Unit 5 Memory

Question 1

encoding

Answer 1

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

Info –> memory

Question 2

storage

Answer 2

the retention of encoded
information over time

Question 3

retrieval

Answer 3

the process of getting
information out of memory storage.

Question 4

sensory memory

Answer 4

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

Question 5

short-term memory

Answer 5

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.

Question 6

long-term memory

Answer 6

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the
memory system. Includes k

Question 7

working memory

Answer 7

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.

Question 8

automatic processing

Answer 8

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

Question 9

effortful processing

Answer 9

encoding that
requires attention and conscious effort.

Question 10

rehearsal

Answer 10

the conscious repetition of
information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.

Question 11

spacing effect

Answer 11

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

Question 12

serial position effect

Answer 12

our tendency to
recall best the last and first items in a list.

Question 13

visual encoding

Answer 13

the encoding of picture images

Question 14

acoustic encoding

Answer 14

the encoding of
sound, especially the sound of words

Question 15

semantic encoding

Answer 15

the encoding of
meaning, including the meaning of
words

Question 16

imagery

Answer 16

mental pictures; a powerful
aid to effortful processing, especially
when combined with semantic encoding

Question 17

mnemonics

Answer 17

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

Question 18

chunking

Answer 18

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs
automatically

Question 19

iconic memory

Answer 19

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

Question 20

echoic memory

Answer 20

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

Question 21

long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

flashbulb memory

Answer 22

a clear memory of
an emotionally significant moment or
event.

Question 23

amnesia

Answer 23

the loss of memory.

Question 24

implicit memory

Answer 24

retention independent of conscious recollection. (Also
called nondeclarative memory.)

Question 25

explicit memory

Answer 25

memory of facts
and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare.” (Also called
declarative memory.)

Question 26

hippocampus

Answer 26

a neural center that is
located in the limbic system; helps
process explicit memories for storage.

Question 27

recall

Answer 27

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

Question 28

recognition

Answer 28

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

Question 29

relearning

Answer 29

a measure of memory that
assesses the amount of time saved when
learning material for a second time.

Question 30

priming

Answer 30

the activation, often
unconsciously, of particular associations
in memory.

Question 31

déjà vu

Answer 31

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

Question 32

mood-congruent memory

Answer 32

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

Question 33

proactive interference

Answer 33

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

Question 34

retroactive interference

Answer 34

e the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

Question 35

repression

Answer 35

in psychoanalytic theory,
the basic defense mechanism that
banishes from consciousness anxietyarousing thoughts, feelings, and
memories.

Question 36

misinformation effect

Answer 36

incorporating
misleading information into one’s memory of an event

Question 37

source amnesia

Answer 37

attributing to the
wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or
imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the
misinformation effect, is at the heart of
many false memories.