AP PSYCH - Unit 5

Memory

Memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

Encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning.

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions.

Sensory Memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Short-Term Memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Long-Term Memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Working Memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

Explicit Memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare". Also known as declarative memory.

Effortful Processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Automatic Processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

Implicit Memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. Also known as nondeclarative memory.

Iconic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Echoic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Spacing Effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning

Shallow Processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Deep Processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

Memory Consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

Semantic Memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems.

Episodic Memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Flashbulb Memory

a clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Encoding Specificity Principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

Mood-Congruent Memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

Serial Position Effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Proactive Interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information. (When old learning interferes with new learning. For example, When you can't remember this year's locker combination (new) - you can only remember last year's locker combination (old).)

Retroactive Interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information. (when new learning interferes with old learning. For example, You can't remember anything you learned in Biology last year. You can only remember what you've learned in Chemistry this year)

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

Misinformation Effect

occurs when misleading information has distorted one's memory of an event.

Source Amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. Source amnesia along with the misinformation effect is at the heart of many false memories.

deja vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

Cognition

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Concept

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Prototype

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin).

Creativity

the ability to produce new and valuable ideas

Convergent Thinking

narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Divergent Thinking

expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions

Algorithm

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier - but also more error-prone - use of heuristics.

Heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

Insight

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Confirmation Bias

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Fixation

in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving.

Mental Set

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Intuition

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

Representativeness Heuristic

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

Availability Heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

Overconfidence

the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments.

Framing

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Language

our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

phoneme

in language, the smallest distinctive sound unit

Babbling Stage

beginning at about 4 months, the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utters various sounds at first unrelated to the household language

One-Word Stage

the stage in speech development, from about age 1 to 2, during which a child speaks mostly in single words

Two-Word Stage

beginning about age 2, the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly two-word statements

Telegraphic Speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.

Aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Broca's Area

helps control language expression - an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere that directs the muscle movements involved in speech.

Wernicke's Area

a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe

Linguistic Determinism

the strong form of Whorf's hypothesis - that language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us.

Linguistic Influence

the weaker form of "linguistic relativity" - the idea that language affect thought (thus our thinking and world view is "relative to" our cultural language).

Belief Perseverance

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix)

Grammar

in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others. Semantics is the language's set of rules for deriving meaning from sounds. Syntax is its set of rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences.