Psych-CH.8
Terms
undefined, object
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- memory
- the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information
- encoding
- the processing of information into the memory system- for example, by extracting meaning
- storage
- the retention of encoded info over time
- retrieval
- the process of getting info out of memory storage
- sensory memory
- the immediate, very brief recording of sensory info in memory system
- short-term memory
- activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the info is stored or forgotten
- long-term memory
- the relatively permanent limitless storehouse of the memory system. includes knowledge, skills, and experience.
- working memory
- a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial info, and of info retrieved from long-term memory.
- automatic processing
- unconscious encoding of incidental info, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned info, such as word meanings
- effortful processing
- encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
- rehearsal
- the conscious repetition of info, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
- spacing effect
- the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
- serial position effect
- our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
- visual encoding
- the encoding of picture images
- acoustic encoding
- the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
- semantic encoding
- the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
- imagery
- mental picures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding
- mnemonics
- memory aids especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
- chunking
- organizing items into familiar, manageable unite; often occurs automatically
- iconic memory
- momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
- echoic memory
- a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
- long-term potentiation (LTP)
- an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
- flashbulb memory
- a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
- amnesia
- the loss of memory
- implicit memory
- retention independent of conscious recollection(also called nondeclarative memory)
- explicit memory
- memory of facts and experiences that on can consciously know and "declare" (also called declarative memory)
- hippocampus
- a neural center that is located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage
- recall
- a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve info learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test
- recognition
- a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test
- relearning
- a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second
- priming
- the activation, often unconsciously of particular associations in memory
- déjà vu
- that eerie sense that "i've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
- mood-congruent memory
- the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood
- proactive interference
- the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new info
- retroactive interference
- the disruptive effect prior learning on the recall of old info
- repression
- in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings and memories
- misinformation effect
- incorporating misleading info into one's memory of an event
- source amnesia
- attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced heard about read about or imagined. Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories