Chapter 7 Terms + Defs (Long-Term Memory: Encoding, Retrieval)

Encoding

the process of acquiring information and transferring it to LTM

Retrieval

bringing information into consciousness by transferring it from LTM to working memory

Maintenance rehearsal

Rehearsal that involves repetition without any consideration of meaning or making connections to other information.

Elaborative rehearsal

Rehearsal that involves thinking about the meaning of an item to be remembered or making connections between that item and prior knowledge.

Levels of processing theory

memory depends on how information is encoded, better memory is achieved when processing is deep rather than when processing is shallow.

Deep processing

involves attention to meaning and relating an item to something else (Elaborative)

Shallow processing

repetition with little attention to meaning (Maintenance)

Paired-associate learning

A learning task in which participants are first presented with pairs of words, then one word of each pair is presented and the task is to recall the other word

Self-reference effect

Memory for a word is improved by relating the word to the self.

Generation effect

Memory for material is better when a person generates the material themselves, rather than passively receiving

Retrieval cue

Cues that help a person remember information that is stored in memory.

Retrieval practice effect

practicing memory retrieval increases elaboration, which increases performance on memory tasks.

Testing effect

Enhanced performance on a memory test caused by being tested on the material to be remembered

Distributed practice

The advantage in performance caused by short study sessions separated by breaks from studying.

Free recall:

participant is asked to remember stimuli that were previously presented.

Cued recall

participant is presented with cues, such as words or phrases, to aid recall of previously experienced stimuli.

Encoding specificity

we learn information together with its context, presence of the context can lead to enhanced memory for the information.

State-Dependent Learning

memory is best when a person is in the same internal state for encoding and retrieval.

Transfer-appropriate processing

When the type of task that occurs during encoding matches the type of task that occurs during retrieval.

Mnemonic

Any memory strategy or technique that improves encoding, retention, and/or retrieval of information.

Verbatim memory

The ability to recall information precisely as it was presented.

Consolidation

The process that transforms new memories into a state in which they are more resistant to disruption

Synaptic consolidation

A process of consolidation that involves structural changes at synapses that happen rapidly, over a period of minutes

Systems consolidation

A consolidation process that involves the gradual reorganization of circuits within brain regions and takes place on a long timescale, lasting weeks, months, or years.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

increased firing that occurs in a neuron due to prior activity at the synapse

Standard model of consolidation

memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation, but that once consolidation is complete, retrieval no longer depends on the hippocampus.

Reactivation

The process by which previously encoded memories are replayed or reactivated, reinforcing and stabilizing the memory for long-term storage.

Multiple trace model of consolidation

the hippocampus is involved in the retrieval of remote memories, (esp episodic memories).

Multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA)

A procedure for determining the pattern of voxel activation that is elicited by specific stimuli, within various structures.

Classifier

a computer program designed to recognize patterns of voxel activity.

Reconsolidation

when a memory is retrieved and so it becomes reactivated. The memory then must be consolidated again, as it was during the initial learning.

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Temporal context model (TCM)

explains how the temporal context of past experiences is used to cue and retrieve memories. Items are encoded in a specific sequence, recalled based on their temporal proximity and order.