Unit 7: Memory

Question 0

Storage

Answer 0

The process of retaining encoded information out of memory storage

Question 1

Encoding

Answer 1

The processing of information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning

Question 2

Retrieval

Answer 2

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Question 3

Sensory memory

Answer 3

The immediate, brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Question 4

Short-term memory

Answer 4

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 knowledge, skills, and experiences

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, an of information retrieved from long-term memory

Question 8

Explicit memory

Answer 8

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”

Question 9

Effortful processing

Answer 9

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Question 10

Automatic processing

Answer 10

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

Question 11

Implicit memory

Answer 11

retention independent of conscious recollection

Question 12

Iconic memory

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Echoic memory

Answer 13

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

Question 14

Chunking

Answer 14

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Question 15

Mnemonics

Answer 15

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

Question 16

Spacing effect

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Shallow processing

Answer 17

Encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Question 18

Deep processing

Answer 18

Encoding semantically; based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

Question 19

Hippocampus

Answer 19

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

Question 20

Cerebellum

Answer 20

Plays a key role in forming and storing the implicit memories created by classical conditioning

Question 21

Basal Ganglia

Answer 21

Deep brain structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills

Question 22

Flashbulb memory

Answer 22

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Question 23

Amygdala

Answer 23

Initiate a memory trace in the frontal lobes and basal ganglia and to boost activity in the brain’s memory-forming areas

Question 24

Recognition

Answer 24

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

Question 25

Relearning

Answer 25

A measure of memory that assembles the amount of time saved when learning material again

Question 26

Priming

Answer 26

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Question 27

Mood congruent

Answer 27

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

Question 28

Serial position effect

Answer 28

Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first items (primacy effect) in a list

Question 29

Anterograde amnesia

Answer 29

An inability to form new memories

Question 30

Retrograde amnesia

Answer 30

An inability to retrieve information form one’s past

Question 31

Proactive interference

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Retroactive interference

Answer 32

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Question 33

Convergent thinking

Answer 33

Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Question 34

Divergent thinking

Answer 34

Expands the number of possible problem solutions

Question 35

Algorithm

Answer 35

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem.

Question 36

Heuristic

Answer 36

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

Question 37

Insight

Answer 37

A sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Question 38

Intuition

Answer 38

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious

Question 39

Context-Dependent Memory

Answer 39

Putting yourself back in the context where you experienced something can prime you memory retrieval

Question 40

Memory

Answer 40

The persistence of leaning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Question 41

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 41

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

Question 42

Recall

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Prototype

Answer 43

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

Question 44

Concept

Answer 44

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, idea, or people

Question 45

Morpheme

Answer 45

The smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word

Question 46

Phoneme

Answer 46

The smallest distinctive sound unit

Question 47

Availability heuristic

Answer 47

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind

Question 48

Mental set

Answer 48

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Question 49

Representativeness heuristic

Answer 49

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

Question 50

Language

Answer 50

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

Question 51

Confirmation bias

Answer 51

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Question 52

Cognition

Answer 52

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Question 53

Telegraphic speech

Answer 53

Early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram (“go car”) using mostly nouns and verbs