After Midterm Content

A comprehensive set of vocabulary flashcards covering memory systems, cognitive biases, and language development based on the lecture transcript.

What is encoding?

The process of transforming what we perceive, think, or feel into a memory.

What is storage?

Holding information in a way that allows it to be retrieved later.

What are the three memory stores in the Atkinson-Shiffrin model?

Sensory memory, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM).

What is sensory memory?

A high-capacity memory store that briefly holds perceptual information.

What is iconic memory?

Visual sensory memory lasting less than 1 second.

What is echoic memory?

Auditory sensory memory lasting about 3–4 seconds.

What are the characteristics of sensory memory?

Very high capacity and very brief duration.

How long does information typically remain in STM?

About 15–30 seconds (roughly 20 seconds).

What is the capacity of STM?

About 7 ± 2 chunks of information.

What is a chunk?

A meaningful unit of information grouped together to increase memory capacity.

What is long-term memory (LTM)?

Memory that persists over time without conscious activation.

What kinds of information are stored in LTM?

Life events, facts, motor skills, and other knowledge.

How long can LTM last?

Potentially indefinitely.

Can long-term memories become inaccessible?

Yes. The memory may still exist, but retrieval can fail.

What is the Levels of Processing theory?

Deeper, more meaningful processing leads to better memory than shallow processing.

What is typically the independent variable in a Levels of Processing experiment?

The depth or type of processing.

What is typically the dependent variable in a Levels of Processing experiment?

Memory performance, such as recall or recognition.

What is the serial position effect?

Better memory for items at the beginning and end of a list.

What is the primacy effect?

Better recall of early list items because they enter long-term memory.

What is the recency effect?

Better recall of recent items because they remain in short-term memory.

What happens to the recency effect if a distractor task occurs before recall?

It is reduced or eliminated because STM contents are disrupted.

What happens to the primacy effect if a distractor task occurs before recall?

It remains relatively intact because those items are stored in LTM.

What are the two major categories of long-term memory?

Explicit (declarative) memory and implicit (nondeclarative) memory.

What is explicit memory?

Memory that can be consciously recalled.

What are the two types of explicit memory?

Episodic memory and semantic memory.

What is episodic memory?

Memory for personal experiences and events.

Give an example of episodic memory.

Remembering your last birthday.

What is semantic memory?

Memory for facts and general knowledge.

Give an example of semantic memory.

Knowing that Paris is the capital of France.

What is implicit memory?

Memory that influences behavior without conscious awareness.

What is procedural memory?

Memory for skills and actions.

Give an example of procedural memory.

Riding a bicycle.

What type of amnesia did H.M. have?

Anterograde amnesia.

What is anterograde amnesia?

Inability to form new memories after brain injury.

What brain structure was removed in H.M.?

The hippocampus.

Why could H.M. not form new explicit memories?

He could not effectively transfer explicit memories from STM to LTM.

What did H.M.'s mirror-tracing performance demonstrate?

Procedural memory remained intact despite impaired explicit memory.

What memory problems did K.C. have?

Severe anterograde and retrograde amnesia.

Which type of memory remained intact in K.C.?

Semantic memory.

Which type of memory was severely impaired in K.C.?

Episodic memory.

What is retrieval?

Bringing previously encoded and stored information to mind.

Is retrieval like replaying a video recording?

No. Retrieval is reconstructive and cue-dependent.

What helps retrieval?

Retrieval cues.

What is the encoding specificity principle?

Memory is improved when information available during encoding is also available during retrieval.

When is retrieval strongest according to encoding specificity?

When encoding and retrieval contexts are similar.

What are examples of contextual cues?

Environmental sounds, odors, internal states, or surrounding information.

Why might studying in multiple locations help memory?

It creates more retrieval cues.

What is recall?

Producing information from memory without being shown it.

Example of recall?

Listing groceries from memory.

What is recognition?

Identifying previously encountered information.

Example of recognition?

Seeing a tomato and recognizing it was on your list.

What is savings?

Learning information faster the second time than the first.

What is proactive interference?

Old learning interferes with new learning.

Example of proactive interference?

Using an old password instead of a new one.

What is retroactive interference?

New learning interferes with old learning.

Example of retroactive interference?

Forgetting an old password after learning a new one.

What is blocking?

Failure to recall information that you know.

What is the misinformation effect?

Memory can be altered by misleading information presented after an event.

Who demonstrated the misinformation effect?

Loftus and Palmer (1974).

What did participants watch in the Loftus and Palmer study?

A traffic accident video.

What was the key manipulation in the Loftus and Palmer study?

The verb used in questions (e.g., hit, contacted, smashed).

What effect did stronger verbs such as "smashed" have?

Participants estimated higher speeds.

What does the Loftus and Palmer study demonstrate?

Memory is reconstructive and can be influenced by wording.

What is decision making?

Evaluating alternatives and choosing among them.

What is availability bias?

Judging events as more frequent because they are easier to remember.

Example of availability bias?

Thinking shark attacks are common after seeing them in the news.

What is a framing effect?

Decisions change depending on how information is presented.

What is loss aversion?

People are more motivated to avoid losses than achieve equivalent gains.

Example of loss aversion?

Preferring not to lose $100 over gaining $100.

What is the sunk cost fallacy?

Continuing an investment because of resources already spent.

Example of the sunk cost fallacy?

Finishing a terrible movie because you've already watched an hour.

What is anchoring?

Being influenced by an initial reference point when making judgments.

Can anchors affect judgments even when irrelevant?

Yes.

Example of anchoring?

Seeing a $1000 jacket makes a $300 jacket seem cheap.

What is language?

A system that relates sounds or gestures to meaning.

What is symbolism in language?

Words represent objects, actions, or ideas.

What is displacement?

The ability to discuss things not currently present.

What is generativity?

The ability to create infinitely many new sentences.

What is a phoneme?

The smallest unit of sound.

Example of different phonemes?

/p/ versus /b/.

What is a morpheme?

The smallest unit of meaning.

What does the prefix "un-" mean?

Not.

What does the suffix "-s" indicate?

More than one.

What is syntax?

Rules governing word combinations.

What does the nurture perspective on language development argue?

Language is learned from the environment.

Which school of thought is associated with the nurture perspective?

Behaviorism.

What does the nature perspective on language development argue?

Children possess innate structures that facilitate language learning.

Which theorist is associated with the nature perspective?

Noam Chomsky.

How does the Wug Test support nativism?

Children apply grammar rules to novel words.

How do critical periods support nativism?

They suggest biological readiness for language learning.

Why does animal language learning support nativism?

Animals do not acquire language as successfully as humans.

What is categorical speech perception?

Perceiving speech sounds as distinct categories despite continuous variation.

Example of categorical speech perception?

Hearing /b/ and /d/ as separate categories.

What can English-learning infants do at 6–8 months?

Distinguish phoneme contrasts from languages such as Salish and Hindi.

What happens by 10–12 months?

Infants lose sensitivity to many non-native phoneme contrasts.

Perceptual narrowing

a developmental process where the brain shapes our abilities based on frequent experiences

What advantage is associated with faster perceptual narrowing?

Larger vocabularies by age 2.

What is the strong Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Language determines thought.

What is the weak Sapir-Whorf hypothesis?

Language influences thought.

Which version of Sapir-Whorf do most psychologists support?

The weak version.