Unit 4: Memory Flashcards
Memory
Learning that results in the storage of information
Encoding
Getting information into the brain
Storage
Retaining the encoded information
Retrieval
Getting the information out of storage
Parallel Processing
Processing things at the same time
Sensory Memory
Immediate recording of sensory information
Short-term memory
Holds some information briefly before it is forgotten
Long-term memory
Relatively permanent method of storage
Working Memory
AKA short-term - active processing of incoming information and information from long-term memory
Explicit Memory
Factual memory - consciously know
Effortful processing
Encoding where you need to be consciously encoding the information
Automatic processing
Unconscious encoding
Implicit memories
Is different and independent from conscious recall
Iconic Memory
Photographic memory that only lasts a moment
Echoic memory
Auditory memory that lasts 3-4 seconds
Chunking
Organizing information into sizable ‘chunks’ to assist in memory - often automatic
Mnemonics
Memory aids that often include visual aids
Spacing effect
Spacing studying further apart rather than cramming in a short amount of time results in better memory
Testing effect
Better memory occurs after retrieval, not rereading
Shallow processing
Encoding structure or appearance of words
Deep processing
Encoding the meaning of a word - yields the best retention
Hippocampus
Processes explicit memories for storage - in limbic system
Flashbulb memory
Very clear memory of an event that is emotionally significant
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
Increase in cell’s firing potential after a stimulation
Recall
Retrieval of information
Recognition
Knowing items previously learned
Relearning
Being able to learn something more quickly when learning for the 2nd time
Priming
Activating associations in memory
Mood Congruent Memory
State- dependent memory using your emotions and moods - more likely to recall when in the same ‘state’
Serial position effect
Able to remember the bookends of a list (first and last)
Anterograde Amnesia
Can’t form new memories
Retrograde Amnesia
Can’t retrieve stored information
Proactive interference
Information you encoded earlier disrupts your recall of new information
Retroactive interference
When new information disrupts the recall of old information
Repression
Blocks anxious-arousing neural processes from consciousness
Misinformation effect
The incorporation of false information into an event’s memory
Source amnesia
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
Deja vu
‘Already seen’ - cues from current state may trigger retrievals
Cognition
Mental facilities
Concept
Grouping of information
Prototypes
Image of a category - the representation of the concept
Creativity
Able to produce unique ideas
Convergent thinking
Finding one solution
Divergent Thinking
‘Out of the box’ ideas and solutions
Algorithms
Step-by-step procedures that guarantee a solution
Heuristic
Simpler thinking strategies using grouping, etc
Insight
Light bulb moment - sudden realization
Confirmation Bias
Tendency to seek information that supports our current mindset and ignore contrasting information
Mental Set
Tendency to approach a problem in one particular way (often one that has already been successful)
Intuition
Automatic feeling or thought
Representativeness heuristic
To judge the likelihood of things in terms of how well they represent particular prototypes
Available heuristic
Estimate the likelihood of events based on how mentally available they are
Overconfidence
Tendency to overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge
Belief perserverance
Clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Framing
How an issue is presented
Language
How we combine words to communicate meaning
Phenomes
Smallest distinctive sound unit
Morphemes
Smallest units that carry meaning
Grammar
System of rules that organizes the meaning
Babbling stage
4 months - random sounds unrelated to the language
One-word stage
Age 1-2 - speaking single, unstrung words
Two-word stage
Age 2 - 2 word statements
Telegraphic speech
Using mostly nouns and verbs (like telegram)
Aphasia
Impairment of language - damage to Broca’s or Wernicke’s area
Broca’s area
Language expression - muscle movements
Wernicke’s area
Language reception - comprehension
Linguistic Determinism
Language determines the way we think
