Unit 5 - Vocab. List #1 Flashcards
Encoding
The first stage of memory, where perceived information is transformed into a format that can be processed and stored in the brain
Storage
The process of retaining information in the brain over time
Retrieval
The process of accessing and bringing stored information back into conscious awareness
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test; retrieving
Recognition
A measure in memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test; identifying
Implicit Memory
Retention of learned skills or classical conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection
Explicit Memory
Retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare
Working Memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
Iconic Memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual-stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
Echoic Memory
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 to 4 seconds
Chunking
The process of organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurring automatically
Mnemonics
Memory aids; techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
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
Flashbulb Memory
A clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event; think flashback(s)
Retrograde Amnesia
An inability to receive information from one’s past
Anterograde Amnesia
An inability to form new memories
Proactive Interference
The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of NEW information
Retroactive Interference
The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of OLD information
Repression
In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Herman Ebbinghause
A memory psychologist, created the forgetting curve
Elizabeth Loftus
A cognitive psychologist and expert on memory; studied repressed memories, false memories, and eye-witness testimonies
George Miller
A psychologist who theorized that short-term memory can hold on average about 7 items or pieces of information; called grouping or chunks
