Memory and Cognition Flashcards
Schema
A knowledge cluster or general conceptual framework that provides expectations about topics, events, objects, people, and situations in one’s life.
Persistence
A memory problem in which unwanted memories cannot be put out of mind.
Concepts
Mental representations of categories of items or ideas, based on experience.
Misinformation effect
The distortion of memory by suggestion or misinformation.
Script
A cluster of knowledge about sequences of events and actions expected to occur in particular settings
Serial position effect
A form of interference related to the sequence in which information is presented. Generally, items in the middle of the sequence are less well remembered than items presented first or last.
Misattribution
A memory fault that occurs when memories are retrieved but are associated with the wrong time, place, or person
Expectancy bias
In memory, a tendency to distort recalled events to make them fit one’s expectations.
Self-consistency bias
The commonly held idea that we are more consistent in our attitudes, opinions, and beliefs than we actually are.
Anchoring bias
A faulty heuristic caused by basing (anchoring) an estimate on a completely unrelated quantity.
Computer metaphor
The idea that the brain is an information processing organ that operates, in some ways, like a computer
Recall
A retrieval method in which one must reproduce previously presented information.
Recognition
A retrieval method in which one must identify present stimuli as having been previously presented.
Representativeness bias
A faulty heuristic strategy based on the presumption that once people or events are categorized, they share all of the features of other members in that category.
Information-processing model
A cognitive understanding of memory, emphasizing how information is changed when it is encoded, stored, and retrieved.
Encoding specificity principle
The doctrine that memory is encoded and stored with specific cues related to the context in which it was formed. The more closely the retrieval cues match the form in which the information was encoded, the better it will be remembered
Natural language mediators
Words associated with new information to be remembered.
Blocking
Forgetting that occurs when an item in memory cannot be accessed or retrieved. Blocking is caused by interference.
Morphemes
The meaningful units of language that makes up words. Some whole words are morphemes, other morphemes include grammatical components that alter a word’s meaning.
Mental set
The tendency to respond to a new problem in the manner used for a previous problem.
Engram
The physical changes in the brain associated with memory. It is also know as the memory trace.
Acoustic encoding
The conversion of information, especially semantic information, to sound patterns in working memory.
Consolidation
The process by which short-term memories are changed to long term memories over a period of time.
Availability bias
A faulty heuristic strategy that estimates probabilities based on information that can me recalled from personal experience
Creativity
A mental process that produces novel responses that contribute to the solutions of problems.
Algorithms
Problem solving procedures of formulas that guarantee a correct outcome, if correctly applied.
Mnemonics
Techniques for improving memory, especially by making connections between new material and information in long term memory.
Natural concepts
Mental representations of objects and events drawn from our direct experience.
Prototype
An ideal or most representative example of a conceptual category.
Method of loci
A mnemonic technique that involved associating items on a list with a sequence of familiar physical locations.
Functional fixedness
The inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose; a form of mental set
Artificial concepts
Concepts defined by rules, such as word definitions and mathematical formulas.
