memory capacity

Question 17

self-reference effect

Answer 17

enhanced long-term memory for information if it is related to the self at the time of learning

Question 18

distinctiveness

Answer 18

this characterizes memory traces that are distinct or different from other memory traces stored in long-term memory; it leads to enhanced memory

Question 19

transfer-appropriate processing

Answer 19

the notion that long-term memory will be greatest when the processing at the time of retrieval is very similar to the processing at the time of learning

Question 20

testing effect

Answer 20

the finding that long-term memory is enhanced when some of the learning period is devoted to retrieving the to-be-remembered information

Question 21

implicit learning

Answer 21

a form of learning producing long-term memory in which there is no conscious awareness of what has been learned

Question 22

declarative memory

Answer 22

aka explicit memory; memory that involves conscious recollection of information

Question 23

nondeclarative memory

Answer 23

aka implicit memory; memory that doesn’t involve conscious recollection of information

Question 24

priming

Answer 24

form of nondeclarative memory involving facilitated processing of (and response to) a target stimulus because the same or a related stimulus was presented previously

Question 25

procedural memory

Answer 25

a form of nondeclarative memory involving learned skills and concerned with “knowing how”

Question 26

episodic memory

Answer 26

a form of declarative memory concerned with personal experiences or episodes occurring in a given place at a given time

Question 27

recognition memory

Answer 27

deciding whether a given stimulus was encountered previously in a particular context (ex: the previous list)

Question 28

semantic memory

Answer 28

a form of declarative memory consisting of general knowledge about the world, concepts, language, and so on

Question 29

schemas

Answer 29

organized knowledge of various kinds (ex: about the world; typical sequences of events) stored in long term memory; schemas facilitate perception and language comprehension, and allow us to form expectations (ex: of likely events in a restaurant)

Question 30

rationalization

Answer 30

in Bartlett’s theory, the tendency in story recall to produce errors conforming to the cultural expectations of the rememberer; it is attributed to the influence of schemas

Question 31

amnesia

Answer 31

a condition caused by brain damage in which there are serious impairments of long-term memory (especially declarative memory)

Question 32

retrograde amnesia

Answer 32

impaired ability of amnesic patients to remember information and events (so declarative memory) from the time period prior to the onset of amnesia

Question 33

anterograde amnesia

Answer 33

impaired ability of amnesic patients to learn and remember information acquired after the onset of amnesia

Question 34

encoding specificity principle

Answer 34

the notion that retrieval depends on the overlap between the information available at retrieval and the information within the memory trace; memory is best when the overlap is high

Question 35

proactive interference

Answer 35

disruption of memory by previous learning (often of similar material)

Question 36

retroactive interference

Answer 36

disruption of memory for what was learned originally by other learning or processing during the retention interval

Question 37

consolidation

Answer 37

a physiological process involved in establishing long-term memories; this process lasts several hours or more, and newly formed memories that are still being consolidated are fragile

Question 38

reconsolidation

Answer 38

this is a new consolidation process that occurs when a previously formed memory trace is reactivated; it allows that memory trace to be updated

Question 39

hindsight bias

Answer 39

the tendency for people to exaggerate how accurately they would have predicted some event in advance after they know what actually happened

Question 40

articulatory suppression

Answer 40

supports existence of phon loop; happens when you’re rehearsing something other than what you’re trying to remember and you can’t remember the correct thing because of the (mental) verbal interference

Question 41

irrelevant speech effect

Answer 41

supports existence of phon loop; basically you won’t remember what you’re rehearsing if someone else is talking at the same time.

Question 42

evidence for existence of sketchpad

Answer 42

• complicated things are hard to remember
• grid study and visualization of location
• we can play memory

Question 43

Central executive tasks (and testing)

Answer 43

• controlled updating of buffers (2 back task)
• setting goals and planning (tower of Hanoi)
• task switching (wisconsin card sorting task)