Unit 6

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of info

Question 2

Encoding

Answer 2

processing of info into the memory system

-1st step of building a memory is sensory input

Question 3

Storage

Answer 3

the retention of encoded info over time

-once encoded, memories are stored somewhere (usually more than 1 place) in your brain

Question 4

Retrieval

Answer 4

process of getting info out of memory storage

-stored memories can be retrieved (with varying degrees of difficulty)

Question 5

hippocampus

Answer 5

processes the memory and either sends it to long term storage or disposes it
-“short term memory”

Question 6

flashbulb memory

Answer 6

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Question 7

long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 7

increase in a cells firing potential after brief,rapid stimulation

• believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

Question 8

priming

Answer 8

activation often unconsciously of particular associations in memory

Question 9

mood-congruent memory

Answer 9

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with ones current good or bad mood

Question 10

serial position effect

Answer 10

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

Question 11

recency effect

Answer 11

tendency to recall the last item is in a list

Question 12

primary effect

Answer 12

tendency to recall first items in a list

Question 13

Atkinson + Shiffrin’s 3 stage model of memory

Answer 13

STAGE 1 : sensory memory
STAGE 2 : short term memory
STAGE 3 : long term memory

Question 14

sensory memory

Answer 14

• sensory memory retention allows us to remember small, quick bits of info for a very short period of time

Question 15

short term memory

Answer 15

• ability to hold and manipulate info over a brief period of time

• forget it can occur rapidly especially if distracted
• 5-9 items and remain in memory for about 20-30 seconds*
• increase as children get older and decreases in old age

Question 16

long term memory

Answer 16

relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of memories

Question 17

amygdala

Answer 17

responsible for emotional content of your memories. help store emotional memories

Question 18

Karl Lashley

Answer 18

rats retained at least partial memory of the maze once pieces of their cortexes were cut out

Question 19

Richard Thompson

Answer 19

complex memories are distributed while many simple reflex memories are localized

Question 20

Ralph Gerard

Answer 20

memories seem to be electrical and physical

Question 21

explicit memories

Answer 21

memories we try to remember

• use this throughout day
  ex= remembering time of appointment or recalling event from years ago

Question 22

implicit memories

Answer 22

those memories we form without any effort
-includes episodic memories: events of your life like an episode

• most amnesiacs still have implicit memory even if they don’t realize it
• motor or muscle memory is implicit *

Question 23

rehearsal

Answer 23

conscious repetition of info

Question 24

spacing

Answer 24

rehearsing info repeatedly over time

study-take a break-study…

Question 25

semantic encoding

Answer 25

easier to remember things that have meaning | -flashbulb memories

Question 26

acoustic memories

Answer 26

easier to remember things with sound and rhyme

Question 27

visual encoding

Answer 27

easier to remember things we visualize

Question 28

Mnemonics

Answer 28

strategies or shortcuts that help us remember

Question 29

acronyms

Answer 29

organizing items by creating words or sentences from the 1st letters of the word of info to be remembered

Question 30

chunking

Answer 30

organizing items into familiar manageable units

Question 31

relearning

Answer 31

if you just learned something and forgot it it will be easier to learn the material a 2nd time

Question 32

retrieval clues

Answer 32

clues that provide reminders of info that otherwise would be more difficult to remember

Question 33

context effects

Answer 33

remember better and more accurate when in a setting that is similar to one you learned in the first time

Question 34

mood congruent

Answer 34

what we learn in one mood we remember better in the same mood

Question 35

state dependent theory

Answer 35

what we learn in one physical state (drunk/sober) is more easily recalled in the same state

Question 36

deja vu

Answer 36

“already seen” (sense you been in situation before) explanation= situationist loaded with clues that are similar to ones in memory and your brain makes similar associations between them

Question 37

recall

Answer 37

ability to retrieve extract info learned at any earlier time

Question 37

recognition

Answer 37

Measure of memory in which a person only needs to recognize items previously learned

Question 37

absent mindedness

Answer 37

failure to pay attention leads to poor encoding

Question 37

decay theory

Answer 37

Forgetting is due to normal metabolic processes that occur in brain over time - If memories are unused over long periods of time they begin to naturally fade away

Question 37

proactive interference

Answer 37

Occurs when something you learned earlier disrupt your ability to create a new memory

Question 37

retroactive interference

Answer 37

occurs when new info makes it harder to recall something you learned earlier

Question 38

repression

Answer 38

Basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings and memories - keeping bad memories bottled up

Question 39

Tip of the tongue experience

Answer 39

inability to get a bit of info that your certain is stored in memory -info was close but just out of reach

Question 40

amnesia

Answer 40

severe memory loss

Question 41

retrograde amnesia

Answer 41

Forget things from the past

Question 42

anterograde

Answer 42

inability to form new memories but remember the past

Question 43

alzheimer’s

Answer 43

as plaque build up in brain and interfere with normal transmissions, memories cannot be formed or retrieved

Question 44

source confusion

Answer 44

True source of memory is forgotten so you create details to fill in the gap‘s

Question 45

missinformation effect

Answer 45

existing memories can be altered if the person is exposed to missleading info

Question 46

how to make memories last longer

Answer 46

- Focus - Organization - commit time - elaborate material - Space you’re studying - visualize/mnemonics - explain it to somebody - reduce interferences - look for clues - spend time on the middle part

Question 47

Iconic memory

Answer 47

momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli | -A photograph or picture memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Question 48

echoic memory

Answer 48

momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli | -if attention is elsewhere sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Question 49

forgetting curve

Answer 49

a decline in memory retention in time | -curve shows how memory is lost overtime when there is no effort to retain it

Question 50

method of Loci

Answer 50

mnemonic device to aid in memory storage and retrieval - greek and roman orators came up with this - used to memorize speeches

Question 51

how many stages are involved in the process of memory ?

Answer 51

3 stages: - encoding - storage - retrieval

Question 52

activated memory

Answer 52

holds few items briefly and info is either stored or forgotten

Question 53

what is the capacity of short term memory?

Answer 53

7 (magical number)

Question 54

how long do sensory memories last?

Answer 54

few seconds - 10 seconds

Question 55

how long does short term memories last?

Answer 55

20-30 seconds

Question 56

how long does long term memories last?

Answer 56

relatively permanently

Question 57

which part of the brain process new memories?

Answer 57

hippocampus

Question 58

which part of the brain processes emotional information?

Answer 58

amygadla

Question 59

what is the main reason we forget?

Answer 59

absent mindedness

Question 60

what is it when info is not able to be brought from your long term memory to your short term memory to be used ?

Answer 60

retrieval failure