Exam 2

How do psychologists define memory?

the retention of information or experience over time as the result of three key processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval

What are the three steps in memory (in order)?

encoding, storage, retrieval

What does it mean to encode information in memory?

the process by which information gets into memory storage

What is selective attention? Give an example

focusing on a specific aspect of experience while ignoring others

What is divided attention? Give an example

concentrating on more than one activity at the same time; listening to music while doing homework is an example of this

What is sustained attention? Give an example

the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time; paying close attention to notes while studying for an exam is an example of this

What are the different levels of processing?

a continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory

How do the levels of processing affect memory?

the more deeply we process, the better the memory

What are examples of elaboration?

using “mom” as the example, a shallow level could be thinking of the shapes of the letters and how they relate to the shapes of other letters, like how an m looks like two n’s. a deep level could be a focus on what a mother, various mothers they know, images of mothers in art, and portrayals of mothers in television and film

What is storage? What does it mean to store information in memory?

the retention of information over time and how this information is represented in memory; a memory must be stored properly after it is encoded

Describe the Atkinson-Shiffrin theory

memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

What is sensory memory and what does it accomplish?

memory system that involves holding information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer than the brief time it is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses; time frame of a second to several seconds

What is the difference between echoic memory and iconic memory?

the former refers to auditory sensory memory, which is retained for up to several seconds (echo). the former refers to visual sensory memory, which is retained only for about a quarter of a second (icon)

What is short-term memory and what does it accomplish?

limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for only as long as 30-seconds unless strategies are used to retain it longer

How does chunking increase the capacity of short-term memory?

involves the grouping of information into higher-order units that can be remembered as single units; makes large amounts of information more manageable; grouping informations into meaningful chunks, they become much easier to remember

What is working memory?

a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow individuals to hold information temporarily as they perform cognitive tasks; a kind of mental workbench on which the brain manipulates and assembles information to guide understanding, decision making, and problem solving

What is the central executive in working memory?

integrates information from not only the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad but also from long-term memory; plays an important role in attention, planning, and organizing; monitors which information deserves our attention and which we should ignore; also selects which strategies to use to process information and solve problems; also has a limited capacity

What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad in working memory?

stores visual and spatial memory, including visual imagery; also has a limited capacity and if we try to put too many items in this system, we cannot represent them accurately enough to retrieve them successfully; functions independently

What is the phonological loop in working memory?

specialized to briefly store speech-based information about the sounds of language; contains two separate components: an acoustic code (the sounds we heard), which delays a few seconds, and rehearsal, which allows us to repeat the words; capacity is limited

What is long-term memory and what does it accomplish?

a relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time

Define explicit memory

the conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or events and, at least in humans, information that can be verbally communicated

What is episodic memory?

the retention of information about the where, when, and what of life’s happenings—that is, how individuals remember life’s episodes

What is semantic memory?

a person’s knowledge about the world; includes one’s areas of expertise, general knowledge and everyday knowledge, famous individuals, important places, and common things

Give an example of semantic memory

knowledge of chess and geometry but also of who the Dalai Lama, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga are

What is the difference between episodic and semantic memory?

demonstrated in certain cases of amnesia. in such cases, episodic memory is lost (their name, family, career, and other vital information), but semantic memory is functioning (know how to talk, what words mean, and have general knowledge about the world like what day it is or who the current US president is)

Give an example of episodic memory

includes the details of where you were when your younger sibling was born, what happened on your first date, and what you ate for breakfast this morning

Define implicit memory

memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience

Define and provide examples of procedural memory

a type of implicit memory process that involves memory for skills; once you have learned to drive a car, you remember how to use it; you do not have to remember consciously how to drive the car as you pit the key in the ignition, turn the steering wheel, depress the gas pedal, and step on the brake pedal

Define priming

the activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better and faster

provide examples of priming

In a common demonstration, individuals study a list of words (such as hope, walk, and cake). Then they are given a standard recognition task to assess explicit memory. They must select all of the words that appeared in the list—for example, “Did you see the word hope? Did you see the word form?” Then participants perform a stem-completion task, which assesses implicit memory. In this task, they view a list of incomplete words (for example, ho__, wa__, ca__) and must fill in the blanks with whatever word comes to mind. The results show that individuals more often fill in the blanks with the previously studied words than would be expected if they were filling in the blanks randomly. This result occurs even when individuals do not recognize the words on the earlier recognition task.

What is retrieval? What does it mean to retrieve information from memory?

the memory process that occurs when information that was retained in memory comes out of storage

What is the serial position effect?

the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list more readily than those in the middle

What does the primacy effect and recency effect tell us about how the location of items affects memory?

when a person is asked to memorize a list of words, the words memorized last usually are recalled best, those at the beginning next best, and those in the middle least efficiently

Compare and contrast recall and recognition

the former is a memory task in which the person must retrieve previously learned information, such as on essay tests. the latter is a memory task in which the person only has to identify/recognize learned items, as on multiple-choice tests

What is the encoding specificity principle?

states that information present at the time of encoding or learning tends to be effective as a retrieval cue; you know your instructors when they are in a classroom setting, but if you run into one of them in an unexpected setting and in more casual attire, however, the person’s name might escape you

Provide an example of context dependent memory

people remember better when they attempt to recall information in the same context in which they learned it, likely because people have encoded features of the context in which they learned the information along with the actual information

What is an autobiographical memory? Provide an example

a special form of episodic memory consisting of a person’s recollections of their life experiences; a memory about something about your life in high school, a trip that you took with your friends after you graduated from high school, and the exhilarating experience you had the first time you jet-skied on your post-graduation trip

What is a flashbulb memory? Provide an example

the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events; many adults can remember where they were when they first heard about important world events, such as the terrorist attacks on 9/11

What is a motivated forgetting? Provide an example

What are causes of forgettng?

Describe Hermann Ebbinghaus’s forgettng curve

ccording to Ebbinghaus, when is information most likely to be forgotten?

Define interference theory

What is the difference between proactive interference and retroactive interference?

Give an example of proactive interference

Give an example of retroactive interference

What is decay theory?

Provide an example of tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon (TOT)

What does the TOT phenomenon tell us about how we remember information?

Define amnesia

Compare and contrast anterograde amnesia and retrograde amnesia

Who is Marigold Linton, Ph.D.? Identify a few unique facts about Dr. Linton and how she contributed to the field of psychology

What is cognition?

What is artificial intelligence (AI)? How can AI be useful?

What is the definition of thinking?

What are concepts

why are concepts helpful or important?

Describe the prototype model and provide examples

What is problem solving

What is reasoning

What is decision making

Define subgoals

What is the difference between algorithms and heuristics?

What is functional fixedness and what is an example of it?

What is induc/ve reasoning

What is deduc/ve reasoning

What is Loss aversion? Provide an example

What is Confirma/on bias? Provide an example

What is Hindsight bias? Provide an example

What is Availability heuristic? Provide an example

What is Base rate neglect? provide an example

What is Representativeness heuristic? Provide an example

What is critical thinking?

What does mindfulness mean?

What is creative thinking?

What is divergent thinking?

What is convergent thinking?

What is intelligence?

Define validity

Define reliability

What is the difference between validity and reliability?

Define intelligence quo/ent (IQ)

Define normal distribution

What is normal distribution in relation to intelligence scores?

What are culture-fair tests?

Why is it so difficult to create culture-fair tests?

What does it mean for an individual to be gifted? What is the minimum IQ score required for giftedness?

What does it mean for an individual to have an intellectual disability?

What is the triarchic theory of intelligence

what are the three forms of intelligence?

Define language

What is syntax

What is semantics

Describe biological Influences for language development

What is Noam Chomsky’s theory of language development?

Describe environmental influences for language development

Who is Herman George Canady, Ph.D.? Iden9fy a few unique facts about Dr. Canady and how he contributed to the field of psychology

What do psychologists mean by the term development?

What are cross-sectional designs

What are longitudinal studies