Modules 31-33 Vocab

Question 1

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Answer 1

Memory

Question 2

The processing of information into the memory system

Answer 2

Encoding

Question 3

The process of retaining encoded information over time

Answer 3

Storage

Question 4

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Answer 4

Retrieval

Question 5

The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions

Answer 5

Parallel Processing

Question 6

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Answer 6

Sensory Memory

Question 7

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Answer 7

Short-Term Memory

Question 8

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

Answer 8

Long-Term Memory

Question 9

A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

Answer 9

Working memory

Question 10

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”

Answer 10

Explicit Memory

Question 11

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Answer 11

Effortful Processing

Question 12

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

Answer 12

Automatic Processing

Question 13

Retention independent of conscious recollection

Answer 13

Implicit Memory

Question 14

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Answer 14

Iconic Memory

Question 15

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Answer 15

Echoic Memory

Question 16

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Answer 16

Chunking

Question 17

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Answer 17

Mnemonics

Question 18

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Answer 18

Spacing Effect

Question 19

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

Answer 19

Testing Effect

Question 20

Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Answer 20

Shallow Processing

Question 21

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

Answer 21

Deep Processing

Question 22

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

Answer 22

Hippocampus

Question 23

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Answer 23

Flashbulb Memory

Question 24

An increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

Answer 24

Long-term Potentiation (LTP)

Question 25

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

Answer 25

Recall

Question 26

A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Answer 26

Recognition

Question 27

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Answer 27

Relearning

Question 28

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Answer 28

Priming

Question 29

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Answer 29

Mood-Congruent Memory

Question 30

Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first items (primacy effect) in a list

Answer 30

Serial Position Effect

Question 31

An inability to form new memories

Answer 31

Anterograde Amnesia

Question 32

An inability to retrieve information from one’s past

Answer 32

Retrograde Amnesia

Question 33

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Answer 33

Proactive Interference

Question 34

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Answer 34

Retroactive interference

Question 35

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Answer 35

Repression

Question 36

Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event

Answer 36

Misinformation Effect

Question 37

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (also called source misattribution) it is at the heart of many false memories

Answer 37

Source Amnesia

Question 38

That eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Answer 38

Deja Vu