Unit 5 Part 1 - Terminology

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of info

Question 2

recall

Answer 2

person retrieves information learned earlier
(ex: fill-in-the-blank test)

Question 3

recognition

Answer 3

person identifies items previously learned
(ex: multiple choice test)

Question 4

relearning

Answer 4

assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Question 5

encoding

Answer 5

the process of getting info into the memory system

Question 6

storage

Answer 6

process of retaining encoded info over time

Question 7

retrieval

Answer 7

process of getting info out of memory storage

Question 8

parallel processing

Answer 8

processing many factors of something simultaneously and unconsciously
common mode of info processing for brain

Question 9

sensory memory

Answer 9

immediate, very brief recording of sensory info into memory system

Question 10

overlearning

Answer 10

repeated rehearsal of info that improves retention of it

Question 11

short-term memory

Answer 11

holds few pieces of info briefly before forgetting or storing them
(ex: phone number)

Question 12

working memory

Answer 12

short-term definition but more in depth
adds conscious processing of current auditory and visual info, and processing of info retrieved from long-term memory

Question 13

long-term memory

Answer 13

mostly permanent and limitless storehouse of memory system
knowledge, skills, experiences

Question 14

explicit memory, declarative memory

Answer 14

retention of facts and experiences that can be consciously known and declared

Question 15

effortful processing

Answer 15

encoding that requires attention and effort

Question 16

automatic processing (4)

Answer 16

unconscious encoding of incidental info
space, time, frequency, well-learned info (ex: language)

Question 17

implicit memory, nondeclarative memory

Answer 17

learned skills or classically conditioned associations
not consciously retrieved

Question 18

iconic memory

Answer 18

sensory memory of visual stimuli
no more than few tenths of a second

Question 19

echoic memory

Answer 19

sensory memory of auditory stimuli
sounds and words can be recalled 3-4 seconds after heard (even if distracted)

Question 20

chunking

Answer 20

organizing items into familiar, manageable units
(ex: hierarchies)
often automatic

Question 21

mnemonics

Answer 21

memory aids
techniques that use vivid imagery or organizational devices (ex: acronyms)

Question 22

spacing effect

Answer 22

distributed study or practice tends to yield better long-term retention than cramming

Question 23

testing effect, retrieval practice effect, test-enhanced learning

Answer 23

enhance memory by retrieving info rather than rereading it

Question 24

shallow processing

Answer 24

encoding at basic level
based on structure or appearance of words
(ex: writing “there” instead of “their”)

Question 25

deep processing

Answer 25

encoding semantically, meaning of words better retention than shallow processing

Question 26

semantic memory

Answer 26

explicit, conscious memory system (1 of 2) facts and general knowledge

Question 27

episodic memory

Answer 27

explicit, conscious memory system (1 of 2) personally experienced events

Question 28

hippocampus

Answer 28

temporal-node neural center in limbic system processes explicit, conscious memories loading dock for memories; transfers them elsewhere

Question 29

prefrontal cortex

Answer 29

processes working/short-term memories

Question 30

memory consolidation

Answer 30

process of transferring and storing long-term memories away from hippocampus (where they’re processed) done while sleeping

Question 31

cerebellum

Answer 31

forms and stores implicit memories made through classical conditioning (ex: flinching because of sound of air)

Question 32

basal ganglia

Answer 32

forms procedural or skill implicit memories (ex: learning to ride a bike)

Question 33

infantile amnesia

Answer 33

lack of memories from before 4 years old

Question 34

amygdala

Answer 34

processes and stores emotional memories (ex: trauma) flashbulb memories

Question 35

flashbulb memories

Answer 35

clear, sustained memories of emotionally significant event processed by amygdala

Question 36

long-term potentiation (LPT)

Answer 36

cell’s firing potential increases after brief, rapid stimulation neural basis for learning and memory physical basis for memory

Question 37

retrieval cues

Answer 37

used to recall memories; often senses (ex: remember answer of question on test by tasting the same gum chewed while studying)

Question 38

priming, memoryless memory

Answer 38

activation of particular association in memory unconscious (ex: saw mcdonalds ad earlier in day, so now want mcdonalds)

Question 39

encoding specificity principle

Answer 39

idea that cues and contexts specific to a memory are effective when trying to recall it memories are context-dependent

Question 40

mood-congruent memory

Answer 40

tendency to recall memories consistent with your current mood

Question 41

state-congruent memory

Answer 41

being in a similar situation as one in a memory will cause you to recall that memory (ex: standing in childhood home reminds you of memories from that house)

Question 42

serial position effect

Answer 42

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

Question 43

anterograde amnesia

Answer 43

inability to form new memories

Question 44

retrograde amnesia

Answer 44

inability to retrieve or recall old memories

Question 45

proactive interference

Answer 45

old information disrupts the recall of new information (ex: using old password after just changing it to a new one)

Question 46

retroactive interference

Answer 46

when new info disrupts the recall of old info (ex: after getting a new locker combination, you only remember the new one and forget your old one)

Question 47

repression

Answer 47

psychoanalytic theory; controversial hides from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Question 48

reconsolidation

Answer 48

memories get altered every time they are recalled are our memories fake?

Question 49

misinformation effect

Answer 49

occurs when misleading info distorts a memory of an event (ex: told that as a kid you got sick from a food, so now you avoid that food)

Question 50

imagination effect

Answer 50

imagining something occurred can eventually make someone believe it actually happened

Question 51

source amnesia, source misattribution

Answer 51

faulty info for how, when, or where info was learned or imagined

Question 52

divergent thinking (and how it is measured)

Answer 52

can determine many solutions to a problem measured in originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration

Question 53

convergent thinking

Answer 53

come to a single answer (ex: multiple choice question) spatial, verbal, and mathematical

Question 54

cognition

Answer 54

all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Question 55

concept

Answer 55

mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Question 56

prototype

Answer 56

best example of a category (ex: crow is prototype of birds)

Question 57

creativity

Answer 57

ability to produce new and valuable ideas

Question 58

algorithm (pro + con)

Answer 58

pro: methodical and logical rule or procedure that guarantees solution to a problem con: requires time and effort

Question 59

heuristic (pro + con)

Answer 59

thinking shortcut; strategy based pro: quick and efficient problem solving and judgements con: increased risk of errors compared to algorithms

Question 60

insight (con)

Answer 60

sudden aha! reaction; not strategy based con: not guaranteed to occur

Question 61

confirmation bias (pro + con)

Answer 61

pro: can quickly find evidence supporting own side con: cannot recognize contradictory evidence as easily

Question 62

fixation (con)

Answer 62

cannot view problems from new angle con: hinders divergent thinking and creativity

Question 63

functional fixation

Answer 63

cannot use an object for anything other than its intended purpose

Question 64

intuition (pro + con)

Answer 64

fast and automatic feelings and thoughts pro: super adaptive con: overfeel and underthink

Question 65

mental set

Answer 65

tendency to approach problem in one specific way that was successful in the past (ex: procrastination)

Question 66

overconfidence (pro + con)

Answer 66

overestimate correctness of beliefs and judgements pro: happier on average con: increased risk of errors

Question 67

representativeness heuristic

Answer 67

determine likelihood of events based on how well they match a specific prototype (ex: “small nerdy poetry guy is an english professor” actually a truck driver)

Question 68

availability heuristic

Answer 68

determine likelihood of event based on most readily available memory even if unreasonable (ex: people fear sharks more than guns, but guns kill more)

Question 69

framing

Answer 69

wording something for a specific response (ex: “evil villain” vs “misunderstood character”)

Question 70

language

Answer 70

spoken, written, and signed words and the ways they’re combined to form a meaning

Question 71

phonemes

Answer 71

smallest distinctive sounds in language not the same as letters (ex: “b”) english has about 40

Question 72

morphemes

Answer 72

smallest sounds in language that hold meaning (ex: “reader” —> “read,” “er,” “s”)

Question 73

grammar

Answer 73

rules of a language semantics (meaning from sounds) syntax (order of words in sentences)

Question 74

babbling stage

Answer 74

4 months: random sounds unrelated to household language 10 months: related to household language

Question 75

one-word stage

Answer 75

1-2 years: kid speaks in single word sentences

Question 76

two-word stage

Answer 76

2 years: kid speaks in two word statements often in telegraphic speech

Question 77

telegraphic speech

Answer 77

spoken like a telegram (ex: “go car”)

Question 78

aphasia (Broca’s and Wernicke’s)

Answer 78

impairment of language damage to Broca’s area: impairs speaking damage to Wernicke’s area: impairs understanding

Question 79

Broca’s area

Answer 79

controls speech in left hemisphere of frontal lobe

Question 80

Wernicke’s area

Answer 80

involved in language comprehension in left temporal lobe

Question 81

linguistic determinism

Answer 81

the idea that language controls the way we think outdated and extreme

Question 82

linguistic influence

Answer 82

the idea that language influences the way we think based on culture (ex: English has a word for every number, so we can count. another language only counts to two, so they cannot process the difference in amounts)

Question 83

primacy effect

Answer 83

tendency for people to remember the beginning of a list rather than the middle

Question 84

recency effect

Answer 84

the tendency of people to remember things at the end of a list rather than the middle

Question 85

belief perseverence

Answer 85

maintaining a belief despite information that strongly contradicts it