PSYCH101 CH1-7

Memory

The capacity to store and retrieve information in order to facilitate learning

Encoding

The process of taking information from the world, including our internal thoughts and feelings, and converting it to memories

Storage

The maintenance of information in the brain for later access

Retrieval

The process of bringing to mind previously encoded and stored information

Multistore model of memory

A model proposing that information flows from our sense through three storage levels in memory: sensory, short term, and long term

Sensory memory

A storage level of memory that holds sensory information on the order of milliseconds to seconds

Short-term memory

A storage level of memory where information can be held briefly, from seconds to less than a minute

Long term memory

A storage level of memory where information can be held for hours to many years and potentially a lifetime

Iconic memory

A rapidly decaying store of visual sensory information

Echoic memory

A rapidly decaying store of auditory sensory information

Chunking

The process of grouping stimuli together in chunks in working memory to increase the amount of information stored in short-term memory

Working memory

A component of memory that allows for both the short-term storage and manipulation of information in real time

Rehearsal

The holding of information in the brain through mental repetition

Phonological loop

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

Visuospatial sketchpad

A component of working memory where we create mental images to remember visual information

serial position curve

graph depicting both primacy and recency effects on people's ability to recall items on a list

Recency effect

tendency to remember words at the end of a list especially well

Primacy effect

tendency to remember words at the beginning of a list especially well

Amnesia

loss of memory

Anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Retrograde amnesia

A form of amnesia in which access to memories prior to brain damage is impaired, but the individual can store new experiences in long-term memory

Levels of processing

the multiple levels at which encoding can occur, ranging from shallow to deep

Shallow encoding

Encoding based on sensory characteristics, such as how something looks or sounds

Deep encoding

Encoding based on an event's meaning as well as connections between the new event and past experience

Semantic encoding

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

Self-referential encoding

Encoding based on an event's relation to our self-concept, which leads to enhanced memory for the event

Explicit memory

A form of memory that involves intentional and conscious remembering

Implicit memory

A form of memory that occurs without intentional recollection or awareness and can be measured indirectly through the influence of prior learning on behavior

Procedural memory

A type of implicit memory related to the acquisition of skills

Priming

The increased ability to process a stimulus because of previous exposure

Affective conditioning

A form of conditioning in which a previously neutral stimulus acquires positive or negative value

Fear conditioning

the process of classically conditioning animals to fear neutral objects

Episodic Memory

The explicit recollection of personal experience that requires piecing together the elements of that time and place

Semantic Memory

Explicit memory supporting knowledge about the world, including concepts and facts

Retrospective Memory

Memory for things we have done in the past

Prospective memory

Memory for things we need to do in the future

Consolidation

The process whereby memory storage is integrated and becomes stable in the brain

Reconsolidation

Reactivation of consolidation by retrieving a memory, making the memory susceptible to change

Hebbian learning

neurons that fire together wire together

Long-term potentation

A mechanism that creates enduring synaptic connections, which results in increased transmission between neurons

Flashbulb memories

A vivid memory for an emotionally significant event, thought to be permanent and detailed, as if frozen in time like a photograph

Free recall

Accessing information from memory without any cues to aid your retrieval

Retrieval cues

Information related to stored memories that helps bring the memories back to mind

Cued recall

A form of retrieval that is facilitated by providing information related to the stored memory

Recognition

A form of retrieval that relies on identifying previously seen or experienced information

Encoding specificity principle

The idea that retrieval is best when the present context recreates the context in which information was initially encoded

State-dependent retrieval

The increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same state during both encoding and retrieval

Mood-dependent retrieval

The increased likelihood of remembering when a person is in the same mood during both encoding and retrieval

Forgetting curve

The retention of information over various delay times

Retroactive interference

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Proactive interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

A failure to retrieve information despite confidence that it is stored in memory

Motivated forgetting

Willful forgetting of information so that it is less likely to be retrieved later

Weapon focus

eyewitnesses focus on one important aspect of an event and ignore details

misinformation effect

The decreased accuracy of episodic memories because of information provided after the event

Imagination inflation

a memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an event markedly increases confidence that the event actually occurred

Source memory

recall of when, where, and how information was acquired

Source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

reality monitoring

The process of deciding whether memories are based on external sources (our perceptions of actual events) or internal sources (our thoughts and imaginations).

Source monitoring

The process of making attributions about the origins of memories.

Reminiscence bump

A time of prominent memory making between adolescence and early adulthood

Learning

An enduring change in behavior resulting from prior experience

Associative learning

A form of learning that involves making connections between stimuli and behavioral responses

Nonassociative learning

A form of learning that involves a change in the magnitude of an elicited response with repetition of the eliciting stimulus

Habituation

A form of nonassociative learning by which an organism becomes less responsive to a repeated stimulus

Sensitization

A form of nonassociative learning by which an organism becomes more sensitive, or responsive, to a repeated stimulus

Dishabituation

The recovery of a response that has undergone habituation, typically as a result of the presentation of a novel stimulus

Classical conditioning

A passive form of learning by which an association is made between a reflex-eliciting stimulus and other stimuli

Unconditioned Stimulus

A stimulus that produces a reflexive response without prior learning

Unconditioned response

The response that is automatically generated by the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned Stimulus

A stimulus that has no prior positive or negative association but comes to elicit a response after being associated with the unconditioned stimulus

Conditioned response

A response that occurs in the presence of the conditioned stimulus after an association between the conditioned and unconditioned stimulus is learned

Acquisition

The initial learning of an association between the unconditioned and conditioned stimuli during classical conditioning

Generalization

The tendency to respond to stimuli that are similar to the conditioned stimulus, so that learning is not tied too narrowly to a specific stimulus

Discrimination

Learning to respond to a particular stimulus but not to similar stimuli, thus preventing overgeneralizations

Extinction

An active learning process in which there is a weakening of the conditioned response to the conditioned stimulus in the absence of the unconditioned stimulus

Spontaneous Recovery

The reappearance of an extinct behavior after a delay

Blocking

A classical conditioning phenomenon whereby a prior association with a conditioned stimulus prevents learning of an association with another stimulus because the second one adds no further predictive value

Preparedness

The species specific biological predisposition to learn some associations more quickly than other associations

Conditioned taste aversion

A classically conditioned response where individuals are more likely to associate nausea with food than with other environmental stimuli

Scapegoat foods

Foods used in chemotherapy to avoid conditioned taste aversions to other meals. For example, doctor's will give kids a piece of candy before chemotherapy, so the kids have a taste aversion to the candy rather than whatever they ate before.

Operant conditioning

A mechanism by which our behavior acts as an instrument or tool to change the environment and, as a result, voluntary behaviors are modified

Law of effect

The idea that behavior is a function of its consequences-actions that are followed by positive outcomes are strengthened, and behaviors that are followed by negative outcomes are weakened.

Reinforcement

A consequence that increases the likelihood that behavior will be repeated

Punishment

A consequence that decreases the likelihood that a behavior will be repeated

Primary Reinforcers

A consequence that is innately pleasurable and/or satisfies some biological need

Secondary Reinforcers

A learned pleasure that acquires value through experience because of its association with primary reinforcers.

Positive Reinforcement

The presentation of a positive stimulus, leading to an increase in the frequency of a behavior

Negative reinforcement

The removal of a negative stimulus, leading to an increase in the frequency of a behavior

Positive punishment

The presentation of a negative stimulus leading to a decrease in the frequency of a behavior

Negative punishment

The removal of a positive stimulus, leading to a decrease in the frequency of a behavior

Premack Principle

The idea that activities individuals frequently engage in can be used to reinforce activities that they are less inclined to do

IE: You can't eat dessert until you eat your vegetables

Shaping

The process by which random behaviors are gradually changed into a desired target behavior

Instinctive Drift

An animal's reversion to evolutionarily derived instinctive behaviors instead of demonstrating newly learned responses

Continuous Reinforcement Schedule

A reinforcement schedule in which a behavior is rewarded every time it is performed

Partial reinforcement schedule

A reinforcement schedule in which a behavior is rewarded only some of the time

Fixed-ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule in which a specific number of behaviors are required before a reward is given

Variable-ratio schedule

A reinforcement schedule in which an average number of behaviors are required before a reward is given

Fixed-interval schedule

A reinforcement schedule based on a fixed amount of time before a reward is given

Variable-interval schedule

A reinforcement schedule based on an amount of time between rewards that varies around a constant average