Chapters 5-7 Exam #2 Review

Selective attention

The skill through which a person focuses on one input or one task while ignoring other stimuli that are also on the scene.

Dichotic listening

A task in which research participants hear two simultaneous verbal messages, one presented to the left ear and a second to the right ear, with a focus on one input.

Attended channel

A stimulus that a person is trying to perceive, where information is understood or remembered.

Unattended channel

A stimulus that a person is not trying to perceive, where little information is understood or remembered.

Shadowing

A task where participants repeat back a verbal input word for word as they hear it.

Early selection

A proposal that selective attention operates at an early stage of processing, leaving unattended inputs with little analysis.

Late selection

A proposal that selective attention operates at a late stage of processing, allowing considerable analysis of unattended inputs.

Fixation target

A visual mark at which participants point their eyes, helping to control eye position.

Inattentional blindness

A pattern where perceivers seem not to see stimuli right in front of their eyes due to focus on another stimulus.

Change blindness

A pattern where perceivers do not notice or take time to see large-scale changes in a visual stimulus.

Spatial attention

The mechanism through which people allocate processing resources to specific positions in space.

Biased competition theory

A proposal that attention shifts neurons’ properties, making them more responsive to relevant inputs.

Limited capacity system

Processes in which mental resources are limited, requiring balance when allocating resources to one process over another.

Mental resources

Processes or capacities needed for performance, but available in limited supply.

Endogenous control of attention

A mechanism through which a person chooses where to focus attention based on meaningful signals.

Exogenous control of attention

A mechanism directing attention automatically to attention-grabbing inputs.

Feature integration theory

A proposal on how attention functions in combining elements and features in view.

Divided attention

The skill of performing multiple tasks simultaneously.

Executive control

Processes used to set goals, choose task priorities, and manage responses among competing habits.

Preservation error

A behavioral pattern where a person repeatedly produces the same response despite needing to change.

Goal neglect

A pattern where people fail to keep their goal in mind and rely on habitual responses.

Automaticity

A state in which some tasks can be performed with little or no attention, often described as mental reflexes.

Stroop interference

A demonstration of automaticity where participants must name the color of ink while ignoring the word itself.

Acquisition

The process of placing new information into long-term memory.

Storage

The state of a memory remaining until it is retrieved, often viewed as a dormant process.

Retrieval

The process of locating and activating information in memory for use.

Modal model

A conception of memory architecture portraying working memory as both the storage site and the loading dock for long-term memory.

Sensory memory

A form of memory that holds just-seen or just-heard input in its raw sensory form.

Short term memory

An older term for what is now called working memory.

Chunking

Hypothetical storage units in working memory estimated to hold 7 plus-or-minus 2 chunks.

Working memory

The storage system where information is held while actively processed.

Free recall procedure

A method for testing memory where participants respond to broad cues and name relevant items in any order.

Primacy effect

An advantage in remembering early-presented materials in a sequence.

Recency effect

The tendency to remember items that occur late in a series.

Serial position

A pattern relating performance measures to the order of presented test materials.

Memory rehearsal

Mental activities that maintain information in working memory, including maintenance and relational rehearsal.

Digit-span task

A task to measure working memory's storage capacity by recalling a sequence of digits.

7 plus-or-minus 2

An estimate of the number of items working memory can contain.

Operation span

A measure of working memory's capacity predictive of performance in other tasks.

Working memory capacity

A measure derived from operation span tasks indicating a person's ability to store and work with materials simultaneously.

Working memory system

A system of mental resources used for holding information in an accessible form.

Articulatory rehearsal loop

A low-level assistant in working memory controlling subvocalized speech to maintain a record.

Subvocalization

Covert speech that creates a motor plan for speech movements without making sound.

Phonological buffer

A passive storage system holding an internal echo of recently heard or self-produced sounds.

Visuospatial buffer

A low-level assistant in working memory for storing visual or spatial representations.

Central executive

A component of working memory coordinating cognitive processes like attention and decision-making.

Episodic buffer

A component of working memory integrating information from different modalities for temporary storage.

Concurrent articulation task

Miming speech while performing another task to prevent subvocalization.

Maintenance rehearsal

A rote process where items are continually cycled through working memory by repetition.

Relational (or elaborative) rehearsal

A form of processing involving connections among ideas that guide memory search.

Intentional learning

Acquisition of memories with the knowledge that a memory test will follow.

Incidental learning

Learning occurring without the intention to learn or expectation of a memory test.

Shallow processing

Thinking focused on appearances and superficial traits, leading to poor retention.

Deep processing

Thinking focused on meaning and implications, leading to better memory retention.

Level of processing

An assessment of how deeply materials are engaged, impacting memory retention.

Retrieval paths

Connections that lead to a sought-after memory in long-term storage.

Long term memory

The storage system for all knowledge and memories not currently activated.

Depth of processing

Refers to levels at which information is processed, affecting retention.

Mnemonics

Techniques designed to improve memory accuracy and ease learning through organization.

Peg-word systems

A mnemonic strategy using words or locations as pegs for remembering material.

Context dependent memory

The tendency to better remember materials learned in a specific setting when returning to that setting.

Context reinstatement

A procedure to bring a person into the same mental state as during a previous event to promote recollection.

Mood dependent memory

People are more likely to recall information that matches their current mood.

Mood congruent memory

The tendency to recall memories consistent with one’s current emotional state.

Encoding specificity

The tendency to memorize materials along with their context, affecting future recall.

Nodes

Individual units in an associative network representing ideas or concepts.

Associations or associative links

Functional connections linking nodes in a mental network allowing activation flow.

Subthreshold activation

Activation levels below response threshold that can accumulate to trigger a response.

Summation

The addition of multiple inputs to create an effect greater than any single input.

Spreading activation

The process of activation moving from one node to another through associative links.

Semantic priming

Activation of ideas in memory that spreads to related ideas.

Semantic network

A mental structure organizing concepts and their relationships with links.

Networked nature of memory

The interconnected storage of memories allowing flexible recall of linked concepts.

Lexical decision task

A test where participants indicate whether strings of letters form words in their language.

Cryptoplagiarism

Unintentional use of someone else's ideas without acknowledgment due to memory error.

Recall vs. recongition

Recall is retrieving desired materials on cue, while recognition involves identifying previously encountered items.

Familiarity

The subjective feeling of having encountered a stimulus before, influenced by past experiences.

Source memory

The memory of the episode in which learning or stimulus encounter occurs.

Attribution

Explaining a feeling or event by identifying its causes or earlier factors.

Remember/know distinction

Distinction where 'remember' indicates recalling details of an encounter while 'know' indicates familiarity without specifics.

Word-stem completion

A task where participants provide a word starting with given letters; performance can vary.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to remember experiences occurring after the memory disruption.

Retrograde amnesia

Inability to remember experiences that occurred before the memory disruption.

Korsakoff’s syndrome

A syndrome characterized by dense anterograde amnesia, commonly found in long-term alcoholics.

Implicit memory

Memory revealed by indirect testing, influencing behavior without conscious realization.

Explicit memory

Memory revealed by direct testing, typically accompanied by conviction of recalling known information.

Direct memory testing

Testing where individuals are asked explicitly to remember a previous event.

Indirect memory testing

Testing where participants are not informed their memory is being tested, influencing behavior indirectly.

Source confusion

Memory error where one misremembers where a piece of information was learned.

Illusion of truth

An implicit memory effect where familiar claims seem more plausible.

Processing pathway

The sequence of nodes through which activation flows when recognizing a stimulus.

Processing fluency

The speed of processing involved in recognizing or thinking about a stimulus.