Unit 5: Cognitive Psychology Flashcards
Memory
Learning that persists over time
recall
retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time (ex: a fill-in-the-blank question tests your recall)
recognition
identifying items previously learned (ex: a multiple choice question tests your recognition)
relearning
learning something more quickly when you learn it a second or later time (ex: when you study for a final or engage in a language used in early childhood, you relearn the material more easily than you did initially)
Encoding
get information into our brain
Storage
Retain the information
Retrieval
get the information back out
sensory memory
immediate, brief recording of sensory information in the memory system; first step to the 3 stage memory forming model
short-term memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten; 2nd model to the 3 stage memory forming model
long term memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experiences; final step to the 3 stage memory forming model
working memory
psychologists’ newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory/visual information, and of information retrieved from long term memory
effortful processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort, process by which we encode explicit memories
explicit/declarative memories
retention of facts/experiences that one can consciously know and declare
automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time and frequency or of well-learned information, such as word meanings
implicit/nondeclarative memories
retention of learned skills classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection
iconic memory
a sensory memory of visual stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
iconic memory
a sensory memory of visual stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
echoic memory
the momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled with 3-4 seconds (auditory version of iconic mem)
chunking
organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
mnemonics
memory aids; especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Spacing effect
the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
shallow processing
encodes on a basic level, such as the structure or appearance of words
deep processing
encodes semantically, based on the meaning of the words; the more meaningful the processing, the better the retention
flashbulb memory
clear memory of an emotionally significant event
long-term potentiation
increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory
semantic memory
explicit memory of facts and general knowledge, one of our two conscious memory systems
episodic memory
explicit memory of personally experienced events, one of our two conscious memory systems
hippocampus
neural center located in the limbic system(temporal lobe), helps process for storage explicit memories of facts and events
memory consolidation
the neural storage of long-term memory; the hippocampus acts as a loading dock for the to-be-remembered episodes while other memories migrate elsewhere
basal ganglia
deep brain structures involved in motor movement; facilitate formation of procedural memories for skills
