Memory - Key Terms

Question 1

Define encoding

Answer 1

the way information is changed into a code so it is remembered

Question 2

Define storage

Answer 2

information is kept within our memory until it’s needed again

Question 3

Define retrieval

Answer 3

ability to recover information which has been stored

Question 4

Define acoustic

Answer 4

encoding information in terms of how it sounds

Question 5

Define semantic

Answer 5

encoding information in terms of what it means

Question 6

Define sensory memory

Answer 6

information is held very briefly for just a few seconds and the capacity is very limited

Question 7

Define rehearsal

Answer 7

technique used to move information from one store in the multi-store explanation to the next

Question 8

Define short term memory

Answer 8

holds 7+-2 chunks of information for less than a minute. encoded by sound

Question 9

Define long term memory

Answer 9

holds vast amount of information for long period of time. encoded semantically

Question 10

Define recency effect

Answer 10

information received later is recalled better than earlier information

Question 11

Define primary effect

Answer 11

first information received is recalled better than the subsequent information

Question 12

Define structural processing

Answer 12

thinking about physical appearance of words to be learnt

Question 13

Define phonetic processing

Answer 13

thinking about the sounds of words to be learnt

Question 14

Define semantic processing

Answer 14

thinking about the meaning of words to be learnt

Question 15

Define reconstructive memory

Answer 15

altering our recollection of things so they make more sense to us

Question 16

Define interference

Answer 16

refers to things that we have learnt that make it difficult to recall other information that we have learnt

Question 17

Define retroactive interference

Answer 17

when information we have recently learnt obstructs our ability to recall information we learnt previously

Question 18

Define proactive interference

Answer 18

when information we have already learnt obstructs our ability to recall new information

Question 19

Define context

Answer 19

general setting or environment in which activities happen

Question 20

Define anterograde amnesia

Answer 20

inability to learn new information after suffering brain damage

Question 21

Define retrograde amnesia

Answer 21

inability to remember information about their life before the brain damage occurred

Question 22

Define hippocampus

Answer 22

brain structure crucial for memory

Question 23

Define eyewitness

Answer 23

someone who has identified someone committing a crime and provides this evidence in a court of law