chapter 7 PSYCH terms

encoding

information enters your memory through your senses and attention

storage

information is retained in memory over time

retrieval

information is brought back from storage when needed

automaticity

Processing information with little or no effort

strategy construction

creating new wats to process information, such as developing a new study method

metacognition

thinking about your own thinking and evaluating how well you understanding something

self- modification

applying what you have learned previously to adapt to new situations

processing speed

how quickly someone can process information. It improves through childhood and adolescence, then begins declining in middle adulthood

selective attention

Focusing on relevant information while ignoring distractions.

divided attention

paying attention to more than one activity

sustained attention

Maintaining focus over extended periods.

executive attention

planning, monitoring goals, detecting errors, and adjusting behaviors

Infancys attention

focused on exploring environment, responsiveness decreases after repeated exposure to the same stimulus

childhood & adolescence attention

sustained & executive attention improve, may focus on things that stand out rather than information relevant to a task

early adulthood attention

attentional skills are often excellent, general focus effectively on relevant information

older adult attention

filtering out irrelevant info may become more difficult, simple and sustained attention tasks remain strong, performance more than likely to decline when managing several things at once

short-term memory

temporarily holds information for up to about 30 seconds w/o rehearsal

working memory

where you actively manipulate and assemble information while thinking, solving problems, making decisions, and understanding language

long-term memory

stores information for extended periods and has a very large capacity

episodic memory

memory of personal events and experiences, including where and when they happened

semantic memory

general knowledge, facts, words meanings, and information about the world

procedural memory

memory for skills and procedures, often performed automatically. This is a form of implicit memory

prospective memory

remembering to do something in the future

explicit (declarative) memory

conscious recollection of facts and experiences. includes episodic and semantic memory

implicit memory

memory that does not require conscious recollection, including learned skills & routine procedure

source memory

remembering where you learned something

autobiographical memory

memories of your own life experiences

infantile amnesia

the inability of most adults to recall much, if anything from thier first 3 yrs of life

tip of the tongue phenomenon

knowing information but temporarily being unable to retrieve it

reminiscence bump

the tendency for adults to recall more events from their teens & twenties than from many other periods of life

fuzzy trace theory

memory involves both precise details and the general meaning (gist). Gist often lasts longer than exact details

Elizabeth Loftus was known for her research on….

memory, eyewitness testimony, and how memories can be influences by information encounters after an event

How is memory reconstructive?

we use stored information and existing knowledge

leading question

the wording of a question can influence how someone remembers or describes an event

misinformation effect

information received after an event can alter a person's later memory of that event

eyewitness testimony

a witness may sincerely believe a memory is accurate even when the memory has been influenced or disorted

schemas

existing mental frameworks can influence what we notice, how we interpret event and how we remember them