PSY 200 Exam 2 Review Sheet (6th Edition) - Chapter 6: Memory

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from the PSY 200 Exam 2 Review Sheet (6th edition) covering Chapter 6: Memory and the Seven Sins of Memory.

Memory

The constructive and malleable process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information over time.

Encoding

The process of transforming what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory.

Storage

The process of maintaining information in memory over time.

Retrieval

The process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored.

Visual Imagery Encoding

The process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures.

Semantic Encoding

The process of relating new information in a meaningful way to knowledge that is already stored in memory.

Organizational Encoding

The process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items.

Sensory Memory

A type of memory storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.

Short-Term Memory

A type of memory storage that holds non-sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute.

Long-Term Memory

A type of memory storage that holds information for hours, days, weeks, or years with virtually unlimited capacity.

Iconic Memory

A fast-decaying store of visual sensory information.

Echoic Memory

A fast-decaying store of auditory sensory information.

1960 Sperling Experiment

An experiment by George Sperling demonstrating the large capacity and rapid decay of sensory memory using iconic visual stimuli and partial-report procedures.

Rehearsal

The process of keeping information in short-term memory by mentally repeating it.

Chunking

Combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in short-term memory.

Working Memory

An active maintenance and manipulation of information in short-term storage.

Primacy Effect

The tendency to show better recall for items presented at the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

The tendency to show better recall for items presented at the end of a list.

Serial Position Effect

The observation that the first and last items in a list are remembered better than items in the middle.

Anterograde Amnesia

The inability to transfer new information from the short-term store into the long-term store.

Retrograde Amnesia

The inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, typically the date of an injury or surgery.

Hippocampus

The brain structure critical for moving information from short-term memory to long-term memory store; damaged in anterograde amnesia.

Consolidation

The process by which memories become stable and persistent in the brain.

Reconsolidation

The process in which retrieved memories must be consolidated again, during which they can become vulnerable to disruption or updating.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

A persistent strengthening of synapses based on recent patterns of activity, representing physical changes in the brain resulting from learning.

Retrieval Cues

External or internal information associated with stored memory that helps bring it to mind.

Encoding Specificity Principle

The idea that a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps re-create the specific way in which information was initially encoded.

State-Dependent Retrieval

The tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same physiological or psychological state during encoding and retrieval.

Explicit Memory

The act of consciously or intentionally retrieving past experiences and information.

Implicit Memory

The influence of past experiences on later behavior and performance, even without conscious awareness or effort.

Procedural Memory

A type of implicit memory that involves motor skills and habits (knowing how to do things).

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

An enhanced ability to think of or identify a stimulus as a result of a recent exposure to that stimulus.

Transience

Forgetting that occurs with the passage of time.

Forgetting Curve

A pattern identified by Hermann Ebbinghaus showing that forgetting is rapid at first and then levels off over time.

Retroactive Interference

Situations in which later learning impairs memory for information acquired earlier.

Proactive Interference

Situations in which earlier learning impairs memory for information acquired later.

Absentmindedness

A lapse in attention that results in memory failure, often caused by lack of attention or divided attention during encoding.

Prospective Memory

Remembering to do things in the future.

Blocking

A temporary failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it.

Memory Misattribution

Assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source.

Source Memory

Recall of when, where, and how information was acquired.

Suggestibility

The tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections.

Loftus Studies

Experiments by Elizabeth Loftus demonstrating how false memories can be created and how recovered memories can sometimes be inaccurate.

Bias

The distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences.

Persistence

The intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget.

Flashbulb Memories

Detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking or emotionally significant events.

Amygdala

The part of the brain responsible for emotional processing and creating strong memories for emotional events.