lesson 7 Flashcards
memory
ability to store and retrieve information over time
encoding
Process by which we transform what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory
Storage
Process of maintaining information in memory over time
Retrieval
Process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored
Elaborative encoding
Process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory
Visual imagery encoding
Process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures
Organizational encoding
Process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items
Sensory memory
Storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less
Iconic memory
Fast‐decaying store of visual information
Echoic memory
Fast‐ decaying store of auditory information
Short‐term memory (STM) or working memory
Storage that holds non‐sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute; can hold about 7 items
Rehearsal
Process of keeping information in STM by mentally repeating it
Chunking
Combining small pieces of information into larger clusters that are more easily held in STM
Working memory
Active maintenance of information in STM
Long‐term memory (LTM)
Storage that holds information for hours, days, weeks, or years; no known capacity
Anterograde amnesia
Inability to transfer new information from the
short‐term store into the long‐term store
Retrograde amnesia
Inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation
Consolidation
Process by which memories become stable in the brain
Reconsolidation
Memories can become vulnerable to disruption when they are recalled, requiring them to become consolidated again
Long‐term potentiation (LTP)
Process where by communication across the synapse between neurons strengthens the connection, making further communication easier
NMDA receptor
Receptor site on the hippocampus that influences the flow of information between neurons by controlling the initiation of LTP
Retrieval cues
External information that helps bring stored information to mind
Encoding specificity principle
Idea that a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way in which information was initially encoded
State dependent retrieval
Tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval
Transfer‐appropriate processing
Memory is likely to transfer from one situation to another when the encoding context of the situations match
Retrieval‐induced forgetting
Process by which retrieving an item from long‐ term memory impairs subsequent recall of related items (frontal lobe suppresses competing information)
Explicit memory
Act of consciously or intentionally retrieving past experiences
Implicit memory
Influence of past experiences on later behaviour, even without an effort to remember them or an awareness of the recollection
Priming
Enhanced ability to think of a stimulus as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus; less cortical activation (perceptual and conceptual priming)
Procedural memory
Gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or “knowing how” to do things
Semantic memory
Network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world
Episodic memory
Collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place
Collaborative memory
How people share in groups
Social loafing
less effort in a group
Transactive memory
group think
Transience
Forgetting what occurs with the passage of time
Retroactive interference
Situations in which information learned later impairs memory for information acquired earlier
Proactive interference
Situations in which information learned earlier impairs memory for information acquired later
Absentmindedness
Lapse in attention that results in memory failure
Prospective memory
Remembering to do things in the future
Blocking
Failure to retrieve information that is available in memory
even though you are trying to produce it
Memory misattribution
Assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source
Source memory
Recall of when, where, and how information was acquired
False recognition
Feeling of familiarity about something that hasn’t been encountered before
Suggestibility
Tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections
Bias
Distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences
Consistency bias
Tendency to reconstruct the past to fit the present
Change bias
Tendency to exaggerate differences between what we feel or believe now and what we felt or believed in the past
Egocentric bias
Tendency to exaggerate the change between present and past in order to make ourselves look good in retrospect
Persistence
Intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget
Flashbulb memories
Detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking events
