Exam 3 (Winter 2014)

Question 1

recall

Answer 1

retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time. A fill-in-the-blank question tests your recall

Question 2

recognition

Answer 2

identifying items previously learned. A multiple-choice question tests your recognition

Question 3

relearning

Answer 3

learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time. When you study for a final exam or engage a language used in early childhood, you will relearn the material more easily than you did initially.

Question 4

encoding

Answer 4

the processing of information into the memory system

Question 5

storage

Answer 5

the retention of encoded information over time

Question 6

retrieval

Answer 6

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Question 7

sensory memory

Answer 7

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

Question 8

short-term memory

Answer 8

activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten

Question 9

working memory

Answer 9

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

Question 10

long-term memory

Answer 10

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Question 11

iconic memory

Answer 11

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

Question 12

echoic memory

Answer 12

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

Question 13

automatic processing

Answer 13

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

Question 14

effortful processing

Answer 14

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Question 15

chunking

Answer 15

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Question 16

mnemonics

Answer 16

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Question 17

spacing effect

Answer 17

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

Question 18

hierarchies

Answer 18

composed of a few broad concepts divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts.

Question 19

deep processing

Answer 19

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

Question 20

shallow processing

Answer 20

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Question 21

Long term potentiation

Answer 21

an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Question 22

flashbulb memory

Answer 22

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Question 23

implicit memory

Answer 23

retention independent of conscious recollection (also called non declarative memory)

Question 24

explicit memory

Answer 24

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” (also called declarative memory)

Question 25

retrieval cues

Answer 25

information associated with other bits of information about your surroundings, mood, positions, etc.

Question 26

priming

Answer 26

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Question 27

mood-congruent memory

Answer 27

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

Question 28

How do context effects influence our memories?

Answer 28

Putting yourself back in the context where you experienced something can prime your memory retrieval

Question 29

What brain structures are related to the different types of memory (implicit, explicit)?

Answer 29

Explicit: the frontal lobes and hippocampus
Implicit: cerebellum and basal ganglia

Question 30

How does stress influence memory?

Answer 30

Emotional arousal can sear certain events into the brain, while disrupting memory for neutral event around the same time.

Question 31

Understand concepts related to short-term/working memory, such as length of retention and capacity.

Answer 31

Short-term memory can retain about 7 bits of information (give or take 2)
Working memory capacity depends on age and other factors. Young adults have more working memory capacity. Their ability to multitask is greater.

Question 32

serial position effect

Answer 32

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

Question 33

encoding failure

Answer 33

we cannot remember what we have not encoded

Question 34

storage decay

Answer 34

even after encoding something well, we sometimes later forget it

Question 35

retrieval failure

Answer 35

stored information cannot be accessed, which leads to forgetting

Question 36

proactive interference

Answer 36

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

Question 37

retroactive interference

Answer 37

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

Question 38

repression

Answer 38

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

Question 39

misinformation effect

Answer 39

incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event

Question 40

source amnesia

Answer 40

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

Question 41

déjà vu

Answer 41

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

Question 42

Identify some strategies for improving memory.

Answer 42

Study repeatedly
Make the material meaningful
Activate retrieval cues
Use mnemonic devices
Minimize interference
Sleep more
Test your own knowledge, both to rehearse it and to find out what you don’t yet know

Question 43

emotion

Answer 43

a response of the whole organism, invoking (1) physiological arousal, (2) expressive behaviors, and (3) conscious experience

Question 44

James-Lange theory

Answer 44

the theory that our experience of emotion is our awareness of our physiological responses to emotion-arousing stimuli

Question 45

Cannon-Bard theory

Answer 45

the theory that an emotion arousing stimulus simultaneously triggers (1) physiological responses and (2) the subjective experience of emotion

Question 46

two-factor theory

Answer 46

the Schachter-Singer theory that to experience emotion one must (1) be physically aroused and (2) cognitively label the arousal

Question 47

Understand the biological aspects of emotion including the functioning of the ANS, SNS, and PNS

Answer 47

In a crisis, the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system mobilizes the body for action, directing the adrenal glands to release the stress hormones epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline).
When the crisis passes, the parasympathetic division of the ANS gradually calms the body, as stress hormones slowly leave the bloodstream.

Question 48

catharsis

Answer 48

emotional release. In psychology, the catharsis hypothesis maintains that “releasing” aggressive energy (through action or fantasy) relieves aggressive urges.

Question 49

feel-good, do-good phenomenon

Answer 49

people’s tendency to be helpful when already in a good mood.

Question 50

subjective well-being

Answer 50

self perceived happiness or satisfaction with life.

Question 51

hippocampus

Answer 51

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.

Question 52

cerebellum

Answer 52

forming and storing implicit memories created by classical conditioning

Question 53

basal ganglia

Answer 53

deep brain structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills