Exam 2: Cognitive Psych Chapters 5-8

Short Term Memory

Holds 5-7 items for 15-20 seconds; stores small amounts of info for a brief duration.

Sensory Memory

Retention, for brief periods of time, of the effects of sensory stimulation; information decays very quickly.

Echoic Memory

Brief sensory memory of the things that we hear, lasts a couple of seconds; responsible for persistence of sound.

Iconic Memory

Brief sensory memory of the things that we see, lasts a fraction of a second; responsible for persistence of vision.

Metacognition

Cognitive processes involved in monitoring and controlling one’s own cognitive processes; thinking about your own thinking.

Metamemory

Cognitive processes involved in monitoring and controlling one’s own memory; knowing what you know.

Elaborative Encoding

Use of meaning of information to encode new info into long-term memory.

Semantic Encoding

Processing the meaning of information before encoding it into long-term memory.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repetition of stimuli to maintain info in short-term memory without considering meaning.

Retrieval

Processes that move information out of long-term memory; transfer from LTM to working memory or STM.

Retrieval Cue

Cues that help in recalling information from memory; crucial for memory retrieval.

Proactive Interference

Old memories interfere with the recall of new information.

Retroactive Interference

New memories interfere with the recall of old information.

Episodic Memory

Memory of specific events, such as personal experiences.