Psychology Flashcards
The science of behavior and mental processes
Psychology
The study of the relationships between features of physical stimuli, such as their intensity, and the sensations we experience in response to them
Psychophysics
Inward focusing on mental experiences, such as sensations or feelings
Introspection
The school of psychology that attempts to understand the structure of the mind by breaking it down into its component parts
Structuralism
The school of psychology that focuses on the adaptive functions of behavior
Functionalism
The school of psychology that holds that psychology should limit it self to the study of overt, observable behavior
Behaviorism
The school of psychology that holds that the brain structures or perceptions of the world in terms of meaningful patterns or wholes
Gestalt psychology
A German word meaning unitary form or pattern
Gestalt
In Freudian theory, the part of the mind that lies beyond conscious awareness and that contains primitive drives and instinct
Unconscious
The view that behavior is influenced by the struggle between unconscious sexual or aggressive impulses and opposing forces that try to keep this threatening material out of consciousness
Psychodynamic perspective
Frauds method of psychotherapy, which focuses on uncovering and working through unconscious conflicts believed to be at root or psychological problems
Psychoanalysis
In approach to the study of psychology that focuses on the role of learning in explaining observable behavior
Behavioral perspective
A contemporary learning based model that emphasizes the roles of cognitive and environmental factors in determining behavior
Behavior therapy
The school of psychology that believes that free will and conscious choice are essential aspects of the human experience
Humanistic psychology
In approach to study psychology that focuses on the relationships between biological processes and behavior
Physiological perspective
A branch of psychology that focuses on the role of evolutionary processes in shaping behavior
Cognitive perspective
An approach to the study of psychology that emphasizes the role of social and cultural influences on behavior,
Sociocultural perspective
Contemporary movement within psychology that emphasizes the study of human virtues and assets, rather than weaknesses and deficits
Positive psychology
Research focused on acquiring knowledge, even if such knowledge has no direct practical application
Basic research
Research that attempts to find solutions to specific problems
Applied research
Psychologists who apply experimental methods to the study of behavior and mental processes
Experimental psychologist
Psychologist who studies behavior, similarities, and differences among animal species
Comparative psychologists
Psychologists who focus on the biological underpinnings of behavior
Physiological psychologist
Psychologists who use psychological techniques to evaluate and treat individuals with mental or psychological disorders
Clinical psychologist
Medical doctors who specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of mental or psychological disorders
Psychiatrist
Psychologist who help people clarify their goals and make life decisions or finding ways of overcoming problems in various areas of their lives
Counseling psychologist
Psychologists who evaluate and assist children with learning problems, or other special needs
School psychologists
Psychologists who study issues relating to the measurement of intelligence and the processes involved in educational or academic achievement
Educational psychologist
Psychologists to focus on processes involving physical, cognitive, social, and personality development
Developmental psychologists
Psychologist who studies the psychological characteristics and behaviors that distinguishes as individuals and lead us to act consistently over time
Personality psychologists
Psychologists who study group or social influences on behavior and attitudes
Social psychologist
Psychologist who study relationships between physical environment and behavior
Environmental psychologists
Psychologist who studies people’s behavior at work
Industrial/organizational psychologist
Psychologists who focus on the relationship between psychological factors and physical health
Health psychologist
Psychologist who study why people purchase a particular product and brands
Consumer psychologist
Psychologists who study relationships between the brain and behavior
Neuropsychologists
Psychologists to focus on physiological processes involved in aging
Geropsychologists
Psychologists involved in the application of psychology in the legal system
Forensic psychologist
Psychologists who applied psychology to understand and improving athletic performance
Sport psychologists
A method of developing knowledge based on evaluating evidence, gathered from experiments and careful observation
Empirical approach
Conclusions drawn from observations
Inferences
A formulation that accounts for relationships among observed events or that explains experimental findings
Theory
Factors or measures that vary within an experiment or among individuals
Variables
A method of inquiry involving careful observation, and use of experimental methods
Scientific method
A precise prediction about the outcome of an experiment
Hypothesis
A branch of mathematics involving the tabulation, analysis, and interpretation of numerical data
Statistics
A term representing that he finding is unlikely to be due to a chance of random fluctuations
Statistical significance
The attempt to duplicate findings
Replication
An in-depth study of one or more individuals
Case study method
A research methods that uses structured interviews or questionnaires to gather information about groups of people
Survey method
An interview in which a set of specific questions asked in a particular order
Structured interview
A written set of questions, or statements, to which people reply by marking their responses on the answer form
Questionnaire
All the individuals are organisms that constitute a particular groups
Population
A method of sampling in which each individual in the population has an equal chance of being selected
Random sampling
Subset of a population
Samples
The tendency to respond to questions in a socially desirable manner
Social desirability bias
The type of bias that arises when people who volunteered to participate in a survey or research study have characteristics that make them on representative of the population, from which they were drawn
Volunteer bias
A method of research based on careful observation of behavior in nature settings
Naturalistic observation method
A research method that examines relationships between variables, as expressed in form of a statistical measurement called a correlation coefficient
Correlational method
A statistical measure of association between variables that can vary from -1.00 to +1.00
Correlational coefficient
A method of scientific investigation involving the manipulation of independent variables and observation of measurement of their effects on dependent variables under controlled conditions
Experimental method
Factors that are manipulated in an experiment
Independent variables
The effects or outcomes of an experiment that are believed to be dependent on the levels or values of the independent variable or variables
Dependent variables
Groups of participants in a research experiment, who do not receive the experimental treatment or intervention
Control groups
A method of assigning research participants at random to experimental or control groups
Random assignment
An inert substance or experimental condition that resembles the active treatment
Placebo
Positive outcomes of an experiment resulting from positive expectations of participants, rather than from the experimental treatment
Placebo effects
In drug research, studies in which participants are kept uninformed about whether they are receiving the experimental drug or a placebo
Single blind studies
Injured research, studies in which both participants and experimenters are kept uninformed about which participants are receiving the active drug and which are receiving the placebo
Double blind studies
Committees that evaluate whether proposed studies meet ethical guidelines
Ethics review committee’s
Agreement to participate in a study, following disclosure of information about the purposes and nature of the study, and its potential risks and benefits
Informed consent
The adoption of a skeptical, questioning attitude and careful scrutiny of claims or arguments
Critical thinking
Irregularities in _________________ functioning are implicated in many psychological disorders, including eating disorders, depression, and schizophrenia
Neurotransmitter
Chemicals released in the nervous system that influence the sensitivity of the receiving neuron to neuron transmitters
Neuromodulators
A severe and chronic psychological disorder characterized by disturbances in thinking, perception, emotions, and behavior
Schizophrenia
Perceptions experienced in the absence of corresponding external stimuli
Hallucinations
Fixed but patently false beliefs, such as believing that one is being hounded by demons
Delusions
A progressive brain disease involving destruction of dopamine producing brain cells and characterized by muscle tremors, shakiness, rigidity, difficulty in walking and controlling fine body movements
Parkinson’s disease
A drug that activates the central nervous system, such as caffeine
Stimulant
A class of synthetically, derived stimulant drugs, such as methamphetamine
Amphetamines
Drugs that combat depression by affecting the levels or activity of neural transmitters
Anti-depressants
Natural chemicals released in the brain that have pain killing and pleasure inducing affects
Endorphins
A reflex controlled at the level of the spinal cord that may involve has a few as to neurons
Spinal reflex
The part of the nervous system that connects the spinal cord and brain with the sensory organs, muscles, and glands
Peripheral nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system, that transmits information between the central nervous system and the sensory organs and muscles ; also controls voluntary movement
Somatic nervous system
The part of the peripheral nervous system that automatically regulates involuntary bodily processes, such as breathing, heart rate, and digestion
Autonomic nervous system
The branch of the autonomic nervous system that accelerates bodily processes and releases the stores of energy needed to meet increased physical demands
Sympathetic nervous system
The branch of the autonomic nervous system, that regulates, bodily processes, such as digestion, that replenishes stores of energy
Parasympathetic nervous system
Neurons that fire both when an action is performed and when the same action is merely observed
Mirror neurons
Areas of the cerebral cortex that piece together sensory information to form meaningful perceptions of the world and perform higher mental functions
Association areas
In studies of brain functioning, the intentional destruction of brain tissue in order to observe the effects on behavior
Lesioning
Specialization of the right and left cerebral hemispheres for particular functions
Lateralization
An area of the left frontal lobe involved in speech
Broca’s area
An area of the left temporal lobe involved in processing written and spoken language
Wernicke’s area
Persons whose corpus callosum have been surgically severed
Split brain patients
A type of brain trauma in which a foreign object, such as a bullet or a piece of shrapnel, pierces the skull and injures the brain
Laceration
The ability of the brain to adapt itself after trauma or surgical alteration
Plasticity
A cluster of physical and physiological symptoms occurring in a few days preceding the menstrual flow
Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
An organisms genetic code
Genotype
Basic units of heredity that contain the individuals genetic code
Genes
Rodlike structures in the cell nucleus that house the individuals genes
Chromosomes
The observable physical, and behavioral characteristics of an organism, representing the influences of the genotype and environment
Phenotype
Traits that are influenced by multiple genes interacting in complex ways
Polygenic traits.
Studies exam in the degree to which disorders or characteristics are shared among family members
Familial association studies
Twins who developed from the same zygote and so have identical genes (monozygotic)
Identical twins
A fertilized egg cell
Zygote
Twins who developed from separate zygotes and so have 50% of their genes in common (dizygotic)
Fraternal twins
Studies that exam in the degree to which twins, share traits, characteristics, or disorders in relation to whether the twins are identical or fraternal
Twin studies
In twin studies, the percentages of cases, in which both members of twin pairs share the same trait or disorder
Concordance rates
Studies examine weather adoptees, are more similar to their biological or adoptive parents with respect to their psychological traits or the disorders they developed
Adoptee studies
The process by which we received, transform, and process, stimuli from the outside world to create sensory experiences a vision, touch, hearing, taste, smell, and so on
Sensation
The study of the relationship between features of physical stimuli, such as the intensity of light and sound, and the sensation we experience in response to the stimuli
Psychophysics
The smallest amount of a given stimulus a person can sense
Absolute threshold
The minimal difference in the magnitude of energy needed for people to detect a difference between to stimuli
Difference threshold
The principle that the amount of change in a stimulus needed to detect a difference is given by a constant ratio or fraction, called a constant, of the original stimulus
Weber’s law
The belief that the detection of a stimulus is determined by many factors, including the intensity of the stimulus, the level of background stimulation, and the biological in physiological characteristics of the preceiver
Signal detection theory
The process by which sensory receptors adapt to constant stimuli by becoming less sensitive to them
Sensory adaptation
A theory of color vision that posits that the ability to see different colors depends on the relative activity of 3 types of color receptors in the eye (red, green, and blue-violet)
Trichromatic theory
The visual image of a stimulus that remains after the stimulus is removed
Afterimage
A theory of color vision that holds that the experience of color results from opposing processes involved in 2 sets of color receptors, red-green receptors and blue-yellow receptors, and that another set of opposing receptors, black-white, is responsible for detecting differences in brightness
Opponent process theory
People with normal color vision who can discern all the colors of the visual spectrum
Trichromats
People who have no color vision and see only in black-and-white
Monochromats
People who can see some colors, but not others
Dichromats
The sense of hearing
Audition
The highness or lowness of a sound that corresponds to the frequency of the sound wave
Pitch
The nerve that carries neural impulses from the ear to the brain, which gives rise to the experience of hearing
Auditory nerve
The belief that pitch depends on the place along the basilar membrane that vibrates the most in response to a particular auditory stimulus
Place theory
The belief that pitch depends on the frequency of vibration of the basilar membrane and the volley of neural impulses transmitted to the brain via the auditory nerve.
Frequency theory
The principle that relates the experience of pitch to the alternating firing of groups of neurons along the basilar membrane
Volley principle
A form of deafness, usually involving damage to the middle ear, in which there is a loss of conduction of sound vibrations through the ear
Conduction deafness
Deafness associated with nerve damage, usually involving damage to the hair cells or to the auditory nerve itself
Nerve deafness
Chemical substances that are emitted by many species and that have various functions, including sexual attraction
Pheromones
The belief that a neural gate in the spinal cord opens to allow pain messages to reach the brain and closes to shut them out
Gate control theory of pain
An ancient Chinese, practice of inserting and rotating thin needles in various parts of the body in order to release natural healing energy
Acupuncture
The sense that keeps us informed about movement of the parts of the body and their position in relation to each other
Kinesthesis
The sense that keeps us informed about balance in the position of our body in space
Vestibular sense
3 curved, tube-like canals in the inner ear that are involved in sensing changes in the direction and movement of the head
Semicircular canals
Organs in the inner ear that connect the semicircular canals
Vestibular sacs
The process by which the brain integrate, organizing, and interprets sensory impressions to create representations of the world
Perception
The process by which we attend to meaningful stimuli and filter out irrelevant or extraneous stimuli
Selective attention
Reduction in the strength of a response to a repeated stimulus
Habituation
The tendency for perception to be influenced by ones expectations or preconceptions
Perceptual set
A mode of perceptual processing by which the brain recognizes meaningful patterns by piecing together bits and pieces of sensory information
Bottom up processing
A mode of perceptual processing by which the brain identifies patterns as meaningful holes rather than as piecemeal constructions
Top down processing
The principles identified by Gestalt psychologists that describe the ways in which the brain groups bit of sensory stimulation into meaningful wholes or patterns
Laws of perceptual organization
The principle that objects that are near each other will be perceived as belonging to a common set
Proximity
The principle that objects that are similar will be perceived as belonging to the same group
Similarity
The principle that a series of stimuli will be perceived as representing a unified form
Continuity
The perceptual principle that people tend to piece together disconnected bits of information to perceive whole forms
Closure
The principle the objects positioned together or move together will be perceived as belonging to the same group
Connectedness
The tendency to perceive the size, shape, color, and brightness of an object as remaining the same, even when the image it casts on the retina changes
Perceptual constancy
The tendency to perceive an object, as having the same shape despite differences in the images it casts on the retina is the viewers perspective changes
Shape constancy
The tendency to perceive an object as having the same size, despite changes in the images of casts on the retina as the viewing distance changes
Size constancy
The tendency to perceive an object as having the same color, despite changes in lighting conditions
Color constancy
The tendency to perceive objects as retaining there brightness, even when they are viewed in dim light
Brightness constancy
Cues for depth that involve both eyes, such as retinal disparity and convergence
Binocular cues
A binocular cue for distance based on the slight differences in the visual impressions formed in both eyes
Retinal disparity
A binocular cue for distance based on the degree of tension required to focus two eyes on the same object
Convergence
Cues for depth that can be perceived by each eye alone, such as relative size and interposition
Monocular cues
Misperceptions of visual stimuli
Visual illusions
A type of apparent movement based on the rapid succession of still images, as in motion pictures
Stroboscopic movement
An attempt to explain the Müller-Lyer illusion, in terms of the cultural experience of living in a carpentered, right-angled world like our own
Carpentered world hypothesis
Perception of stimuli presented below the threshold of conscious awareness
Subliminal perception
Perception that occurs with the benefit of the known senses
Extrasensory perception (ESP)
The study of paranormal phenomena
Parapsychology
Communication of thoughts from one mind to another that occurs without using the known senses
Telepathy
The ability to perceive objects and events without using the known senses
Clairvoyance
The ability to foretell the future
Precognition
The ability to move objects by mental effort alone
Psychokinesis
A method of learning to control certain bodily responses by using information transmitted by physiological monitoring equipment
Biofeedback training
A form of biofeedback training that involves feedback about changes in temperature in blood flow in selected parts of the body semicolon used in the treatment of migraine headaches
Thermal biofeedback
A prolonged, intense headache brought on by changes in blood flow in the brains blood vessels
Migraine
A state of awareness of ourselves & of the world around us
Consciousness
A state of heightened alertness and which one is fully absorbed in the task at hand
Focused awareness
A state of awareness characterized by drifting thoughts or mental imagery
Drifting consciousness
A form of consciousness during a waking state in which one’s mind wanders to dreaming thoughts or fantasies
Daydreaming
A state of awareness characterized by divided attention to two or more tasks or activities performed at the same time
Divided consciousness
States of awareness during wakefulness that are different from the persons usual waking state
Altered states of consciousness
The pattern of fluctuations in bodily processes that occur regularly each day
Circadian rhythm
A disruption of sleep wake cycles caused by the shifts in time zones that accompany long-distance air travel
Jetlag
The stage of sleep that involves rapid eye movement, and that is most closely associated with periods of dreaming
Rapid eye movement sleep
REM
The proposition that dreams represent the brains attempt to make sense of the random discharges of electrical activity that occur during REM sleep
Activation synthesis hypothesis
Dreams in which the dreamers aware that he or she is dreaming
Lucid dreams
Difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, or returning to sleep after night time awakenings
Insomnia
A disorder characterized by sudden unexplained “sleep attacks” during the day
Narcolepsy
Temporary cessation of breathing during sleep
Sleep apnea
A sleep disorder involving a pattern of frequent, disturbing nightmares
Nightmare disorder
Sleep disorder involving repeated episodes of intense fear during sleep, causing the person to awake abruptly in a terrified state
Sleep terror disorder
A sleep disorder characterized by repeated episodes of sleepwalking
Sleepwalking disorder
The process of focused attention that induces a relax, contemplative state
Meditation
Before my meditation which practitioners focus their attention by repeating a particular mantra
Transcendental meditation (TM)
A sound or phrase chanted repeatedly during transcendental meditation
Mantra
A form of meditation, and which one adopt a state of nonjudgmental attention to the unfolding of experience on a moment to moment basis
Mindfulness meditation
An altered state of consciousness, characterized by focused attention, deep relaxation, and heightened susceptibility to suggestion
Hypnosis
A hypnotically induced experience that involves experiencing past events in one’s life
Hypnotic age regression
A loss of feeling or responsiveness to pain in certain parts of the body occurring during Hypnosis
Hypnotic analgesia
And inability to recall what happen during hypnosis
Posthypnotic amnesia
A hypnotist’s suggestion that the subject will respond in a particular way following hypnosis
Posthypnotic suggestion
A theory of hypnosis based on the belief that hypnosis represents a state of disassociation (divided) consciousness
Neodissociation theory
Hilgard’s term for a part of consciousness that remains detached from the hypnotic experience, but aware of everything that happens during it
Hidden observer
Chemical substances that affect a persons mental or emotional state
Psychoactive drugs
Maladaptive or dangerous use of a chemical substance
Drug abuse
People who abuse more than one drug at a time
Polyabusers
A severe drug related problem characterized by impaired control over the use of the drug
Drug dependence
A state of physical dependence on a drug caused by repeated usage that changes body chemistry
Physiological dependence
A cluster of symptoms associated with abrupt withdraw from a drug
Withdrawal syndrome
A form of physical habituation to a drug in which increased amounts are needed to achieve the same affect
Tolerance
Drug dependence accompanied by signs of physiological dependence, such as the development of a withdrawal syndrome
Drug addiction
A pattern of compulsive or habitual use of a drug to satisfy a psychological need
Psychological dependence
Drugs, such as alcohol and barbiturates, that dampen central nervous system activity
Depressants
A chemical substance that induces a state of drunkenness
Intoxicant
The chemical addiction characterized by impaired control over the use of alcohol and physiological dependence on it
Alcoholism
Addictive drugs that have pain relieving and sleep inducing properties
Narcotics
Drugs that increase the level of activity of the central nervous system and increase alertness and wakefulness
Stimulants
Drugs that alter sensory experiences in produce hallucinations
Hallucinogens
A mental state characterized by confusion, disorientation, difficulty, focusing attention, and excitable behavior
Delirium
A process of clearing drugs or toxins from the body
Detoxification
A relatively permanent change in behavior acquired through experience
Learning
The process of learning by which a previously neutral stimulus comes to elicit an identical or similar response to one originally elicited by another stimulus as the result of the pairing of the two stimuli
Classical conditioning
An unlearned response to a stimulus
Unconditioned response
A stimulus that elicits and unlearned response
Unconditioned stimulus
A stimulus that before conditioning does not produce a particular response
Neutral stimulus
An acquired or learned response to a conditioned stimulus
Conditioned response
A previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after it has been paired with an unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned stimulus
The gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response
Extinction
Spontaneous return of a conditioned response following extinction
Spontaneous recovery
The process of relearning a conditioned response following extinction
Reconditioning
The tendency for stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response
Stimulus generalization
The tendency to differentiate among stimuli so that stimuli that are related to the original condition, stimulus, but not identical to it, failed to elicit a conditioned response
Stimulus discrimination
The process by which a new stimulus comes to elicit a conditioned response as a result of it being paired with a conditioned stimulus that already elicits a conditioned response
Higher order conditioning
An emotional response to a particular stimulus acquired through classical conditioning
Conditioned emotional reaction
Excessive fears of particular objects or situations
Phobias
A form of therapy that involves the systematic application of the principles of learning
Behavior therapy
Aversions to particular taste acquired through classical conditioning
Conditioned taste aversions
Thorndike’s principle that responses that have satisfying effects are more likely to recur, while those that have unpleasant attacks are less likely to recur
Law of effect
The philosophical position that free will is an illusion or myth, and that human and animal behavior is completely determined by environmental and genetic information
Radical behavioralism
An experimental apparatus developed by B. F. Skinner for studying relationships between reinforcement and behavior
Skinner box
The process of learning by which a response is strengthened by means of manipulating the consequences of the response
Operant conditioning
A stimulus or event that increases the probability that the response it follows will be repeated
. Reinforcer
In Skinner’s view, behavior acquired through coincidental association of a response and reinforcement
Superstitious behavior
Strengthening of a response by presenting a positive or rewarding stimulus after the response occurs
Positive reinforcement
Strengthening of a response to the removal of the stimulus after the response occurs
Negative reinforcement
Such as food or sexual stimulation, that are naturally regarding because they satisfy basic biological needs or drives
Primary reinforcers
Learned reinforcers, such as money, that develop their reinforcing properties because of their association with primary reinforcers
Secondary reinforcers
A cue that signals that reinforcement is available, if the subject makes a particular response
Discriminative stimulus
A process of learning that involves the reinforcement of increasing closer approximations to the desired response
Shaping
The method used to shape behavior that involves reinforcing ever closer approximations to the desired response
Method of successive approximations
Predetermined plans for timing the delivery of reinforcement
Schedules of reinforcement
A system of dispensing a reinforcement each time a desired response is produced
Schedule of continuous reinforcement
A system of dispensing reinforcement, in which only a portion of the desired responses is reinforced
Schedule of partial reinforcement
The learning of behaviors that allow an organism to escape from an aversive stimulus
Escape learning
The introduction of an aversive stimulus or the removal of a reinforcing stimulus, following a particular behavior, which leads to the weakening or suppression of the response
Punishment
The systematic application of learning principles to strengthen adaptive behavior and weaken maladaptive behavior
Behavior modification (B-mod)
A form of behavior modification in which tokens turned from performing desired behaviors can be exchanged for positive reinforcers
Token economy program
A learning method in which complex material is broken down into a series of small steps, that learners master at their own pace
Programmed instruction
A form of programmed instruction in which a computer is used to guide a student through a series of increasingly difficult questions
Computer-assisted instruction
Learning that occurs without the opportunity of first performing the learned response or being reinforced for it
Cognitive learning
The process of mentally working through a problem, until the sudden realization of a solution of hers
Insight learning
Learning that occurs without a parent reinforcement and that is not displayed until reinforcement is provided
Latent learning
A mental representation of an area that helps an organism navigate its away from one point to another
Cognitive map
Learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others
Observational learning
Vicarious learning
Modeling
The system that allows us to retain information and bring it to mind
Memory
The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory
Memory encoding
The process of retaining information in memory
Memory storage
The process of assessing and bringing into consciousness information stored in memory
Memory retrieval
Cues associated with the original learning that facilitate the retrieval of memories
Retrieval cues
The belief that retrieval will be more successful and cues available during recall are similar to those present when the material was first committed to memory
Encoding specificity principle
The tendency for information to be better recalled in the same contacts in which was originally learned
State dependent memory effect
A model of memory that posits 3 distinct stages of memory ; sensory memory, short term memory, & long-term memory
Three stage model
The storage system that holds memory of sensory impressions for a very short time
Sensory memory
A temporary storage device for holding sensory memories
Sensory register
A sensory storage for holding a mental representation of a visual image for a fraction of a second
Iconic memory
A lingering mental representation of a visual image
Eidetic imagery
Photographic memory
A sensory store for holding a mental representation of a sound for a few seconds after the registers in the ears
Echoic memory
The memory subsystem that allows for retention in processing of newly acquired information for a maximum of about 30 seconds
Short term memory
Working memory
The process of enhancing retention of a large amount of information by breaking it down into smaller, more easily recalled chunks
Chunking
The process of extending retention of information held in short-term memory by consciously repeating the information
Maintenance rehearsal
The speech based part of working memory that allows for the verbal rehearsal of sounds or words
Phonological loop
The storage buffer for a visual-spatial material held in short term memory
Visuospatial sketchpad
The workspace of working memory were information from visual, auditory, and other modalities are brought together
Episodic buffer
The component of working memory responsible for coordinating the other subsystems, receiving and processing stored information, and filtering out distracting thought
Central executive
The memory subsystem responsible for long-term storage of information
Long-term memory
The process of converting short-term memories into long-term memories
Consolidation
The process of transferring information from short term, memory to long-term memory by consciously focusing on the meaning of the information
Elaborative rehearsal
A representation of the organizational structure of long-term memory into networks of associated concepts
Semantic network model
The belief that how well or how long information is remember, depends on the depth of encoding or processing
Levels of processing theory
Memory of fax and personal information that requires a conscious effort to bring to mind
Declarative memory
Explicit memory
Memory of facts and general information about the world
Semantic memory
Memory of personal experiences
Episodic memory
Memory of past experiences or events, and previously required information
Retrospective memory
Memory of things, one plans to do in the future
Prospective memory
Memory of how to do things that require motor or performance skills
Procedural memory
Memory accessed without conscious effort
Implicit memory
Memory access through conscious effort
Explicit memory
A theory that holds that memory is not a replica of the past but a representation, or reconstruction, of the past
Constructionist theory
An organized knowledge structure, such as a set of beliefs, reflecting ones past experiences, expectancies, and knowledge about the world
Memory schema
Enduring memories of emotional charged events that same permanently seared into the brain
Flashbulb memories
