Learning and Memory Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, definitions, and concepts of learning, memory systems, working memory components, long-term memory categories, conditioning, and amnesia.

Learning

The process of acquiring new information, behaviors, or abilities.

Memory

1. The ability to retain information, and retrieval of the information. 2. The specific information that is stored in the brain.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Storage of new information for brief periods of time (usually a few seconds) with limited capacity; continues as long as rehearsal continues.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Storage of information once the individual stops attending to it; stores large quantities of information for long periods of time.

Working Memory (WM)

A specific type of short-term memory in which information is mentally manipulated; research suggests individuals can hold approximately seven chunks of information.

Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch)

An influential model introduced in 1974 by Alan Baddeley & Graham Hitch (later revised in 2000) that replaced the single storehouse concept with a multi-component system.

Phonological Loop

A component of working memory that briefly stores and rehearses verbal content (e.g., speech sounds, words) via a phonological store and articulatory rehearsal process.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

A component of working memory that holds and manipulates visual and spatial information, functioning like a mental canvas.

Episodic Buffer

A component of working memory that combines sounds, visuals, and long-term memories into short, temporary experiences with limited capacity.

Central Executive

A component of working memory that controls information flow, sets goals, directs attention, and supervises the flow of information in and out of working memory.

Explicit Memory

Consciously recalled long-term memory containing things you know that you can tell others; also called declarative memory.

Implicit Memory

Unconscious long-term memory consisting of things you know that you can show, along with certain abilities or skills; also called nondeclarative memory.

Episodic Memory

A subcategory of explicit memory containing autobiographical memories of specific events.

Semantic Memory

A subcategory of explicit memory containing memories of facts, without including details of when or where the facts were learned.

Procedural Memory

A subcategory of implicit memory consisting of the recall of motor, cognitive, and perceptual skills needed to perform a task, operating without conscious thought once acquired.

Priming

A subcategory of implicit memory where exposure to a stimulus facilitates responses to the same or a similar stimulus without requiring conscious memory of the stimulus.

Spatial Memory

A subcategory of implicit memory involving the formation of cognitive maps to represent spatial organization.

Cognitive Map

Mental representations of the relative spatial organization of objects and information.

Associative Learning

A form of implicit learning where an association is formed between two stimuli, or between a stimulus and a response.

Classical (Pavlovian) Conditioning

An associative learning process in which an originally neutral stimulus (conditioned stimulus) acquires the power to elicit a response (conditioned response) after being paired with an unconditioned stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response.

Operant Conditioning

An associative learning process in which an association is formed between an individual's behavior and the consequence (reinforcement or punishment) of that behavior, altering the probability of that behavior.

Amnesia

Any pathological loss of memory, which can be temporary or permanent and is most profoundly caused by surgery, infection, or a stroke.

Retrograde Amnesia

Backward-acting amnesia affecting memories formed before the damaging event or coma.

Anterograde Amnesia

Forward-acting amnesia affecting memories formed after the damaging event or coma.

Memory Systems Hierarchy

The structural organization dividing memory into short-term/working memory and long-term memory, with long-term subcategories of explicit (semantic, episodic) and implicit (procedural, priming, spatial, associative learning).