Memory: Model, Processes, & Forgetting

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

an active system that receives information from the senses, puts that information into a usable form, organizes it as it stores it away, and then retrieves the information from storage

Question 2

encoding

Answer 2

the set of mental operations that people perform on sensory information to convert that information into a form that is usable in the brain’s storage systems

Question 3

storage

Answer 3

holding onto information for some period of time

Question 4

retrieval

Answer 4

getting information that is in storage into a form that can be used

Question 5

information-processing model

Answer 5

model of memory that assumes the processing of information for memory storage is similar to the way a computer processes memore in a series of three stages

Question 6

parallel distributed processing model (PDP)

Answer 6

a model of memory in which memory processes are proposed to take place at the same time over a large network of neural connections

Question 7

levels-of-processing model

Answer 7

model of memory that assumes information that is more “deeply processed,” or processed according to its meaning rather than just the sound or physical characteristics of the word or words, will be remembered more efficiently and for a longer period of time

Question 8

sensory memory

Answer 8

the very first stage of memory; the point at which information enters the nervous system through the sensory systems

Question 9

iconic memory

Answer 9

visual sensory memory, lasting only a fraction of a second

Question 10

eidetic imagery

Answer 10

the ability to access a visual memory for 30 seconds or more

Question 11

echoic imagery

Answer 11

the brief memory of something a person has just heard

Question 12

short-term memory

Answer 12

the memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used

Question 13

selective attention

Answer 13

the ability to focus on only one stimulus from among all sensory input

Question 14

working memory

Answer 14

an active system that processes the information in short-term memory

Question 15

maintenence rehearsal

Answer 15

practice of saying information to be remembered over and over in one’s head in order to maintain it in short-term memory

Question 16

long-term memory

Answer 16

the system of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently

Question 17

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 17

a method of transferring information from the short-term memory into the long-term memory by making that information meaningful in some way

Question 18

procedural (nondeclarative) memory

Answer 18

type of long-term memory including memory for skills, procedures, habits, and conditioned responses; these memories are not conscious but are implied to exist because they affect conscious behavior

Question 19

anterograde amnesia

Answer 19

loss of memory from the point of injury or trauma forward, or the inability to form new long-term memories

Question 20

implicit memory

Answer 20

memory that is not easily brought into conscious awareness, such as procedural memory

Question 21

declarative memory

Answer 21

type of long-term memory containing information that is conscious and known

Question 22

semantic memory

Answer 22

type of declarative memory containing general knowledgy, such as knowledge of language and information learned in formal education

Question 23

episodic memory

Answer 23

type of declarative memory containing personal information not readily available to others, such as daily activities and events

Question 24

explicit memory

Answer 24

memory that is consciously known, such as declarative memory

Question 25

semantic network model

Answer 25

model of memory organization that assumes information is stored in the brain in a connected fashion, with concepts that are related stored physically closer to each other than concepts that are not highly related

Question 26

retrieval cue

Answer 26

a stimulus for remembering

Question 27

encoding specificity

Answer 27

the tendency for memory of information to be improved if related information (such as surroundings or physiological state) is available when the memore is first formed is also available when the memory is being retrieved

Question 28

recall

Answer 28

type of memory retrieval in which the information to be retrieved must be “pulled” from memory with very few external cues

Question 29

recognition

Answer 29

the ability to match a piece of information or a stimulus to a stored image or fact

Question 30

serial position effect

Answer 30

tendency of information at the beginning and end of a body of information to be remembered more accurately than information in the middle of the body of information

Question 31

primacy effect

Answer 31

tendency to remember information at the beginning of a body of information than the information that follows

Question 32

recency effect

Answer 32

tendency to remember information at the end of a body of information better than the information at the beginning of it

Question 33

false positive

Answer 33

error of recognition in which people think that they recognize some stimulus that is not actually in memory

Question 34

automatic encoding

Answer 34

tendency of certain kinds of information to enter long-term memory with little or not effortful encoding

Question 35

flashbulb memories

Answer 35

type of automatic encoding that occurs because an unexpected event has strong emotional associations for the person remembering it

Question 36

curve of forgetting

Answer 36

a graph showing a distinct pattern in which forgetting is very fast within the first hour after learning a list and then tapers off gradually

Question 37

distributed practice

Answer 37

spacing the study of material to be remembered by including breaks between study periods

Question 38

encoding failure

Answer 38

failure to process information into memory

Question 39

memory trace

Answer 39

physical change in the brain that occurs when a memory is formed

Question 40

decay

Answer 40

loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used

Question 41

disuse

Answer 41

another name for decay, assuming that memories that are not used will eventually decay and disappear

Question 42

proactive interference

Answer 42

memory problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the learning or retrieval of newer information

Question 43

retroactive interference

Answer 43

memory retrieval problem that occurs when newer information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of older information