Key Terms

Attention

The process of focusing mental resources on specific information while ignoring other information.

Selective Attention

The ability to focus on one task or event while filtering out distractions.

Dichotic Listening Task

A method used to study attention where different messages are played in each ear.

Cocktail Party Effect

The ability to focus on a conversation while still detecting personally relevant stimuli like one's name.

Broadbent’s Filter Theory

An early selection model stating that attention filters information based on physical characteristics before processing meaning.

Treisman’s Attenuation Theory

Suggests that unattended information is weakened but still processed for meaning if relevant.

Late-Selection Theory (Deutsch & Deutsch)

Proposes that all information is processed for meaning before selective attention occurs.

Kahneman’s Capacity Model of Attention

Suggests that attention is a limited resource allocated based on task complexity and personal interest.

Automatic Processing

Cognitive tasks performed with little or no effort due to practice.

Controlled Processing

Effortful cognitive tasks requiring attention and mental resources.

Stroop Effect

Demonstrates automaticity of reading where naming ink color of incongruent words is difficult.

Divided Attention

The ability to perform multiple tasks simultaneously, depending on automaticity and resource demands.

Psychological Refractory Period (PRP)

The delay in response when two tasks require attention simultaneously.

Spatial Attention

Focusing attention on a specific location to enhance perception.

Feature Integration Theory (Treisman)

Suggests object perception occurs in two stages: preattentive and focused attention.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to perceive a visible stimulus when attention is directed elsewhere.

Change Blindness

The failure to detect large changes in a visual scene when disrupted.

Hemineglect (Sensory Neglect)

A disorder caused by parietal lobe damage leading to ignoring one side of the visual field.

Event-Related Potentials (ERP)

EEG recordings used to study how attention affects neural processing.

Encoding

The process of converting information into a form that can be stored and retrieved later.

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

Retrieval

Accessing and bringing stored information back into conscious awareness.

Forgetting

The failure to retrieve information from memory, which can be due to decay, interference, or retrieval failure.

Atkinson & Shiffrin Modal Model

A model proposing three stages of memory: sensory, short-term, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

The very brief storage of sensory information before it is processed further.

Iconic Memory

A form of sensory memory that retains visual information for a fraction of a second.

Echoic Memory

A form of sensory memory that retains auditory information for several seconds.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

A memory system that holds information for about 20-30 seconds unless actively rehearsed.

Working Memory

A system that involves active processing and manipulation of information in short-term storage.

Chunking

A strategy to improve STM capacity by grouping information into meaningful units.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than those in the middle.

Primacy Effect

Better recall for items presented at the beginning of a list due to long-term storage.

Recency Effect

Better recall for items at the end of a list due to short-term memory.

Proactive Interference

When old information interferes with the recall of new information.

Retroactive Interference

When new information disrupts the recall of old information.

Retrieval Cues

Stimuli that help in accessing stored memories.

Encoding Specificity Principle

The idea that memory is best retrieved in the context it was learned.

Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve

A graph showing that memory loss is rapid at first but slows over time.

Rehearsal

The process of actively repeating or thinking about information to extend its duration in memory.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information in its original form to keep it in short-term memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Associating new information with existing knowledge to enhance long-term storage.

Semantic Memory

A type of long-term memory that stores general knowledge and facts.

Episodic Memory

A type of long-term memory that stores personal experiences and events.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory that stores skills and habits.

Implicit Memory

Unconscious memory that influences behavior without conscious awareness.

Explicit Memory

Conscious recollection of factual information or events.

Retrieval Failure

The inability to access stored memories due to missing retrieval cues.

Decay Theory

The hypothesis that memory fades over time if not used.

Interference Theory

The idea that competing memories cause forgetting.

Levels-of-Processing Theory

A model suggesting that memory retention depends on the depth of cognitive processing.

Incidental Learning

Learning that occurs without deliberate intention, often studied to understand unconscious memory retention.

Semantic Processing

A deep level of processing that involves encoding the meaning of information, leading to stronger and longer-lasting memory.

Acoustic Processing

An intermediate level of processing focused on encoding information based on sound or phonetics.

Physical Processing

A shallow level of processing that involves encoding information based on its visual or structural features.

Elaborative Encoding

A method of memory enhancement that involves making meaningful associations between new information and existing knowledge.

Reconstructive Memory

The theory that memories are actively reconstructed rather than simply retrieved, leading to potential distortions.

Schema

A mental framework or structure that helps organize and interpret information, influencing how memories are encoded and retrieved.

Autobiographical Memory

Memory for personal life events and experiences that contribute to an individual’s sense of self.

Flashbulb Memory

Exceptionally vivid and detailed memories of significant emotional events, though often subject to inaccuracy.

Eyewitness Testimony

The recall of events by witnesses, which can be highly unreliable due to memory distortion and external influences.

Memory Distortion

The alteration or modification of memories due to suggestion, misinformation, or personal biases.

False Memories

The phenomenon of recalling events that never actually occurred, often due to suggestion or confabulation.

Misinformation Effect

A form of memory distortion where post-event information alters the memory of the original event.

Source Monitoring Error

A memory error in which a person misattributes the origin of a memory, confusing real and imagined events.

Amnesia

A condition involving partial or complete memory loss, typically resulting from brain damage, disease, or psychological trauma.

Anterograde Amnesia

A type of amnesia characterized by the inability to form new long-term memories following brain injury.

Retrograde Amnesia

A condition where an individual loses memories from before the onset of amnesia, often affecting recent memories more.

Hippocampus

A critical brain structure involved in the consolidation of long-term memories and spatial navigation.

Retrieval Cues

Stimuli that facilitate the recall of stored information by triggering associated memories.

Semantic Memory

A form of long-term memory responsible for storing general knowledge, concepts, and facts.

Episodic Memory

A type of long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific personal events and experiences.

Procedural Memory

A form of implicit memory that enables the recall of motor skills and habitual actions, such as riding a bike.

Priming

An unconscious process where prior exposure to a stimulus influences response to a related stimulus later.

Consolidation

The process by which short-term memories become stabilized and stored in long-term memory, often requiring sleep and repetition.

Retrieval Failure

The inability to access stored information due to the absence of appropriate retrieval cues or interference from other memories.

Interference Theory

The concept that forgetting occurs due to competing information, categorized into proactive and retroactive interference.

Proactive Interference

A type of interference where older memories disrupt the ability to learn and remember new information.

Retroactive Interference

A type of interference where newly acquired information hinders the recall of previously learned material.

Chunking

A cognitive strategy that enhances memory capacity by grouping related information into meaningful units.

Retrieval Practice

A learning technique that strengthens memory by actively recalling information rather than simply re-reading it.

Dual-Coding Theory

A theory suggesting that memory is enhanced when information is encoded using both verbal and visual formats.

Mnemonics

Memory aids, such as acronyms or visualization techniques, that facilitate information retention and retrieval.

Context-Dependent Memory

The phenomenon where recall is improved when the retrieval environment is similar to the encoding environment.

State-Dependent Memory

The concept that memory recall is more effective when an individual's physiological or emotional state is similar to when the memory was encoded.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to better remember items at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) of a list.

Self-Reference Effect

The tendency to remember information better when it is personally relevant or connected to oneself.