Unit 0 physcology

What is memory?

The process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information.

What is explicit memory?

Memories that you can consciously recall, such as facts and events.

What is episodic memory?

A type of explicit memory for personal events or experiences.

What is semantic memory?

A type of explicit memory for facts and general knowledge.

What is implicit memory?

Unconscious memory for skills and habits.

What is procedural memory?

A type of implicit memory for how to do things, like motor skills.

What is prospective memory?

Memory for tasks you need to do in the future.

What is long-term potentiation (LTP)?

The strengthening of synapses based on repeated use, thought to be a key process in learning and memory.

What is the working memory model?

A model of short-term memory involving different systems like the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

What is the central executive?

The part of working memory that controls attention and coordinates information.

What is the phonological loop?

A system in working memory that processes spoken and written information.

What is the visuospatial sketchpad?

A system in working memory that processes visual and spatial information.

What is long-term memory?

The storage of information over an extended period of time.

What is the multi-store model?

A model that explains memory as having three stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

What is sensory memory?

The initial stage where sensory information is briefly stored.

What is echoic memory?

A type of sensory memory for sounds.

What is iconic memory?

A type of sensory memory for visual information.

What is automatic processing?

The unconscious encoding of information without effort.

What is effortful processing?

Encoding information with conscious effort and attention.

What is structural encoding?

Encoding information based on its physical structure, like how something looks.

What is phonemic encoding?

Encoding based on the sound of information.

What is semantic encoding?

Encoding based on the meaning of information.

What are mnemonic devices?

Memory aids or strategies that help improve recall.

What is the method of loci?

A mnemonic technique that involves visualizing items to be remembered in specific locations.

What is chunking?

Grouping information into smaller, manageable units.

What are categories in memory?

Organizing information into groups based on shared features.

What are hierarchies in memory?

Organizing information into a series of levels or categories.

What is the spacing effect?

The tendency for spaced-out study sessions to improve long-term memory.

What is massed practice?

Studying in a single, continuous session, often less effective for long-term retention.

What is distributed practice?

Spacing out study sessions for better retention.

What is the serial position effect?

The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list better than the middle ones.

What is the primacy effect?

The tendency to remember the first items in a list.

What is the recency effect?

The tendency to remember the last items in a list.

What is short-term memory?

The temporary storage system for information we are actively thinking about.

What is maintenance rehearsal?

Repetition of information to keep it in short-term memory.

What is elaborative rehearsal?

Connecting new information to existing knowledge to help encode it into long-term memory.

What is autobiographical memory?

Memory for personal life events.

What is retrograde amnesia?

Memory loss for events that occurred before a trauma.

What is anterograde amnesia?

Memory loss for events after a trauma, making it hard to form new memories.

What is Alzheimer's disease?

A progressive disease that destroys memory and cognitive function.

What is infantile amnesia?

The inability to remember events from early childhood.

What is recall in memory?

Retrieving information from memory without any cues.

What is recognition in memory?

Identifying information as familiar when presented with it.

What are retrieval cues?

Clues that help trigger the retrieval of memories.

What is context-dependent memory?

The tendency to remember information better when in the same environment as when it was learned.

What is mood-congruent memory?

The tendency to recall memories that match your current mood.

What is state-dependent memory?

Memory retrieval is improved when you're in the same state as when the memory was formed.

What is the testing effect?

The phenomenon where taking tests improves memory retention.

What is metacognition?

Thinking about your own thinking or memory processes.

What is the forgetting curve?

The decline of memory retention over time.

What is encoding failure?

The failure to store information in long-term memory.

What is proactive interference?

Older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer ones.

What is retroactive interference?

Newer memories interfere with the retrieval of older ones.

What is inadequate retrieval?

Failing to retrieve information despite it being stored in memory.

What is repression?

The unconscious blocking of painful or disturbing memories.

What is the misinformation effect?

When memories are altered by misleading information.

What is source amnesia?

Forgetting where or how you learned certain information.

What is constructive memory?

The process of filling in gaps in memories with information that seems plausible.

What is memory consolidation?

The process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories.

What is imagination inflation?

The phenomenon where imagining an event makes it seem more likely to have happened.