Unit 7: Memory Flashcards
Storage
The process of retaining encoded information out of memory storage
Encoding
The processing of information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning
Retrieval
The process of getting information out of memory storage
Sensory memory
The immediate, brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
Short-term memory
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
Long-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
Working memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, an of information retrieved from long-term memory
Explicit memory
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”
Effortful processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Automatic processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
Implicit memory
retention independent of conscious recollection
Iconic memory
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or 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 or 4 seconds
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
Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words
Deep processing
Encoding semantically; based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention
Hippocampus
A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage
Cerebellum
Plays a key role in forming and storing the implicit memories created by classical conditioning
Basal Ganglia
Deep brain structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills
Flashbulb memory
A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Amygdala
Initiate a memory trace in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia and to boost activity in the brain’s memory-forming areas
Recognition
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test
Relearning
A measure of memory that assembles the amount of time saved when learning material again
Priming
The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
Mood congruent
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood
Serial position effect
Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first items (primacy effect) in a list
Anterograde amnesia
An inability to form new memories
Retrograde amnesia
An inability to retrieve information form one’s past
Proactive interference
The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
Retroactive interference
The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
Convergent thinking
Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
Divergent thinking
Expands the number of possible problem solutions
Algorithm
A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.
Heuristic
A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms
Insight
A sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions
Intuition
An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious
Context-Dependent Memory
Putting yourself back in the context where you experienced something can prime you memory retrieval
Memory
The persistence of leaning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
An increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
Recall
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a full-in-the-blank test
Prototype
A mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
Concept
A mental grouping of similar objects, events, idea, or people
Morpheme
The smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word
Phoneme
The smallest distinctive sound unit
Availability heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind
Mental set
A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past
Representativeness heuristic
Judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information
Language
Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning
Confirmation bias
A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating
Telegraphic speech
Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram (“go car”) using mostly nouns and verbs
