AP psychology Meyers Unit 5 cognition

What is memory?

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

What are the three processes involved in memory?

Encoding, storage, and retrieval.

What is encoding?

The processing of information into the memory system, or getting it into our brain.

What is storage in terms of memory?

The process of retaining encoded information over time.

What is retrieval?

The process of getting information out of memory storage.

What is short-term memory?

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.

What is the capacity of short-term memory according to George Miller?

About 7 ± 2 bits of information.

What is chunking?

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units to improve memory retention.

What is the spacing effect?

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

What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory?

Explicit memory requires conscious recall, while implicit memory does not.

What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?

It helps process explicit memories for facts and episodes by sending them to other brain regions for storage.

What are flashbulb memories?

Clear memories of emotionally significant moments or events.

What is misinformation effect?

Incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.

What are the components of language?

Phonemes, morphemes, and grammar.

What is the babbling stage in language development?

The stage of speech when an infant spontaneously utters various sounds, beginning at about 4 months.

What is telegraphic speech?

Two-word statements used by children around age 2, primarily consisting of nouns and verbs.

What is the role of Broca's area?

Controls language expression and directs muscle movements for speech.

What is the role of Wernicke's area?

Controls language reception and is involved in language comprehension.

What is the representativeness heuristic?

Judging the likelihood of things based on how well they seem to represent particular prototypes.

What is availability heuristic?

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory.

What is confirmatory bias?

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

What is infantile amnesia?

The inability to remember memories from the first three years of life.

What is state-dependent memory?

What we learn in one state may be more easily recalled when we are again in that same state.

What is motivated forgetting?

Self-censored overlooking of painful or unacceptable memories.