Learning - Chapter 5 Terms

Total Time Hypothesis

• States that the amount learned is directly related to the time spent studying.

• Learning is linearly related to the amount of study conducted.

Deliberate Practice

• Involves focused engagement in activities aimed at improving specific performance facets.

• Requires immediate feedback, opportunities for incremental improvements, and problem-solving.

• Example: Musicians rehearse difficult pieces repeatedly to enhance their performance.

Distributed Practice

• Involves studying with intervals between sessions.

• Found to improve memory retention more effectively than massed practice.

• Consistently shows better results in both lab and workplace settings.

• Most effective sessions last 10-20% of the retention interval.

• Enhances retention due to interaction with the testing effect.

• Leads to faster improvement and enduring retention, despite requiring longer absolute time.

Massed Practice

• Involves studying with little to no breaks between sessions.

Deficient Processing Hypothesis

• Suggests that attention decreases for recently encountered information due to insufficient processing.

• Spacing or distributed practice may enhance attentional engagement by allowing more time for information encoding.

• Pros include substantial empirical research support; however, direct manipulations of attention to massed items lack support.

Encoding Variability

• Proposes that encoding an item in diverse environments enhances memory success.

• Mathematical models can predict outcomes.

• Not strongly supported by empirical evidence and conflicts with other memory theories.

Reminding

• Generates stronger memory retrieval for spaced (rather than massed) items due to increased effort during retrieval.

• Mathematical models correlate well with data, but more research is needed.

Testing Effect

• Indicates that devoting time to retrieving information enhances long-term memory.

• Effective across various materials and test formats.

Test-enhanced Learning

• Indicates greater learning occurs when study follows retrieval practice.

• Delayed feedback results in better performance on final tests.

Consolidation

• Describes a time-dependent process where new traces become integrated into memory, aiding long-term retention.

Implicit Memory Tests

• Stem Completion: Tests retention by providing initial letters (e.g., Ele___ for elephant).

• Word Fragment Completion Tests: Assesses memory through missing letters (e.g., c_o_e_ for closet).

Encoding Variability Hypothesis

• Similar to encoding variability but emphasizes distinct environments aiding memory.

  • Spacing (distributed)= separating words in 4 boxes, most common words in different boxes 

  • No spacing (massed)= 1 box, all 3 cat in box

Expanding Retrieval Practice

• Involves progressively increasing intervals for recalling items to enhance learning.

• New items are tested shortly after introduction; intervals extend as retention improves.

Dual-Coding Hypothesis

• Suggests items easily visualized are better encoded as images and words.

Depth of Processing

• Proposes that deeper processing leads to improved episodic memory.

• Example: Understanding vocabulary in context enhances retention.

Transfer-Appropriate Processing

• States retention is optimal when encoding and retrieval modes align.

• Example: Practicing multiple-choice questions for a multiple-choice test.

Incidental Learning

• Learning without the intention of assessment, such as skills improving through play.

Intentional Learning

• Involves purposeful studying with awareness of forthcoming assessments.

Rote/Maintenance Rehearsal

• Involves simple repetition of information (e.g., memorizing a phone number).

Elaborative Rehearsal

• Involves adding meaning to items while rehearsing (e.g., creating stories about words).

Encoding

• The process of transferring information from short-term to long-term memory through associations.

Mere Exposure Effect

• Indicates increased liking with mere exposure to a stimulus.

Cryptomnesia

• Unconsciously recalling previously encountered information when creating something new.

Schema

• Structured long-term knowledge helps in encoding and may lead to false memories.

Retrieval - Chapter 8 Terms

Retrieval

• The process of accessing information in long-term memory.

Cues

• Information pieces that prompt memory retrieval (e.g., smells, sounds).

Target Memory

• The specific memory sought during retrieval.

Association

• The connections formed between memories for easier retrieval.

Spreading Activation

• Activation spreads to related concepts, enhancing retrieval likelihood.

Encoding Specificity Principle

• States retrieval success is higher when conditions at recall match those at encoding.

Retrieval Mode

• Cognitive readiness that orients an individual towards engaging in retrieval.

Direct/Explicit Memory Tests

• Encourage participants to consciously recall past events through instructions.

Implicit Memory Tests

• Evaluates memory without prompting the participant to recall actively.

Source Monitoring

• Examining contextual origins of memories to identify their sources.

Context-Dependent Memory

• Improved recall when retrieval context matches learning context.

State-Dependent Memory

• Memory retrieval is enhanced by the individual's physical or emotional state.

Mood-Dependent Memory

• The emotional state at retrieval affects recall success.

Recall and Recognition Memory

• Examines differences in performance during free, cued recall versus recognition tests.

Signal Detection Theory

• Focuses on decision-making in recognition tasks, assessing hits and misses.

Schema & Reconstructive Memory

• Active, inferential retrieval processes where memories fill in gaps based on past experiences.

Tip-of-the-Tongue State

• A scenario where a known piece of information cannot be retrieved.

Incidental Forgetting - Chapter 9 Terms

Incidental Forgetting

• Forgetting occurs without intent.

Motivated Forgetting

• Engaging in efforts to diminish memory accessibility deliberately.

Forgetting Curve/Retention Function

• Ebbinghaus's study illustrating rapid early forgetting followed by slower retention loss.

Accessibility vs. Availability

• Accessibility: Ability to retrieve a stored memory.

• Availability: Whether a memory item is present in storage.

Interference

• Trace Decay: Gradual weakening of memories over time.

• Retroactive Interference: New memories hinder recall of older memories.

• Proactive Interference: Old memories complicate recall of new information.

Retrieval-Induced Forgetting

• Retrieval of some memories inhibits the recall of related items.

Inhibition in Retrieval-Induced Forgetting

• Suppressing related memories during focused recall efforts.

Retrieval Practice Paradigm

• Studies retrieval-induced forgetting within a controlled framework.

Motivated/Intentional Forgetting - Chapter 10 Terms

Directed Forgetting

• Instruction to forget specific information followed by later testing.

Item-Method Directed Forgetting

• Participants are instructed to forget targeted items in a list.

List-Method Directed Forgetting

• Participants are instructed to forget an entire list of items.

Selective Rehearsal

• Items received a "remember" instruction are deeply encoded.

Encoding Suppression

• Disallowing ongoing recollection of items receiving a "forget" instruction.

Retrieval Inhibition Hypothesis

• Suggests that retrieval of certain items becomes increasingly difficult over time.

Context Shift Hypothesis

• Change in context while encoding shifts focus from one set of items to another.

Cognitive Control

• Managing thoughts to reduce distractions from unwanted memories.

Think/No Think Paradigm

• Involves memorizing cues with the option to recall or suppress retrieval.

Spontaneous Recovery

• Reinstatement of an extinct behavior after rest.

Hypermnesia

• Memory improvement with repeated testing over time.

Reminiscence

• Recollection of previously unrecallable items without relearning effort.

Cue Reinstatement

• Return to a significant event's location triggers vivid memory via environmental cues.