PSYCH part 1 .5 new set (less word)

sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 329)

explicit memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." (Also called declarative memory.) (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 330)

implicit memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory.) (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 331)

mnemonics [nih-MON-iks]

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 333)

semantic memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 340)

episodic memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 340)

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 340)

long-term potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 342)

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 345)

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 351)

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 351)

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 354)

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 354)

repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 355)

reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 356)

source amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 358)

prototype

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 365)

algorithm

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier—but also more error-prone—use of heuristics. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 370)

heuristic

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more errorprone than an algorithm. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 370)

representativeness heuristic

estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 372)

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. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 373)

phoneme

in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 381)

morpheme

in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 382)

telegraphic speech

early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 384)

aphasia

impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 387)

Broca's area

helps control language expression—an area of the frontal lobe, usually in the left hemisphere, that directs the muscle movements involved in speech. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 388)

Wernicke's area

a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 388)

linguistic determinism

the strong form of Whorf's hypothesis—that language controls the way we think and interpret the world around us. (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 389)

linguistic influence

the weaker form of "linguistic relativity"—the idea that language affects thought (thus our thinking and world view is "relative to" our cultural language). (Myers Psychology for AP 3e Updated p. 389)