Memory: Glossary Flashcards
Define cognitive psychology
The study of mental processes.
For example: Attention, language use, memory, perception, creativity, problem solving and thinking.
Define human memory
The process by which we retain information about events that happened in the past.
Define short term memory (STM)
Information that we process and store straight away is usually stored in the STM. It stores information we are currently aware of.
Define rehearsal
Attending to information so that it stays in your memory.
For example: Verbally repeating it.
Define long term memory (LTM)
A continual storage of information that is largely outside of our awareness, but can be recalled when necessary.
Define retrieval
The process of locating and extracting stored memories.
Define capacity
The amount of information held in a memory store.
Define duration
The length of time information can be held in memory.
Define serial position effect
The tendency for someone to recall the first and last items in a series best and the middle worst.
Define primacy effect
From the serial position effect, it is the first words, which are best rehearsed, and are transferred to long term memory.
Define recency effect
Another theory from the serial position effect, where it occurs because the last words in a sequence are fresh in the short term memory for the start of recall.
Define eyewitness testemony
An account given by people of an event they have witnessed.
Define leading questions
A question phrased in such a way that as to prompt a particular kind of answer.
Examples: Did you see a gun? → Did you see that gun
Define retrieval failure
A form of forgetting. It occurs when we don’t have the necessary cues to access memory. The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
Define cue
A ‘trigger’ of information that allows us to access a memory. Such cues may be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of learning.
Example: Cues may be external (environmental context) or internal (mood or degree of drunkness).
Define encoding specificity principle
The greater the similarity between the encoding event and the retrieval event, the greater the likelihood of healing original memories.
Define coding
The format in which information is stored in the various memory stores.
Define multi store model (MSM)
A representation of how memory works in terms of three stores called sensory register, STM and LTM.
It also describes how information is transferred from one store to another, how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.
Define sensory register
The memory stores for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store).
Coding in the iconic sensory register is visual and in the echoic sensory register it is acoustic.
The capacity of sensory register is huge (millions of receptors) and information lasts for a very short time (less than half a second).
Define episodic memory
A LTM store for personal events.
It includes memories of when the events occured and of the people, objects, places and behaviours involved.
Memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort.
Define semantic memory
A LTM store for our knowledge of the world.
This includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean.
This includes our memories of learned skills.
We usually recall these memories without making a conscious or deliberate effort.
Define working memory model (WMM)
A representation of STM.
It suggests that STM is a dynamic processor of different types of information using sub units coordinated by a central decision making system.
Define central executive (CE)
The component of the WMM that coordinates the activities of the three subsystems in memory.
It also allocates processing resources to those activities.
Define the phonological loop (PL)
The component of the WMM that processes information in terms of sound.
This includes both written and spoken material.
It’s divided into the phonological store and the articulatory process.
Define visuospatial sketchpad (VSS)
The component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our ‘inner eye’.
Define episodic buffer (EB)
The component of the WMM that brings together material from the other subsystems into a single memory rather than separate strands.
It also provides a bridge between working memory and long term memory.
Define interference
Forgetting because one memory blocks another, causing one or more memories to be distorted or forgotten.
Define proactive interference (PI)
Forgetting occurs when older memories, already stored, disrupt the recall of newer memories.
The degree of forgetting is greater when the memories are similar.
Define retroactive interference (RI)
Forgetting occurs when newer memories disrupt the recall of older memories already stored.
The degree of forgetting is again greater when the memories are similar.
Define retrieval failure
A form of forgetting.
It occurs when we don’t have necessary cues to access memory.
The memory is available but not accessible unless a suitable cue is provided.
Define cue
A ‘trigger’ of information that allows us to access a memory.
Such cues may be meaningful or may be indirectly linked by being encoded at the time of learning.
For example: Cues may be external (environmental) or internal (mood or degree of drunkness).
Define eyewitness testimony (EWT)
The ability of people to remember the details of events, such as accidents and crimes, which they themselves have observed.
Accuracy of EWT can be affected by factors such as misleading information, leading questions and anxiety.
Define misleading information
Incorrect information given to the eyewitness usually after the event (hence often called ‘post event information).
It can take many forms, such as leading questions and post event discussions between cowitnesses and/or other people.
Define leading question
A question which, because of the way it is phrased, suggests a certain answer.
For example: ‘Was the knife in the accused’s left hand?’. This suggests the answer is ‘left hand’.
Define post event discussion (PED)
Occurs when there is more than one witness to an event. Witnesses may discuss what they have seen with cowitnesses or with other people.
This may influence the accuracy of each witness’s recall of the event.
Define anxiety
A state of emotional and physical arousal.
The emotions include having worried thoughts and feelings of tension.
Physical changes includes include an increased heart rate and sweatiness.
Anxiety is a normal reaction to stressful situation, but can affect the accuracy and detail of eyewitness testimony.
Define cognitive interview (CI)
A method of interviewing eyewitnesses to help them retrieve more accurate memories.
It uses four main techniques , all based in well-established psychological knowledge of human memory - report everything, reinstate the context, reverse the order, and change perspective.
Define active processing
Is where the person transforms or manipulates the material that is to be remembered.
Define anxiety
State of emotional arousal where there is a feeling or experience of apprehension and uncertainty.
Define articulatory process
Part of the phonological loop that repeats sounds or words to keep them in working memory until they are needed.
Define chunking
Method of increasing short-term memory by grouping information into larger units.
Define context dependent failure
Forgetting which occurs because the external cues at recall are different to those at the time of learning.
Define cue dependent forgetting
Failure to recall information due to an absence of cuesor ‘tiggers’.
Define forgetting
Failure to retrieve memories.
Define inner scribe
Stores information about the physical relationship of items (part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad).
Define interference theory
Memory can be disrupted not only by previous learning but also by what is learned in the future.
Define mnemonics
Techniques used to improve memory.
Define primary acoustic store
Part of the phonological loop which stores words heard.
Define procedural memory
Long-term memory for “knowing how”.
Define repression
Unpleasant material is pushed into the unconscious mind.
Define schema
A cognitive framework or concept that helps organize and interpret information.
Define state dependent failure
Forgetting which occurs because the emotional or physical state at recall is different to that at the time of learning.
Define visual cache
Part of the visuo-spatial sketchpad that stores information about form and colour.
