Memory and Social Psychology Lecture

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the fundamentals of memory retrieval, storage, and brain involvement, as well as key concepts and experiments in social psychology.

Retrieval

The process of accessing information stored in Long-term memory (LTM).

Recall

Trying to remember information without cues, performed on demand as needed.

Recognition

Identifying information when you are presented with it again.

David Berkowitz

Also known as the Son of Sam killer, he murdered six people in a series of shootings in the late $1970s$, illustrating that people are often not as good at recognizing faces as they believe.

Intimacy

A component of Sternberg's triangular theory of love involving the sharing of details, thoughts, and emotions.

Passion

A component of Sternberg's triangular theory of love involving physical attraction.

Commitment

A component of Sternberg's triangular theory of love involving the willingness to stand by someone over time.

Consummate Love

The ideal type of love according to Robert Sternberg, characterized by the presence of Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment.

Romantic Love

A type of love defined by the combination of Passion and Intimacy.

Companionate Love

A type of love defined by the combination of Intimacy and Commitment.

Fatuous Love

A type of love defined by the combination of Passion and Commitment.

Liking

A type of love characterized solely by Intimacy.

Infatuation

A type of love characterized solely by Passion.

Empty Love

A type of love characterized solely by Commitment.

Bystander Effect

Phenomenon where bystanders fail to help a person in obvious distress, often due to diffusion of responsibility.

Kitty Genovese

The subject of a famous $1964$ murder case in Queens where reports initially stated $38$ citizens watched a killer without calling the police.

Obedience

Complying with the demands or orders of someone else, especially an authority figure.

Milgram's Shock Experiment

A study where participants administered voltage in $15$ volt increments up to a maximum of $450\text{ volts}$ to examine how far they would go in obeying instructions to harm another.

Conformity

Changing behavior to match what others are doing or to meet expectations, which can lead to solidarity or risky behavior.

Solomon Asch's Line Study

A study demonstrating the power of conformity where $76$% of participants conformed at least once to an obviously wrong group opinion.

Asch Effect

The influence of group opinion on an individual's judgment and behavior.

Normative Social Influence

Conforming to a group in order to be accepted or liked, often referred to as "fitting in."

Informational Social Influence

Conforming due to a belief that the group is competent or correct, especially when one's own confidence is low.

Social Psychology

The study of how humans influence, think about, and interact with each other, focusing on the "power of the social situation."

Dispositionism

The approach that behavior and thinking are determined by internal factors such as emotions, attitudes, personality traits, and beliefs.

Situationism

The approach that behavior and thinking are determined by external factors, including the surrounding environment and the people present.

Social Norms

Expectations within a group or situation regarding how people should think and behave.

Social Roles

Expected behaviors associated with a specific position or role within a setting or group.

Stanford Prison Experiment

A study by Philip Zimbardo where participants playing guards and prisoners adopted social roles so easefully that it resulted in abuse, ending after only $6\text{ days}$.

Encoding Specificity Principle

The principle that information present during encoding can serve as a cue to aid retrieval, making it easier to remember in the same context.

Cerebellum

The brain part involved in creating and using implicit LTM, including procedural skills like writing and emotional conditioning like fear.

Prefrontal Cortex (PFC)

The brain area that initiates and controls the retrieval of explicit LTM by using strategies, rehearsal, and focused attention.

Temporal Lobes

Brain areas involved in the storage of explicit memory, object recognition, and sound memory.

Amygdala

A brain structure that processes the emotional content of both explicit and implicit LTM, linking emotional significance to memory storage.

Hippocampus

A brain structure crucial for storing and retrieving explicit LTM by creating memory and later "replaying" it.

Long-term Memory (LTM)

Storage of memory for longer than $60\text{ seconds}$, potentially for an indefinite or permanent duration.

Explicit/Declarative Memory

LTM that can be consciously recalled and explained, divided into episodic and semantic types.

Episodic Memory

Autobiographical LTM consisting of personally experienced events, such as a favorite memory.

Semantic Memory

LTM consisting of general knowledge, world concepts, vocabulary, and categories.

Implicit/Non-declarative Memory

LTM that changes behavior or thought but cannot be consciously recalled or explained, such as skills or associations.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory involving skills, actions, and habits like riding a bike or speaking.

Emotional Conditioning

Implicit memory involving emotional associations, such as feeling joy when seeing a partner.

Working Memory (WM)

An active "mental workspace" with limited capacity that combines Short-term memory with cognitive processes like reasoning and planning.

Short-term Memory (STM)

A passive "storehouse" that holds information for approximately $60\text{ seconds}$.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to more easily recall information from the beginning (primacy effect) and the end (recency effect) of a series.

Suggestibility

The tendency for external influence or information to lead to memory errors or the creation of false memories.

Amnesia

Loss of LTM, typically explicit, due to disease, injury, or a psychological event.

Anterograde Amnesia

The inability to store new information after a brain injury or disease.

Retrograde Amnesia

The inability to retrieve information that was stored before a brain injury or disease.

Memory Reconstruction

The process of unknowingly modifying memories during retrieval, demonstrating that memory is malleable rather than a perfect recording.