Essentials of Psychology: Chapters 4, 5, and 6 Study Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering fundamental psychological concepts across Chapters 4 (Consciousness), 5 (Learning), and 6 (Memory) from Essentials of Psychology: Concepts and Applications, 6th Edition.

Memory Encoding

The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory.

Memory Storage

The process of retaining information in memory over time.

Memory Retrieval

The process of accessing and bringing into conscious awareness information stored in memory.

Retrieval Cues

Cues associated with original learning that facilitate the retrieval of stored memories.

Sensory Memory

The temporary storage system that holds memory of sensory representations for a very short time.

Iconic Memory

A sensory store for holding a mental representation of a visual image for a fraction of a second.

Echoic Memory

A sensory store for holding a mental representation of a sound for a few seconds after it registers in the ears.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

The memory subsystem that allows for retention and processing of newly acquired information for a maximum of about 30 seconds; also called working memory.

Chunking

The process of enhancing retention of a large amount of information by breaking it down into smaller, more easily recalled units.

Maintenance Rehearsal

The process of extending retention of information in short-term memory by consciously repeating the information.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The memory subsystem responsible for long-term storage of information.

Consolidation

The process of converting short-term memories into long-term memories.

Elaborative Rehearsal

The process of strengthening new memories by forming meaningful associations between new information and existing memories or knowledge.

Semantic Network Model

A memory model proposing that thinking of a particular concept causes a ripple effect to occur within a network of interlinking concepts, triggering memory of related concepts.

Levels-of-Processing Theory

The belief that how well or how long information is remembered depends on the depth of encoding or processing.

Types of Long-Term Memory

Long-term memory is categorized into declarative memory ("knowing that…"), which requires conscious effort, and procedural memory ("knowing how…"), which is recalled without conscious effort.

Declarative Memory

Memory of facts and personal experiences that can be recalled with conscious effort, structured by type (semantic and episodic memory) and time frame (retrospective and prospective memory).

Semantic Memory

Memory for general facts and information, such as knowing that grass is green or who wrote a specific book.

Episodic Memory

Memory of personal experiences and specific life events, such as remembering your first kiss or a first date.

Retrospective Memory

Memory of past experiences and previously acquired information, such as recalling what you ate for dinner last night.

Prospective Memory

Memory of future actions, such as remembering an upcoming doctor's appointment or picking up flowers for a partner on an anniversary.

Procedural Memory

Memory for habits and motor behaviors ("knowing how…") that are recalled without conscious effort.

Constructionist Theory

The leading view of memory holding that memory is not an exact replica of the past, but a representation or reconstruction of the past.

Misinformation Effect

A form of memory distortion affecting eyewitness testimony caused by misinformation provided during the retention interval.

Decay Theory

A theory of forgetting (also called trace theory) that posits memories consist of traces laid down in the brain that gradually deteriorate and fade away over time.

Savings Method

A method of testing memory retention by comparing the number of trials needed to learn material with the number of trials needed to relearn it at a later time.

Massed versus Spaced Practice Effect

The tendency for retention of learned material to be greater when study sessions are spaced out over time rather than crammed into a single massed session.

Retroactive and Proactive Interference

Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned material interferes with retrieving older information; proactive interference occurs when previously learned material interferes with retrieving newly learned information.

Retrieval Theory

The belief that forgetting is the result of a failure to access stored memories, often due to a lack of appropriate retrieval cues.

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

An experience in which people are sure they know a piece of information but cannot seem to bring it to mind immediately.

Repression

In Freudian theory, a defense mechanism (motivated forgetting) that keeps anxiety-provoking or traumatic memories hidden from conscious awareness.

Free Recall

A memory recall task in which individuals are asked to recall as much information as they can about a topic in any order.

Recognition Task

A method of measuring memory retention that assesses the ability to select the correct answer from among a range of alternative choices.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memory for past events, often caused by head trauma or concussion interfering with memory consolidation.

Anterograde Amnesia

Loss or impairment of the ability to form or store new memories, which can result from brain trauma, illness, or alcohol intoxication.

Engram

Karl Lashley's term for the physical trace or etching of a memory in the brain.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A long-lasting increase in the strength of synaptic connections between neurons, believed to be essential for long-term memory formation.

Classical Conditioning

The process of learning by which a neutral stimulus (NS) paired with an unconditioned stimulus (US) comes to elicit a conditioned response (CR) identical or similar to the unconditioned response (UR).

Unconditioned Response (UR)

An unlearned, naturally occurring response to an unconditioned stimulus.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

A stimulus that naturally and automatically elicits an unlearned response.

Neutral Stimulus (NS)

A stimulus that, before conditioning, does not produce a particular response.

Conditioned Stimulus (CS)

A previously neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a conditioned response after being repeatedly paired with an unconditioned stimulus.

Conditioned Response (CR)

A learned response to a conditioned stimulus resulting from classical conditioning.

Extinction (Classical Conditioning)

The gradual weakening and eventual disappearance of a conditioned response when the CS is repeatedly presented without the US.

Spontaneous Recovery

The spontaneous return of a conditioned response following a period of extinction.

Reconditioning

The process of relearning a conditioned response following extinction.

Stimulus Generalization

The tendency for stimuli that are similar to the original conditioned stimulus to elicit a conditioned response.

Stimulus Discrimination

The tendency to differentiate among stimuli so that stimuli related to the original conditioned stimulus fail to elicit a conditioned response.

Conditioned Emotional Reaction (CER)

An emotional response, such as fear, to a particular stimulus acquired through classical conditioning.

Conditioned Taste Aversion

An aversion to a particular food or beverage acquired through classical conditioning following a bad experience or illness.

Law of Effect

Thorndike's principle that responses that have satisfying effects are more likely to recur, whereas those that have unpleasant effects are less likely to recur.

Operant Conditioning

The process of learning in which the consequences of a response determine the probability that the response will be repeated.

Operant Response

A response that operates on the environment to produce certain consequences.

Reinforcer

A stimulus or event that increases the probability that the response it follows will be repeated.

Positive Reinforcement

The strengthening of a response through the introduction of a desirable stimulus after the response occurs.

Negative Reinforcement

The strengthening of a response through the removal of an unpleasant or aversive stimulus after the response occurs.

Types of Reinforcers

Positive reinforcers increase behavior frequency through adding a pleasant stimulus (e.g., praise), whereas negative reinforcers increase behavior frequency through removing an unpleasant stimulus (e.g., pain relief).

Primary Reinforcers

Reinforcers, such as food or sexual stimulation, that naturally satisfy basic biological needs.

Secondary Reinforcers

Learned reinforcers, such as money, that develop reinforcing properties through their association with primary reinforcers.

Discriminative Stimulus

A cue that signals that reinforcement is available if the subject performs a particular response.

Shaping

A process of learning that involves reinforcing increasingly closer approximations (successive approximations) of a target desired response.

Schedules of Partial Reinforcement

Patterns showing rates of response under different reinforcement schedules: fixed-ratio, variable-ratio, fixed-interval, and variable-interval.

Fixed-Ratio Schedule

A schedule in which reinforcement is given after a specified, fixed number of correct responses.

Variable-Ratio Schedule

A schedule in which the number of correct responses needed to earn reinforcement varies around a set average number.

Fixed-Interval Schedule

A schedule in which reinforcement is given for a correct response made after a fixed amount of time has passed.

Variable-Interval Schedule

A schedule in which the amount of time that must elapse before reinforcement is given for a correct response varies.

Escape Learning

A form of learning in which an organism learns to perform an operant response to escape or terminate an active aversive stimulus.

Avoidance Learning

A form of learning in which an organism learns to perform a response to prevent or avoid an aversive stimulus from occurring.

Positive Punishment

Weakening or suppressing a behavior by introducing an aversive stimulus as a consequence of that behavior.

Negative Punishment

Weakening or suppressing a behavior by removing a reinforcing stimulus as a consequence of that behavior.

Biofeedback Training

A method using biofeedback devices to help people learn to consciously control internal bodily responses like heart rate and blood pressure.

Behavior Modification

The systematic application of learning principles to strengthen adaptive behavior and weaken maladaptive behavior.

Programmed Instruction

A learning method where complex material is broken down into a series of small steps that learners master at their own pace.

Insight Learning

The process of mentally working through a problem until the sudden realization of a solution occurs.

Latent Learning

Learning that occurs without apparent reinforcement and is not displayed until reinforcement is provided.

Cognitive Map

A mental representation of a physical area or environment that helps an organism navigate from one point to another.

Observational Learning

Learning by observing and imitating the behavior of others; also referred to as vicarious learning or modeling.

Focused Awareness

A state of high alertness in which a person is fully awake, alert, and completely engrossed in a task.

Drifting Consciousness

A state of consciousness characterized by mind wandering off-task to daydreaming or distracting thoughts.

Divided Consciousness

A state of awareness characterized by dividing attention between two or more tasks performed simultaneously.

Inattentional Blindness

The failure to notice something right in front of your eyes because your attention is directed elsewhere.

Circadian Rhythm

A 24-hour biological cycle of day and night that regulates sleep-wake patterns, blood pressure, and body processes.

Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN)

A structure located in the hypothalamus of the brain that regulates the sleep-wake cycle.

Brain Wave Patterns During Sleep

Characteristic EEG patterns recorded during states of consciousness, progressing from beta and alpha waves during wakefulness to sleep spindles in Stage 2, delta waves in deep sleep, and active waves in REM sleep.

Sleep Spindles

Short bursts of brain wave activity appearing on an EEG during Stage 2 sleep.

REM Sleep

A stage of sleep characterized by rapid eye movements, brain wave activity similar to alert wakefulness, vivid dreaming, and temporary muscle paralysis; also called paradoxical sleep.

REM Sleep Through the Night

The cyclical progression through sleep stages over the course of a night, showing increasing durations of REM sleep toward the morning.

Activation-Synthesis Hypothesis

The theory that dreams represent the cerebral cortex's attempt to synthesize and make sense of random electrical signals generated by neurons in the brain stem during REM sleep.

Insomnia Disorder

A sleep disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep, remaining asleep, or returning to sleep after night awakenings.

Narcolepsy

A sleep disorder characterized by sudden, irresistible "sleep attacks" during waking hours.

Sleep Apnea

A sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts many times during the night.

Nightmare Disorder

A sleep disorder involving frequent, disturbing, and realistic dreams that threaten the dreamer's safety.

Sleep Terror Disorder

A sleep disorder characterized by frequent night terrors involving intense fear, screaming, and physical flailing during sleep.

Sleepwalking Disorder

A disorder characterized by nighttime wandering during deep, dreamless sleep (Stages 3 and 4).

Meditation

A process of focused attention that induces a relaxed, contemplative state of mind.

Transcendental Meditation

A meditative practice in which practitioners focus attention by repeating a specific phrase or sound called a mantra.

Mindfulness Meditation

A meditative practice where individuals focus entirely on being aware of what they are sensing and feeling in the present moment.

Hypnosis

An altered state of consciousness characterized by focused attention, deep relaxation, and heightened susceptibility to suggestion.

Role-Playing Model

A theory proposing that hypnosis results from subjects willingly adopting the social role of a "good" hypnotic subject.

Neodissociation Theory

Ernest Hilgard's theory proposing that hypnosis represents a state of dissociated (divided) consciousness.