Memory

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

the ability to store and use information; also the store of what has been learned and remembered.

Question 2

three-stage model of memory

Answer 2

classification of memories based on duration as sensory, short-term, and long-term.

Question 3

sensory memory

Answer 3

the part of memory that holds information in its original sensory form for a very brief period of time, usually about half a second or less.

Question 4

short-term memory

Answer 4

the part of memory that temporarily (for 2 to 30 seconds) stores a limited amount of information before it is either transferred to long-term storage or forgotten.

Question 5

long-term memory

Answer 5

the part of memory that has the capacity to store a vast amount of information for as little as 30 seconds and as long as a lifetime.

Question 6

working memory

Answer 6

the part of memory required to attend to and solve a problem at hand; often used interchangeably with short-term memory.

Question 7

chunking

Answer 7

the process of breaking down a list of items to be remembered into a smaller set of meaningful units.

Question 8

rehearsal

Answer 8

the process of repeatedly practicing material so that it enters long-term memory.

Question 9

serial position effect

Answer 9

the tendency to have better recall for items in a list according to their position in the list.

Question 10

implicit memory

Answer 10

kind of memory made up of knowledge based on previous experience, such as skills that we perform automatically once we have mastered them; resides outside conscious awareness.

Question 11

procedural memory

Answer 11

kind of memory made up of implicit knowledge for almost any behavior or physical skill we have learned.

Question 12

priming

Answer 12

a kind of implicit memory that arises when recall is improved by earlier exposure to the same or similar stimuli.

Question 13

explicit memory

Answer 13

knowledge that consists of the conscious recall of facts and events; also known as declarative memory.

Question 14

semantic memory

Answer 14

form of memory that recalls facts and general knowledge, such as what we learn in school.

Question 15

episodic memory

Answer 15

form of memory that recalls the experiences we have had

Question 16

encoding

Answer 16

the process by which the brain attends to, takes in, and integrates new information; the first stage of long-term memory formation.

Question 17

automatic processing

Answer 17

encoding of information that occurs with little effort or conscious attention to the task.

Question 18

effortful processing

Answer 18

encoding of information that occurs with careful attention and conscious effort.

Question 19

levels of processing

Answer 19

the concept that the more deeply people encode information, the better they will recall it.

Question 20

mnemonic device

Answer 20

a method devised to help remember information, such as a rhyme or acronym.

Question 21

consolidation

Answer 21

the process of establishing, stabilizing, or solidifying a memory; the second stage of long-term memory formation.

Question 22

storage

Answer 22

the retention of memory over time; the third stage of long-term memory formation.

Question 23

hierarchies

Answer 23

a way of organizing related pieces of information from the most specific feature they have in common to the most general.

Question 24

schemas

Answer 24

mental frameworks that develop from our experiences with particular people, objects, or events.

Question 25

associative network

Answer 25

a chain of associations between related concepts.

Question 26

retrieval

Answer 26

the recovery of information stored in memory; the fourth stage of long-term memory.

Question 27

prefrontal cortex

Answer 27

the frontmost region of the frontal lobes that plays an important role in attention, appropriate social behavior, impulse control, and working memory.

Question 28

flashbulb memories

Answer 28

detailed, especially vivid memories of very specific, highly charged events.

Question 29

long-term potentiation

Answer 29

strengthening of a synaptic connection that results when synapse of one neuron repeatedly fires and excites another neuron.

Question 30

forgetting

Answer 30

the weakening or loss of memories over time.

Question 31

interference

Answer 31

disruption of memory because other information competes with the information we are trying to recall.

Question 32

retroactive interference

Answer 32

disruption of memory because new experiences or information cause people to forget previously learned experiences or information.

Question 33

proactive interference

Answer 33

disruption of memory because previously learned information interferes with the learning of new information.

Question 34

forgetting curve

Answer 34

a graphic depiction of how recall steadily declines over time.

Question 35

absent-mindedness

Answer 35

a form of forgetfulness that results from inattention.

Question 36

blocking

Answer 36

the inability to retrieve some information once it is stored.

Question 37

repression

Answer 37

the unconscious act of keeping threatening thoughts, feelings, or impulses out of consciousness.

Question 38

suggestibility

Answer 38

problem with memory that occurs when memories are implanted in our minds based on leading questions, comments, or suggestions by someone else or some other source.

Question 39

false memories

Answer 39

memories for events that never happened, but were suggested by someone or something.

Question 40

recovered memory

Answer 40

a memory from a real event that was encoded, stored, but not retrieved for a long period of time until some later event brings it suddenly to consciousness.

Question 41

amnesia

Answer 41

memory loss due to brain injury or disease.

Question 42

anterograde amnesia

Answer 42

the inability to remember events and experiences that occur after an injury or the onset of a disease.

Question 43

retrograde amnesia

Answer 43

an inability to recall events or experiences that happened before the onset of a disease or injury.