Memory
Persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information
What are the three steps for Memory?
Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval
Encoding
The processing of information into the memory system
Storage
the retention of encoded information over time
Retrieval
the process of getting information out of memory
Sensory Memory
the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system (senses)
Working memory
focuses more on the processing of briefly stored information
Short-Term Memory
activated memory that holds a few items briefly
Long-Term Memory
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system
Automatic Processing
unconscious encoding of incidental information
Effortful Processing
requires attention and conscious effort
Rehearsal
Conscious repetition of information (to maintain it in consciousness to encode for storage.)
Herman Ebbinghaus
Used nonsense syllables to test memory (helped us studying the encoding process) (Made the "forgetting curve".)
Spacing Effect
distributed practice yields better long term retention than massed practice.
Serial Position Effect
tendency to recall best the first and/or last items in a list.
Semantic Encoding
encoding of meaning (ex. meaning of words)
Acoustic Encoding
encoding of sound (ex. sound of words)
Visual Encoding
encoding of picture images
Imagery
mental pictures
Mnemonics
memory aids
Chunking
organizing times into familiar, manageable units (ex. horizontal organization and Acronyms)
Hierarchies
complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and subcategories
Iconic Memory
a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli (used for retaining information)
Echoic Memory
momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli (retaining information)
Storage in Short-Term Memory
limited in duration and capacity. (Magical Number: 7 +/- 2)
Long-term potentiation
increase in synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation
Engram
theorized physical or chemical memory trace in the brain
Karl Lashley
psychologist who studied rat brains and memory
Explicit memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare (declarative memory)
hippocampus
neural center in limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage
Implicit memory
retention independent of conscious recollection (unintentional) (also called procedural memory)
Recall
measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier (ex. fill-in-the blank test)
Recognition
measure of memory in which the person has only to identify items previously learned (ex. multiple-choice test)
Relearning
memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material a second time
Priming
activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
Deja Vu (French; wee wee bon door. John es C qua)
already seen. Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier similar experience.
Flashbulb Memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Mood-congruent Memory
tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current mood
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
Forgetting
information never enters the long-term memroy
Ebbinghaus forgetting curve
over 30 days, initially very rapid (first 3 days), then levels off with time
Proactive Interference
disruptive effect of prior learning on recall of new information
Retroactive interference
disruptive effect of new learning on recall of old information
Retrograde amnesia
loss of information that was learned before the onset of amnesia
Anterograde amnesia
inability to learn new information after the onset of amnesia
Motivated Forgetting
people unknowingly revise memories
Repression
defense mechanisms that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Transience
losing access to information across time because of forgetting, interference or retrieval failure
Absent-mindedness
failure to remember information and activities because of lack of attention during encoding
Blocking
temporary retrieval failure (tip of the tongue state)
Misattribution
remembering a fact correctly but attributing it to incorrect source
Suggestibility
incorporating information provided by others into your own recollections
Bias
distorting recollections to reflect particular knowledge, beliefs and feelings
Persistence
inability to forget traumatic memories
Misinformation Effect
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
Source Amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event that we experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (misattribution)
False Memory Syndrome
condition in which a person's identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of traumatic experience
Thinking
mental activity that is involved in understanding manipulating and communications about information
Problem Solving
requires paying attention to relevant information (not getting side-tracked by irrelevant information) - attending to key information
Concept
a mental category used to class together objects, relations, events, abstractions, or qualities where they have common properties
Prototype
a concept that serves as a good example of a certain category
Exemplar
a specific example (a collie is a dog)
Positive instance
a specific example of what a concept is (a collie)
Negative instance
a specific example of what a concept is not (a cat)
algorithm
a specific procedure for solving a type of problem that works every time if used correctly
Heuristic
a "rule of thumb" approach to solving problems that works most of the time
Means-end analysis
specific type of heuristic where we try to solve a problem by evaluating the difference between the goal and our current situation and then lessening the difference between the two
Representativeness heuristic
where people make snap judgment about samples according to the populations they appear to represent (stereotypes)
Availability heuristic
our estimates of frequency of events is based on the easy availability of examples
Analogies
a partial similarity among things that are different in other ways
Analogy heuristic
refer to an earlier problem and apply that solution to a new problem (try what worked before)
Expertise
practice and familiarity with the type of problem reduced solution time
Mental set
solving a problem with an approach that was successful with a similar problem
Insight
a seemingly sudden perception of relationships in a new perceptual field, when actually it is the result of mental trial and error
Cognitive maps
mental representations or pictures of elements in a learning situation that allows for problem solving
Latent learning
learning which lies dormant until called upon (we may have made a cognitive map but don't know it until we need to use it to solve a problem
Incubation
putting a problem "on the back burner" and later the solution appears
Functional Fixedness
the tendency to view an object in terms of its name or use (a brush is for brushing hair, not for being a back scratcher or an orchestra baton)
Overconfidence
overestimating the accuracy of one's beliefs and judgments
creativity
the ability to generate novel (new) solutions to problems (see old things in new ways)
Convergent thinking
narrowing down to single best solution
Divergent thinking
generate multiple solutions to problems
Deductive reasoning
a form of reasoning about arguments in which occlusions are drawn from premises; to go from the general down to the particular
Inductive reasoning
a form of reasoning in which we reason form individual cases and particular facts to a larger, general conclusion (to go form particular to general)
Framing Effect
the influence of wording, or phrasing, or the context in which you present information
Belief bias
the tendency for one's preexisting beliefs to distort logical reasoning
Belief perseverance
clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited
Language
the communication of information by means of symbols arranged according to rules of grammar
Semanticity
the "meaning" of sounds or signs that includes actions, objects, relational concepts and abstract ideas
Infinite creativity
the capacity to combine words into original sentences that are produced by the individual, and not just imitated.
displacement
the ability to communicate information about events or objects form another time or place, not just the here and now or what's right in front of you.
Phoneme
a basic sound (there are 40 of these in the English language)
Morpheme
the smallest unit of meaning
Grammar
a system of rules in a language that enables us to communicate with and understand others
Syntax
the word order of language; based on that language's rules of grammar.
Semantics
the meaning of words
Surface structure (of language)
the superficial, obvious, literal construction of a sentence
Deep structure
the deeps, or underlying meaning of the sentence. (The surface can be essentially identical, but the deep structure can be completely different)
Babbling Stage
(beginning at 3 to 4 months) the stage of speech development in which the infant spontaneously utter various sounds at first unrelated to the household language
One-word stage
from about age 1 to 2; the stage in speech development during which a child speaks mostly in single words