Cognition Exam 2 Lecture + Textbook

What is executive attention?

The ability to direct, maintain, and switch conscious attention according to goals.

What is working memory?

A limited mental workspace that temporarily holds and manipulates information.

How does working memory differ from simple short-term storage?

Working memory actively processes information; short-term storage emphasizes keeping it briefly.

What does the modal model propose?

Information passes from sensory memory through attended short-term memory to long-term memory, with retrieval back into short-term memory.

What are iconic and echoic memory?

Brief visual sensory memory and brief auditory sensory memory, respectively.

What is the central executive?

The attention-control component coordinating working-memory activities.

What is the phonological loop?

The component that temporarily maintains speech-based/verbal information through sound coding and rehearsal.

What is the visuospatial sketchpad?

The component maintaining and manipulating visual shapes and spatial locations.

What is the episodic buffer?

A limited integrative component binding information from multiple sources and long-term memory.

What is the word-length effect?

Shorter spoken words are generally recalled better than longer words because rehearsal takes less time.

What is the phonological similarity effect?

Sound-alike verbal items are harder to recall in order because their phonological codes are confusable.

What is articulatory suppression?

Repeating irrelevant speech interferes with verbal rehearsal and reduces some phonological-loop effects.

What does the irrelevant-speech effect show?

Unattended speech can disrupt verbal short-term memory.

What is chunking?

Grouping separate items into meaningful units to improve effective short-term capacity.

Why is working-memory capacity limited?

Only a small amount of information can be maintained in an accessible, active state, especially with competing demands.

What is decay in short-term memory?

A proposed weakening of memory traces over time without sufficient maintenance.

What is interference?

Other information competes with or disrupts remembering a target.

What is proactive interference?

Earlier learning interferes with newer learning.

What is retroactive interference?

New learning interferes with remembering earlier learning.

What is mind wandering?

Attention drifting away from the intended task toward unrelated thoughts.

What is ironic thought control?

Trying to suppress a thought can make the unwanted thought more accessible.

What is the difference between episodic and semantic LTM?

Episodic memory concerns experienced events; semantic memory concerns facts and knowledge.

What is explicit memory?

Memory expressed through intentional or conscious remembering.

What is implicit memory?

Effects of prior experience on performance without requiring conscious recollection.

What is procedural memory?

Long-term memory supporting learned skills and habits.

What are encoding, storage, and retrieval?

Getting information into memory, maintaining it, and accessing it later.

What is maintenance rehearsal?

Repeating information without necessarily connecting it to meaning.

What is elaborative rehearsal?

Connecting new information to meanings, examples, and existing knowledge.

What does levels-of-processing theory predict?

Meaningful semantic processing usually improves later retention more than superficial processing.

What is the self-reference effect?

Information processed in relation to oneself is often better remembered.

What is the spacing effect?

Learning spread across multiple sessions generally outperforms equivalent massed practice.

What is the testing effect?

Actively retrieving learned material strengthens later retention compared with merely rereading.

What is transfer-appropriate processing?

Memory improves when the cognitive operations at test resemble those used during learning.

What is encoding specificity?

A retrieval cue works best when it matches information or context encoded with the memory.

What is availability versus accessibility?

Availability means stored; accessibility means retrievable at that moment with available cues.

What is a remember judgment versus a know judgment?

Remembering involves recollecting details; knowing involves familiarity without detailed recollection.

What are Schacter's three sins of omission?

Transience, absent-mindedness, and blocking.

What are Schacter's four sins of commission?

Misattribution, suggestibility, bias, and persistence.

What is transience?

Memory becomes less accessible as time passes.

What is absent-mindedness?

Failures tied to inadequate attention during encoding or action.

What is blocking?

Temporary failure to retrieve stored information, such as tip-of-the-tongue.

What is misattribution?

Remembering information but assigning it to the wrong source.

What is suggestibility?

Memory altered by leading questions or misleading information.

What is memory bias?

Current expectations, beliefs, or emotions shape recollection.

What is persistence?

Unwanted memories repeatedly intrude into consciousness.

What is reconstructive memory?

Remembering by rebuilding an event from fragments, expectations, and later information rather than replaying a perfect recording.

What is a schema?

A general knowledge framework that organizes expectations and interpretation.

What is a script?

A schema about the usual order of events in a familiar situation.

What is the misinformation effect?

Misleading postevent information changes later reports of an experienced event.

What is weapon focus?

Attention to a weapon can reduce memory for other event details.

What is post-identification feedback?

Information given after a lineup choice that can inflate an eyewitness's later confidence.

What are estimator variables?

Eyewitness factors not controlled by the justice system, such as lighting or exposure duration.

What are system variables?

Eyewitness procedures controllable by investigators, such as lineup construction or instructions.

What is a false memory?

A sincerely experienced recollection of something that did not occur as remembered.

What is the DRM false-memory paradigm?

Present related words that lead people to recall or recognize a related but absent critical word.

What is gist versus verbatim memory?

Gist stores overall meaning; verbatim preserves specific details.

What is autobiographical memory?

Memory about one's own life, including personal experiences and personal facts.

How does episodic autobiographical memory differ from personal semantic memory?

Episodic includes reliving a particular event; personal semantic is knowledge about one's life without reliving an episode.

What is childhood amnesia?

Relative lack of retrievable autobiographical episodes from the earliest years of life.

What is the reminiscence bump?

Disproportionately many autobiographical memories from adolescence and early adulthood, often roughly ages 10–30.

What is a flashbulb memory?

A vivid, confident memory for circumstances surrounding learning of a surprising, emotional event.

Does flashbulb vividness guarantee accuracy?

No; confidence and vividness can remain high despite inconsistencies.

What are the three functions of autobiographical memory?

Social/communicative, emotional/self-regulatory, and directive/problem-solving functions.

What is involuntary autobiographical retrieval?

A personal memory coming to mind without deliberate searching.

How can odors cue personal memories?

Odors associated with earlier events can serve as potent retrieval cues.

What is mood-congruent memory?

Current mood makes similarly toned memories more accessible.

What is mood-dependent memory?

Retrieval may improve when internal mood at test resembles mood during encoding.