Exam 2 Vocab Flashcards
Central Executive
A component of working memory that controls attention and coordinates the activity of the helper systems; coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad
Chunk
A meaningful unit of information held in short-term memory
Episodic Buffer
A helper system in working memory for storing integrated chunks of information
Long-term Memory
Large-capacity storage for enduring memories
Phonological Loop
A helper system in working memory for storing information encoded as sound
Phonological Similarity Effect
Reduction in working-memory span for similar sounding words
Sensory Memory
Highly transient storage space for information that recently entered your sensory system
Short-term Memory
Small amounts of information actively held in the mind for a short period of time
Visuospatial Sketch Pad
A helper system in working memory for storing information encoded spatially or visually
Word-length Effect
A reduction in working memory span for longer words (more syllables, not letters) compared to shorter words
Working Memory
A function of the brain that allows us to actively hold and manipulate a limited amount of information; cognitive system responsible for temporarily holding and manipulating information for processing; not just storage!
Classical Conditioning Effects
A type of implicit memory in which we learn, often without effort or awareness, to associate neutral stimuli with another stimulus, which creates a naturally occurring response
Context-dependent Learning
Retrieval is more effective when the external situation during encoding matches the situation during retrieval
Episodic Memory
Explicit recollection of firsthand experiences
Levels-of-processing Effect
Memory recall of stimuli as a function of the depth of mental processing at encoding
Orthographic Processing
Processing related to how a word is written
Phonological Processing
Processing related to how a word sounds
Primacy Effect
A tendency to better remember stimuli that are presented early in a list
Priming
Changes in behavior as a result of experiences that have happened frequently or recently
Procedural Memory
Implicit knowledge of how to do things
Recall Memory Test
A measure of explicit memory that involves bringing from memory information that has previously been remembered (e.g., SAQ)
Recency Effect
The tendency to better remember stimuli that are presented at the end of a list
Recognition Memory Test
A measure of explicit memory that involves determining whether information has been seen or learned before (e.g., MCQ)
Relearning
A memory measurement that assesses how much more quickly information is processed or learned when it is studied again after it has already been learned but then forgotten
Self-reference Effect
Processing words in terms of their relation to yourself promotes an even higher rate of recall than normal semantic processing
Semantic Processing
Processing related to a word’s meaning
Serial Position Curve
A graphic depiction of the likelihood of remembering items from a list based on the order in which they were presented
State-dependent Memory / State-dependent Retrieval
Superior retrieval of memories when the individual is in the same physiological or psychological state as during encoding
Transfer-appropriate Processing
Memory is best when the type of cognitive processing at recall matches the type of cognitive processing at encoding
Confirmation Bias
The tendency to verify and confirm our existing memories rather than to challenge and disconfirm them
Flashbulb Memory
Exceptionally vivid recollection of an important event that people believe they remember very well; in reality, they are equally susceptible to change/inaccuracies
Forgetting
Loss of information from long-term memory
Misinformation Effect
A memory error caused by exposure to incorrect information between the original event and later memory test
Proactive Interference
Old information hinders the recall of newly learned information
Retroactive Interference
Information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information
Schema
A memory template, created through repeated exposure to a particular class of objects or events
Source Monitoring
The ability to accurately identify the source of a memory
Sleeper Effect
Attitude change that occurs over time when we forget the source of information
Basic-level Category
The neutral, preferred category for a given object, at an intermediate level of specificity
Category
A set of entities that are equivalent in some way; usually the items are similar to one another
Cognitive Economy
A principle of semantic organization that properties of a category that are shared by many of its are stored at a higher-level node in the network
Concept
The mental representation of a category
Exemplar
An example in memory that is labeled as being in a particular category
Prototype
The most typical category member
Prototype Theory
A theory of concept representation that people have a summary representation of a category that is meant to apply to the category as a whole; set of features weighted by their frequency in the category; general description that applies to the category as a whole
Spreading Activation
When a concept is activated in memory, related concepts also increase in activation
Typicality
The difference in “goodness” of category members, ranging from the most typical (the prototype) to borderline members
Memory
The mental operations that store information as well as recover and retrieve it
The Forgetting Function
A rapid decline (hours) in the ability to recall information followed by a more gradual decline (days and months)
Rehearsal
If your repeat/rehearse information, it will stay activated in short-term memory; some information may make it into long-term memory and some may decay
Decay
Information reaches such a low activation level that normal retrieval cues are not sufficient for recall; some stuff may just be gone/disappear
Encoding
Process by which information is transferred into long-term memory, which is set in motion at the time of the experience
Retrieval
Process of recalling previously encoded information
Digit-span Task
A test of working memory where participants are presented with a sequence of digits (not necessarily numbers) and must recall them; magical number of 7 +/- 2 items
Henry Molaison
Suffered from epileptic seizures leading to the complete removal of his hippocampus; resulting profound amnesia where he could no longer form new long-term memories
Working Memory Capacity
The limited amount of information that can be held and processed in the mind at any given time; there appear to be individual differences in the size of working memory, which influences reasoning, complex learning, writing, etc.
Articulatory Suppression
Reduction in working memory span when participants are asked to simultaneously perform irrelevant articulations
Encoding Specificity
Retrieval is most effective when information available at encoding is also available at retrieval
Deese-Roediger McDermott (DRM) Paradigm
A false memory paradigm in which subjects are presented with lists of semantically related words (e.g., nurse, hospital, etc.) at encoding and are likely to falsely recall a non-presented, but semantically related, “lure” word (e.g., doctor) after a delay
Depth of Processing
How we interact with information when we encounter it influences our ability to later retrieve that information (e.g., structural, phonemic, categorical, sentence)
Learning Curve
The probability of correct retrieval increases as a function of repetition
Spacing
Benefit of temporally spaced practice relative to massed practice; spacing out your learning vs cramming yields better retention in the long-term
Testing Effect
Retrieval from memory, rather than simple restudy, is a more effective way to cement information into memory
Exemplar Theory
When you see an object, you unconsciously compare it to the exemplars in your memory, and you judge how similar it is to exemplars in different categories; no summary representation
Semantic Network
A functional storage system for concepts based on the meanings of words
Metacognition
Thinking about thinking
Metamemory
People’s knowledge about, awareness of, and control over their own memory
