Unit 4 Vocabulary Quiz

recall

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

recognition

memory in which the person identifies items previously learned. ex. multiple-choice test.

encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system

storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time.

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

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 called 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 called nondeclarative memory.)

mnemonics [nih-MON-iks]

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.

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory).

flashbulb memory

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

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 (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list.

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories.

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.

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 errorprone than an algorithm.

confirmation bias

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

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

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

belief perseverance

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

linear perspective (monocular cue)

parallel lines appear to converge with distance

Gestalt Principles

Principles that describe the brain's organization of sensory information into meaningful units and patterns.

figure-ground perception

the ability to discriminate properly between a figure and its background

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

top-down processing

information processing guided by higher-level mental processes, as when we construct perceptions drawing on our experience and expectations

bottom-up processing

analysis that begins with the sensory receptors and works up to the brain's integration of sensory information