Shared Flashcard Set

Details

Chapter 6: Memory
Discovering Psychology, 5th edition, Hockenbury&Hockenbury
52
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
07/29/2012

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
Memory
Definition
The mental processes that enable you to retain and retrieve information over time.
Term
Encoding
Definition
The process of transforming information into a form that can be entered into and retained by the memory system.
Term
Storage
Definition
The process of retaining information in memory so that it can be used at a later time.
Term
Retrieval
Definition
The process of recovering information stored in memory so that we are consciously aware of it.
Term
Stage Model of Memory
Definition
A model describing memory as consisting of three distinct stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.
Term
Sensory Memory
Definition
The stage of memory that registers information from the environment and holds it for a very brief period of time. (1/4 of a second to 3 seconds) Large capacity for information. With attention and focus, sensory memory becomes short-term memory. Like a camera, and it fades fast.
Term
Short-Term Memory
Definition
The active stage of memory in which information is stored for up to about 20 seconds. Also called working memory. New information is transferred from Sensory Memory. Old information is retrieved from Long-Term Memory. Limited capacity for information. With encoding and storage, short-term can become long-term memory.
Term
Long-Term Memory
Definition
The stage of memory that represents the long-term storage of information. Unlimited capacity for information. Is potentially permanent. If you don't use it, you can lose it.
Term
George Sperling
Definition
Conducted experiments with short-term visual memory. 12 letters on a screen, with a tone or without a tone.
Term
Maintenance Rehearsal
Definition
The mental or verbal repitition of information in order to maintain it beyond the usual 20 second duration of short term memory.
Term
Chunking
Definition
Increasing the amount of information that can be held in short-term memory by grouping related items together into a single unit, or chunk.
Term
Working Memory
Definition
The temporary storage and active, conscious manipulation of information needed for complex cognitive tasks, such as reasoning, learning, and problem solving. What you use when you engage in problem solving, reasoning, language comprehension, and mental comparisons.
Term
Elaborative Rehearsal
Definition
Rehearsal that involves focusing on the meaning of information to help encode and transfer it to long-term memory.
Term
Procedural Memory
Definition
Category of long-term memory that includes memories of different skills, operations and actions.
Term
Episodic Memory
Definition
Category of long-term memory that includes memories of particular events.
Term
Semantic Memory
Definition
Category of long-term memory that includes memories of general knowledge, concepts, facts and names. 
Term
Explicit Memory
Definition
Information or knowledge that can be consciously recollected; also called declarative memory.
Term
Implicit Memory
Definition
Information or knowledge that affects behavior or task performance but cannot be consciously recollected; also called non-declarative memory.
Term
Clustering
Definition
Organizing items into related groups during recall from long-term memory.
Term
Semantic Network Model
Definition
A model that describes units of information in long-term memory as being organized in a complex network of associations.
Term
Retrieval
Definition
The process of accessing stored information.
Term
Retrieval Cue
Definition
A clue, prompt, or hint that helps trigger recall of a given piece of information stored in long-term memory.
Term
Retrieval Cue Failure
Definition
The inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues.
Term
Tip-Of-The-Tongue (TOT) Experience
Definition
A memory phenomenon that involves the sensation of knowing that specific information is stored in long-term memory, but being temporarily unable to retrieve it.
Term
Recall
Definition
A test of long-term memory that involves retrieving information without the aid of retrieval cues; also called free recall.
Term
Cued Recall
Definition
A test of long-term memory that involves remembering an item of information in response to a retrieval cue.
Term
Recognition
Definition
A test of long-term memory that involves identifying correct information out of several possible choices.
Term
Serial Position Effect
Definition
The tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than items in the middle.
Term
Encoding Specificity Principle
Definition
The principle that when the conditions of information retrieval are similar to the conditions of information encoding, retrieval is more likely to be successful.
Term
Context Effect
Definition
The tendency to recover information more easily when the retrieval occurs in the same setting as the original learning of the information.
Term
Mood Congruence
Definition
An encoding specificity phenomenon in which a given mood tends to evoke memories that are consistent with that mood.
Term
Flashbulb Memory
Definition
The recall of very specific images or details surrounding a very vivid, rare, or significant personal event; details may or may not be accurate.
Term
Forgetting
Definition
The inability to recall information that was previously available.
Term
Encoding Failure
Definition
The inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory.
Term
Prospective Memory
Definition
Remembering to do something in the future.
Term
Decay Theory
Definition
The view that fogetting is due to normal metabolic processes that occur in the brain over time.
Term
Déjà Vu Experience
Definition
A memory illusion characterized by brief but intense feelings of familiarity in a situation that has never been experienced before.
Term
Source Memory or Source Monitoring
Definition
Memory for when, where, and how a particular experience or piece of information was acquired. 
Term
Misinformation Effect
Definition
A memory-distortion phenomenon in which a person's existing memories can be altered if the person is exposed to misleading information.
Term
Source Confusion
Definition
A memory distortion that occurs when the true source of the memory is forgotten.
Term
False Memory
Definition
A distorted or fabricated recollection of something that did not actually occur.
Term
Schema
Definition
An organized cluster of information about a particular topic.
Term
Script
Definition
A schema for the typical sequence of an everyday event.
Term
Imagination Inflation
Definition
A memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an even markedly increases confidence that the even actually occurred.
Term
Memory Trace or Engram
Definition
The hypothetical brain changes associated with a particular stored memory.
Term
Long-Term Potentiation
Definition
A long-lasting increase in synaptic strength between two neurons.
Term
Amnesia
Definition
Severe memory loss.
Term
Retrograde Amnesia
Definition
Loss of memory, especially for episodic information; backward-acting amnesia.
Term
Memory Consolidation
Definition
The gradual, physical process of converting new long-term memories to stable, enduring memory codes.
Term
Anterograde Amnesia
Definition
Loss of memory caused by the inability to store new memories; forward acting amnesia.
Term
Dementia
Definition
Progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions occurring as the result of a disease or condition.
Term
Alzheimer's Disease
Definition
A progressive disease that destroys the brain's neurons, gradually impairing memory, thinking, language, and other cognitive functions, resulting in the complete inability to care for oneself; the most common cause of dementia.
Supporting users have an ad free experience!