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Psych Ch.9
Memory
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| memory | the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrevial of information |
| flashbulb memory | a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event |
| encoding | the processing of information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning |
| storage | the retention of encoded information over time |
| retrieval | the process of getting information out of memory storage |
| sensory memory | the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system |
| short-term memory | activated memory that holds a few items briefly, sucha as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten |
| long-term memory | the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system |
| automatic processing | unconcious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings |
| effortful processing | encoding that requires attention and concious effort |
| rehearsal | the concious repetition of information, either to maintain it in conciousness 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 pictures; 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 units; often occurs automatically |
| iconic memory | a 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 |
| amnesia | the loss of memory |
| implicit memory | retention independence of conscious recollection. Also called procedural memory |
| explicit memory | memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." (Also called declarative memory.) |
| hippocampus | a neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage |
| recall | a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test |
| recognition | a measure of memory in which the persn need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test |
| relearning | a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time |
| priming | the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory |
| deja vu | that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconciously trigger retrevial 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 information |
| retroactive interference | the disruptive effec of new learning on the recall of old information |
| repression | in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories |
| misinformation effect | incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event |
| source amnesia | attributing to the wrong source an event thaat we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (Also called source misattribution) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories |