Cognition, Memory, and Language

memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Hermann Ebbinghaus

the first person to study memory scientifically and systematically; used nonsense syllables and recorded how many times he had to study a list to remember it well

Frontal Lobe

Houses Short term memories: semantic and episodic

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Cerebellum (memory)

Forms and stores implicit memories
((classical conditioning))

Basal Ganglia (memory)

procedural memory

Amygdala (memory)

Boosts activity in memory-forming areas to fight/flight

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Flashbulb Memory

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Semantic Memory

A network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world

Episodic Memory

The collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Echoic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

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

Anterograde Amnesia

An inability to form new memories

Retrograde Amnesia

An inability to retrieve information from one's past

Elizabeth Loftus

Her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony

Concepts

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Creativity

The ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Grammar

In a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others

Language

Our spoken, written, or signed words and the ways we combine them to communicate meaning

Receptive Language

Ability to understand what is being said

Aphasia

Impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding).

Critical Period

A specific time in development when certain skills or abilities are most easily learned

Noam Chomsky

Theorist who believed that humans have an inborn or "native" propensity to develop language

Sensory Memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Short term memory (working memory)

The memory system in which information is held for brief periods of time while being used

Long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Relearning

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

Implicit Memory

Memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare"

Automatic Memory

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

Parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Encoding

• getting info into our memory system/brains (left to right)

  • Sensory Store —> Short Term

  • Short Term —> Long Term

Storage

Retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

• Getting out/moving information out of memory storage (right to left)

  • Long Term —> Short Term

A memory model which suggests that memory is formed through three processes:

Encoding, storage, and retrieval

Context dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.

State-dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

Mood Congruence

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

Serial position effect

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

Reconsolidation

Neural processes involved when memories are recalled and then stored again for later retrieval

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

Source Amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined

Components of creativity

1. Expertise
2. Imaginative thinking skills
3. A venturesome personality
4. Intrinsic motivation
5. A creative environment

Divergent Thinking

Expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

Convergent Thinking

Narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Algorithmic Thinking

The process of solving problems using a series of steps.

Heuristics

Mental rules of thumb that subjects develop to help make sense of the world around them

Mental Set

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Confirmation Bias

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Fixation

The inability to see a problem from a new perspective, by employing a different mental set

Representative Heuristic

Occurs when we estimate the probability of an event based on how similar it is to a known situation

Availability Heuristic

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

Framing

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect decisions and judgments.

Belief Perseverene

Clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Proactive Interference

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information —> Prior learning disrupts your recall of new information

Retroactive Interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information —> new information disrupts recall of old information

Phonemes

In a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit (“b”)

Morphemes

In a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning (“oo”); may be a word or part of a word (such as a prefix)

Shallow Processing

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

Deep Processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention —> the more deeper/meaningful, the better our retention

Effortful Memory

• Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort