the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
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Episodic Memory
experience, something happens
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Flashbulb Memory
clarity of memory of surprising, significant events
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Generic Memory
general knowledge
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Procedural Memory
skills
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Encoding
the processing of information into the memory system
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Storage
the retention of encoded material over time
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Sensory Memory
brief retention of sensory info
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Short Term Memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly
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Long Term Memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
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Automatic Processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information (space, time, frequency) and well learned information (word meanings); can be learned
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Effortful Processing
requires attention and conscious effort
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Rehearsal
conscious repetition of information to maintain it in consciousness and encode it for storage
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Herman Ebbinghaus
more times practiced on the first day, fewer repetitions to relearn the next day; no meaning, forgotten almost immediately
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Spacing Effect
distributed practice yields better long term retention than massed practice
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Serial Position Effect
tendency to recall best the first (primary effect) and the last (recency effect) items in a list
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Next In Line Effect
when you are next, you focus on your performance unable to recall what was said just before you
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Visual Encoding
the encoding of picture images
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Acoustic Encoding
the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
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Semantic Encoding
the encoding of meanings of words
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Imagery
mental pictures, a powerful and effortful processing especially when combined with semantic encoding
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Mnemonics
memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
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Chunking
organizing items into familiar manageable units; often occurs automatically, like the use of acronyms
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Hierarchies
complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories
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Iconic Memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
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Echoic Memory
momentary sensory memory of an auditory stimuli; can be recalled within 3-4 seconds
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Long Term Memory
MRI scan of hippocampus reveals activity when forming memory
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Storage
no one spot in the brain; when learning occurs, more neurotransmitters are released (serotonin)
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Synaptic Changes - Long Term Potentiation
increase in synapses firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation
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Kandel and Schwartz
when learning occurs, more serotonin is released into synapses
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Strong Emotions
make for stronger memories; some stress hormones boost learning and retention
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Explicit Memory
memory of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and declare
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Implicit Memory
retention without conscious recollection
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Recall
the ability to retrieve info learned earlier and not in conscious awareness
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Recognition
the ability to identify previously learned items
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Relearning
amount of time saved when relearning previously learned information
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Priming
activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations on memory
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Reconstructive Memory
memory without remembering; making up a memory
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Deja Vu
cues from current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience
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Mood Congruent Memory
tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current mood
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State Dependent Memory
what is learned in one state (while one is high, drunk, or depressed) can more easily be remembered when in the same state
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Forgetting
can result from failure to retrieve information from long term memory
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Absent Mindedness
inattention to detail
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Transience
(storage decay) unused information fades over time, then levels off
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Blocking
(retrieval failure) cannot get information out
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Misattribution
confusing the source of the information
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Suggestibility
lingering effects of misinformation
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Bias
(motivated forgetting) revise past
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Persistence
unwanted memories
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Interference
learning some items may disrupt the retrieval of other info
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Proactive Interference
disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new info
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Retroactive Interference
disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old information
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Positive Transfer
sometimes old information facilitates our learning of new information
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Forgetting
can occur at any memory stage as we process information, we filter, alter, or lose much of it
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Amnesia
loss of memory usually due to brain damage
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Retrograde Amnesia
can’t remember accident
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Anterograde Amnesia
can’t form new memories
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Misinformation Effect
incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event
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Source Amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event that we experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined
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False Memory Syndrome
condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of a traumatic event
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Cognition
mental activity associated with processing, understanding, and communicating information
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Cognitive Psychology
the study of these mental activities
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Symbol
an object that stands for something else
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Concept
mental grouping of similar objects, events, or people
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Prototype
the best example of a category
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Problem Solving
identify problem → gather information → try a solution → evaluate results
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Algorithm
methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem
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Heuristic
rule of thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently
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Representativeness Heuristic
a rule of thumb for judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they match our prototype
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Availability Heuristic
Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in our memory
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Insight
sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem
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Mental Set
tendency to approach a problem in a particular way; especially in a way that has been successful in the past but may or may not be helpful in solving a new problem
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Functional Fixedness
tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions
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Belief Bias
the tendency for one’s preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning
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Belief Perseverance
clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
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Confirmation Bias
need to confirm our ideas
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Fixation
inability to see a problem from a fresh perspective
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Overconfident
tendency to be more confident than correct
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Framing
the way an issue is posed
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Language
our spoken, written, or gestured words and the way we combine them to communicate meaning
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Phonemes
the smallest distinctive sound unit in a language
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Morphemes
the smallest unit that carries meaning in a language (can be part of a word like a suffix or a prefix)
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Semantics
the set of rules by which we derive meaning in language
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Syntax
the rules for combining words into grammatically sensible sentences
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Crying, Cooing, Babbling Stage
not considered a true language; do not use symbols with specific meanings
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Crying
verbal expression for newborn infants (gets attention)
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Cooing
2nd month, ooh and ahs, seems to be an expression of pleasure
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Babbling
6th month, sounds of speech, 9-10 months pick out phonemes used by people around them
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Words
slowly develop, 3-4 months - first word
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Overextension
use words incorrectly
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Development of Grammar
use one word for several ideas
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Overregularization
learned to add an “ed” for past tense
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B.F. Skinner
explained language development through social learning theory: imitation, reinforcement, and association
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Noam Chomsky
inborn universal grammar; acquire language too fast for it to be learned
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Language Acquisition Device (LAD)
Noam Chomsky’s learning box inside our brains that enable us to learn any human language
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Whorf’s Linguistic Relativity
the idea that language determines the way we think