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Psychology, Chapter 6 (LCC PSYC200)

Terms

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Encoding
The process of putting information into a form that the memory system can accept & use.
Storage
The process of maintaining information in the memory system over time.
Retrieval
The process of recalling information stored in memory.
Acoustic Codes
Represent information as sequences of sounds, such as a tune or rhyme.
Visual Codes
Represent stimuli as pictures, such as the image of a person's face.
Semantic Codes
Represent the general meaning of an experience.
Recall
A retrieval from memory without much assistance, as in essay questions on tests.
Recognition
Retrieval aided by clues, such as the alternatives given on a multiple-choice test.
Episodic Memory
A person's recall of specific events that happened while the person was present. An example would be the memory of what you had for dinner yesterday.
Semantic Memory
A type of memory containing generalized knowledge of the world. An example would be knowing that a dozen is equal to twelve.
Procedural Memory
A type of memory containing information about how to do things. An example would be knowing how to ride a bike.
Explicit Memory
The process through which people deliberately try to remember something. An example would be trying to remember where you went on vacation.
Implicit Memory
The unintentional recollection & influence of prior experiences. An example would be solving a puzzle faster the second time around.
The Levels of Processing Model of Memory
A model of memory suggesting that differences in how well something is remembered reflect the degree or depth of mental processing.
Maintenance Rehearsal
A memorization method that involves repeating information over and over to keep it in memory. This is a short-term encoding method as defined by the Levels of Processing model of memory.
Elaborative Rehearsal
A memorization method that relates new information to information already stored in memory. This is a long-term encoding process as defined by the Levels of Processing model of memory.
The Transfer-Appropriate Processing Model of Memory
A model of memory suggesting that memory depends on how the encoding process matches up with what is later retrieved.
The Parallel Distributed Processing Model of Memory
A model of memory suggesting that new experiences provide specific information, but also become part of, and alter, a whole network of associations in a person's knowledge base.
The Information-Processing Model of Memory
A model of memory suggesting that information must pass through sensory memory, short-term memory, & long-term memory in order to become firmly embedded in memory.
Sensory Memory
A type of memory that is very brief, but lasts long enough to connect one impresison to the next.
Sensory Registers
Memory systems that briefly hold incoming information for the Sensory Memory. There is a separate register for each of the five senses, and each register is capable of holding an almost complete representation of a sensory stimulus, and holds it for less than a second.
Selective Attention
The process of focusing mental resources on only one part of the stimulus field, thus controlling what information is processed further in short-term memory.
Short-Term Memory
A stage of memory in which information normally lasts less that 20 seconds. It is a component of Working Memory. Information is encoded via acoustic coding, visual coding, semantic encoding, and kinesthetic coding.
Working Memory
The part of the memory system that mentally works with, or manipulates, information being held in short-term memory.
Short-Term Memory Storage Capacity
Seven, plus or minus two, chunks and a recall interval lasting no longer than 18 seconds.
Chunks
Stimuli that are perceived as units or meaningful groupings of information.
Immediate Memory Span
The maximum number of items a person can recall perfectly after one presentation of the items.
Long-Term Memory
The stage of memory for which the capacity to store new information is believed to be unlimited, however, distortion of memory can occur. Information is encoded automatically & semantically.
Primacy Effect
A phenomenon whereby recall for the first two or three items in a list is particularly good. May also reflect the rehearsal that puts early words into long-term memory.
Recency Effect
A phenomenon whereby recall for the last few items in a list is particularly good. May occur because the last few words are still in short-term memory when you try to recall the list.
Context-Dependent Memories
Memories that are helped or hindered by similarities or differences between the contexts in which they are learned & recalled. An example would be studying in a classroom to aid in recall when taking a test in a classroom.
State-Dependent Memories
Memories that are helped or hindered by similarities or differences in a person's internal state during learning versus recall. An example would be remembering positive incidents when one is in a positive mood.
Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
Incomplete knowledge, where a feature or letter of a word can be recalled, but not the full word itself. This spreading of information relates back to the principle of spreading activation in the semantic network theory of memory.
Parallel Distributed Processing (PDP) Models of Memory
Model of memory suggesting that newly learned facts alter our general knowledge of the world. Learned associations between specific facts come together to form constructed memories. Despite having a network based on limited or biased information, these networks can produce spontaneous generalizations that may or may not be helpful. When someone tells you they bought a car, you know what it essentially looks like without needing to see it. However, if most people you spend time with are college students, you may assume everyone is, when in fact, someone very well may not be.
Decay
The gradual disappearance of information from memory, and occurs mostly in short-term memory. As new information is added, older information fades away.
Interference
The process through which storage or retrieval of information is impaired by the presence of other information. This applies to both long and short-term memory. The forgetting of long-term memories is more directly linked to interference.
Retroactive Interference
A cause of forgetting whereby new information placed in memory interferes with the ability to recall information already in memory.
Proactive Interference
A cause of forgetting whereby previously learned information interferes with the ability to remember new information.
Anterograde Amnesia
A loss of memory for events that occur after a brain injury.
Retrograde Amnesia
A loss of memory for events that occurred prior to a brain injury.
Mnemonics
Strategies for organizing information in order to remember it. They work because you are tying together information from your long-term memory with information currently in your short-term memory.
The Method of Loci
Also knows as the Method of Places, it's a mnemonic device that links the items you want to remember to a location in a familiar place. As you imagine yourself walking through this location, see the items you need to remember throughout. For example, for a shopping list you could see tomatoes smashed on the door, bananas hanging from your lamp, dogfood on your bed, etc.
Distributed Practice vs Massed Practice
Distributed Practice is much more effective than Massed Practice for learning and retaining information because separate periods of study allow for elaborative rehearsal, and thus better remembrance. Cramming does not create understanding.

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