Module 2.7 Flashcards
Forgetting and Other Memory Challenges
Forgetting curve
shows that time is a significant factor in forgetting; forgetting occurs rapidly after initial learning and levels off over time
Encoding failure
a breakdown in the process of getting information in to the cognitive system. When encoding failures occur, the information doesn’t get into memory. Encoding failures can occur because of inattention to the target information or interference when the target information is presented
Interference
the blocking of learning or of memory retrieval by the learning or remembering of other conflicting material
Proactive interference
interference in new learning due to previous learning of similar or related material
Retroactive interference
interference that occurs when new learning or exposure to new information impairs the ability to remember material or carry out activities previously learned, especially if the two sets of material are similar
Inadequate retrieval
not enough information that the brain could use to make appropriate and useful associations
Tip of the tongue phenomenon
a state in which one cannot quite recall a familiar word but can recall words of similar form and meaning
Repression
believed by psychodynamic theorists that information or memories can be forgotten to defend the ego from distress
Misinformation effect
a phenomenon in which a person mistakenly recalls misleading information that an experimenter has provided, instead of accurately recalling the correct information that had been presented earlier
Source amnesia
impaired memory for how, when, or where information was learned despite good memory for the information itself
Constructive memory
remembering conceived as involving the use of general knowledge stored in one’s memory to construct a more complete and detailed account of an event or experience by changing or filling in various features of the memory
Memory consolidation
the neurobiological processes by which a permanent memory is formed following a learning experience
Imagination inflation
the increased likelihood that a person will judge an event as having actually occurred when they imagine the event before making such a judgment
