psych test - chapter 9 unit 8

Memory

An active system that receives, organizes, and retrieves information from the senses.

Encoding

The process of converting raw data into a meaningful form for storage in the cortex.

Storage

The holding of information for some period of time.

Retrieval

The process of getting information from storage into a usable form.

Information Processing Model

Model of memory proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin, likening memory processing to a computer's information handling in three stages.

Sensory Memory

The first stage of memory where information from senses is briefly held.

Iconic Memory

Sensory register that holds visual stimuli.

Echoic Memory

Sensory register that holds auditory stimuli; lasts longer than iconic memory.

Short-term Memory

Second stage of memory that holds information temporarily while being used.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on one stimulus among all sensory input.

Cocktail-Party Effect

The ability to focus on a single conversation in a noisy environment.

Long-Term Memory

Memory system for retaining information more or less permanently.

Chunking

The process of organizing information into manageable units to aid memory.

Maintenance Rehearsal

The practice of repeatedly verbalizing or thinking about information to maintain it in short-term memory.

Working Memory

An active system that processes information in short-term memory.

Central Executive

Part of the working memory that interprets and coordinates information.

Elaborate Rehearsal

Transferring information into long-term memory by making it meaningful.

Declarative Memory

Explicit memory that includes episodic and semantic memories.

Episodic Memory

Memory of events experienced personally.

Semantic Memory

Memory of facts and general knowledge.

Nondeclarative Memory

Implicit memory involving motor skills and conditioned reflexes.

Retrieval Cue

A stimulus for remembering that aids in the recovery of information from memory.

Encoding Specificity

The tendency for memory to be improved when related information is present during both encoding and retrieval.

State-Dependent Learning

Easier memory recall when in the same physiological or psychological state as when the memory was formed.

Context-Dependent Learning

Improved recall when in the physical surroundings similar to those when the memory was formed.

Mnemonics

Strategies that aid memory by using tricks or patterns.

Recall

A type of retrieval requiring minimal external cues to pull information from memory.

Recognition

The ability to match a stimulus to a stored image or fact.

Tip of the Tongue Phenomenon

The feeling of knowing something but being unable to retrieve it from memory.

Serial Position Effect

Enhanced recall for information presented at the beginning or end of a list.

Constructive Processing

The retrieval of memories that can be altered or influenced by new information.

Hindsight Bias

The false belief that one could have predicted an event after it has occurred.

Minimization Effect

The tendency for misleading information to distort memories of an event.

Curve of Forgetting

A graph showing rapid memory loss shortly after learning, tapering off over time.

Interference Theory

Memory retrieval problems due to the presence of competing information.

Proactive Interference

Earlier memory obstructing the retrieval of newer information.

Retroactive Interference

Newer information interfering with the retrieval of older memories.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memory for the past due to injury or trauma.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new long-term memories following an injury.

Infantile Amnesia

The inability to recall episodic memories from early childhood, typically before ages 2-3.