Psc 100

Selective Attention

Focusing on a specific stimulus while ignoring competing information.

Dichotic Listening

Hearing different messages in each ear to study selective attention.

Shadowing

Repeating an attended message aloud as it is heard.

Signal Detection Theory

Framework for distinguishing a target signal from background noise.

Hit

Correctly reporting that a signal is present.

Miss

Failing to detect a signal that is present.

False Alarm

Reporting a signal when none is present.

Correct Rejection

Correctly reporting that a signal is absent.

Response Criterion

Decision threshold for reporting that a signal is present.

Liberal Criterion

Lower decision threshold that generally increases hits and false alarms.

Conservative Criterion

Higher decision threshold that generally decreases hits and false alarms.

Sensitivity (d′)

Ability to distinguish a target signal from noise.

Vigilance

Sustained attention to detect targets over time.

Inattentional Blindness

Failing to notice an unexpected stimulus while attention is elsewhere.

Change Blindness

Failing to notice a change between scenes or displays.

Early Selection

Filtering information before extensive processing of meaning.

Late Selection

Filtering information after some processing of meaning.

Spatial Attention

Directing attention toward a particular location.

Covert Attention

Shifting attention without moving the eyes.

Divided Attention

Attempting to allocate attention to multiple tasks.

Executive Control

Processes that regulate goals and planning and inhibition and task switching.

Automaticity

Performing a practiced task with relatively little conscious effort.

Stroop Effect

Interference when word meaning conflicts with the required ink-color response.

Encoding

Transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory.

Storage

Maintaining information in memory over time.

Retrieval

Accessing information previously stored in memory.

Explicit Memory

Memory involving conscious recollection.

Implicit Memory

Memory demonstrated through performance without conscious recollection.

Episodic Memory

Conscious memory of personal events and their context.

Semantic Memory

Memory for facts and concepts and general knowledge.

Procedural Memory

Memory for learned skills and actions.

Free Recall

Remembering studied information without specific retrieval cues.

Cued Recall

Retrieving information with the help of a hint.

Serial Recall

Remembering items in their original order.

Recognition

Identifying previously encountered information when it is presented.

Modal Model

Model describing sensory memory and short-term memory and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

Very brief retention of incoming sensory information.

Iconic Memory

Brief visual sensory memory.

Echoic Memory

Brief auditory sensory memory.

Working Memory

Limited active maintenance and manipulation of information.

Long-Term Memory

Relatively enduring storage of knowledge and experiences.

Primacy Effect

Better recall of early list items often linked to rehearsal.

Recency Effect

Better recall of the final items in a list.

Chunking

Grouping separate items into meaningful units to aid memory.

Digit Span

Task measuring how many digits can be recalled in sequence.

Central Executive

Directs attention and coordinates working memory processes.

Articulatory Loop

Maintains verbal information through rehearsal.

Phonological Store

Briefly holds speech-based or acoustic information.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Maintains and processes visual and spatial information.

Episodic Buffer

Integrates information from different sources into a unified representation.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information to keep it active in memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Linking new information to meaning and existing knowledge.

Depth of Processing

How meaningfully information is processed during encoding.

Shallow Processing

Encoding based mainly on superficial features.

Deep Processing

Encoding focused on meaning and associations.

Retrieval Path

An associative connection that helps access stored information.

Context-Dependent Learning

Better retrieval when learning and testing contexts match.

Context Reinstatement

Mentally re-creating the original learning circumstances.

Encoding Specificity

Retrieval improves when cues match information encoded during learning.

Memory Network

Interconnected concepts represented by nodes and associative links.

Spreading Activation

Activation traveling between connected concepts in memory.

Semantic Priming

Faster processing of a concept after exposure to a related concept.

Lexical-Decision Task

Deciding whether a presented letter string is a real word.

Familiarity

Feeling that something was encountered before without recalling details.

Source Memory

Remembering where or when or how information was encountered.

Processing Fluency

The ease with which information is processed.

False Fame Effect

Mistaking previously encountered unfamiliar names for famous ones.

Anterograde Amnesia

Difficulty forming new long-term memories after brain damage.

Repetition Priming

Improved processing of a stimulus after previous exposure.

Reconstructive Memory

Rebuilding memories using stored details and associations and prior knowledge.

Intrusion Error

Mistakenly recalling information that was not part of an event.

Pragmatic Inference

Remembering an implied detail as though it was explicitly stated.

DRM Paradigm

Related word lists produce false recall of an unpresented theme word.

Schema

Knowledge about what is typical of a situation or event or location.

Memory Regularization

Reconstructing memories to match expectations or typical patterns.

Misinformation Effect

Distortion of memory after exposure to misleading post-event information.

Eyewitness Misidentification

Incorrectly identifying someone as a person witnessed during an event.

Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory

Unusually extensive recall of personal life events.