Essentials of Psychology: Chapter 6 Study Material

Encoding

The process of putting information into a form that the memory system can accept and use.

brain structures involved in memory

hippocampus, cerebral cortex

acronym

word composed of first letters of series of words

long term potentiation

long term strengthening of neural connections as result of repeated stimulation

neuronal networks

memory circuits in brain consisting of complicated networks of nerve cells

engram

karl lashly’s term for physical trace/etching of a memory (not real theory)

retrieval theory

forgetting is the result of a failure to access stored memories

serial position effect

tendency to recall items at start or end of list better than middle items

savings memory

testing memory retention by comparing numbers of trials needed to learn vs relearn material

misinformation effect

affects eyewitness testimony when subjects intentionally or unintentionally are given misleading information (elizabeth loftus)

flashbulb memories

vivid, lasting, and detailed memories of an emotional event (still susceptible to distortion tho)

constructionist theory

memory is not a representation but a reconstruction/representation of the past

prospective memory

memory of plans for the future that had been made

retrospective memory

memory of past experiences, events, and information acquired in the past

semantic network model

representation of long term memory as organized by a network of associated concepts

consolidation

converting short term memories into long term memories

eidetic imagery

lingering mental representation of a visual image (photographic memory)

echoic memory

sensory store for holding sound after it reaches ears

three-stage model

a model of memory with three stages: sensory memory, short term memory, and long term memory

memory

system that allows us to retain information and bring it to mind

Auditory Memory (acoustic memory)

Mental representations of stimuli as sounds.

Visual memory

Mental representations of stimuli as pictures

Semantic memory

Memory of facts about generalized knowledge of the world

Storage

process of maintaining information in the memory system

Retrieval

Process of finding information previously stored in memory.

Recall

Retrieving information stored in memory without much help from retrieval cues

Recognition

Retrieving information stored in memory with the help of retrieval cues.

Episodic memory

Memory for events in one's own past

Procedural Knowledge (procedural memory)

a type of memory containing information about how to do motor or performance skills

Explicit/declarative memory

Information retrieved through a conscious effort

Implicit memory

memory accessed without concious effor

Levels-of-processing model of memory

A model that suggests that memory depends on the degree or depth to which we mentally process information.

Maintenance rehearsal

A memorization method that involves repeating information over and over to keep it in memory

Elaborative rehearsal

A memory strategy that involves relating new information to something that is already known.

Transfer-appropriate processing model of memory

suggests that memory retrieval is most effective when the cognitive processes used during encoding are similar to those used during retrieval (ex. thinking of meaning of word when learning and meaning of word when recalling)

Parallel distributed processing (PDP) models of memory

proposes that memories are not stored in specific locations but rather are distributed across a network of interconnected nodes, or units, that operate in parallel, (simple units work together to perform complicated tasks)

Information-processing model of memory

A model that suggests that information must pass through sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory in order to become firmly embedded in memory.

Sensory Memory

brief memory of sensory impressions

Sensory registers

temporary storage device for holding sensory memory

Iconic memory

The sensory register for visual information

Selective attention

The process of focusing mental resources on only part of the stimulus field

Short-term memory (STM)

A stage of memory in which information normally lasts less than twenty seconds; a component of working memory

Working memory

Memory that allows us to mentally work with, or manipulate, information being held in short-term memory

Immediate memory span

the maximum number of items a person can recall perfectly after one presentation of the items

Chunking

Organizing individual stimuli so that they will be perceived as larger units of meaningful information

Brown-Peterson Distractor Technique

A method for determining how long unrehearsed information remains in short-term memory, participants given a list to memorize and then a distracting task to limit rehearsal

Long-term memory (LTM)

The stage of memory that researchers believe has an unlimited capacity to store new information.

Primacy effect

tendency to better recall items learned first

Recency effect

A characteristic of memory in which recall is particularly good for the last few items in a list.

Retrieval cues

Stimuli that allow or help people to recall information

Encoding specificity principle

memory recall is most effective when the conditions during retrieval closely match the conditions during encoding

Context-specific memory (context-specific learning)

Memories that are helped or hindered by similarities or differences between the contexts in which they are learned and recalled.

State-dependent memory (state-dependent learning)

Memory that is helped or hindered by similarities or differences in a person's internal state during learning versus recall.

Spreading activation

a concept (a node in the network) is activated, the activation spreads to related concepts, making them more accessible or easier to retrieve (related to semantic network theory)

Schemas

Mental representations of categories of objects, places, events, and people, Jean Piaget

Relearning Method

A method for measuring forgetting.

Decay theory

A description of forgetting as the gradual disappearance of traces of information from memory.

Interference

The process through which storage or retrieval of information is impaired by the presence of other information.

Retroactive inhibition

A cause of forgetting whereby new information placed in memory interferes with the ability to recall information already in memory.

Proactive interference

A cause of forgetting whereby previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information

Repressed memory

A painful memory that is said to be kept out of consciousness by psychological processes

Anterograde amnesia

A loss of memory for events that occur after a brain injury.

Retrograde amnesia

A loss of memory for events that occurred prior to a brain injury

Mnemonic strategies

device for improving memory

Distributed Practice

Learning new information in many study sessions that are spaced across time.

Massed Practice

Trying to learn complex new information in a single long study period