Psychology Chapter 6
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jactousley on December 16, 2010
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51 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 information processing theory | an approach to the study of mental structures and processes that uses the computer as a model for human thinking |
| encoding | process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory |
| storage | the process of keeping or maintaining information in memory |
| consolidation | a physiological change in the brain that allows encoded information to be stored in memory |
| retrieval | the process of bringing to mind information that has been stored in memory |
| memory | the process of encoding, storage, consolidation, and retrieval of information |
| sensory information | the memory system that holds information from the senses for a period of time ranking from only a fraction of a second to about 2 seconds |
| short term memory (STM) | the memory system that codes information according to sound and holds about seven (from five to nine) items for less than 30 seconds without a rehearsal; also called working memory |
| displacement | the event that occurs when short-term memory is filled to capacity and each new, incoming item pushes out an existing item, which is then forgotten |
| chunking | a memory strategy that involves grouping or organizing bits of information into larger units, which are easier to remember |
| rehearsal | the act of purposely repeating information to maintain it in short-term memory |
| working memory | the memory subsystem that we use when we try to understand information, remember it, or use it to solve a problem or communicate with someone |
| maintenance rehearsal | repeating information in short-term memory until it is no longer needed; may eventually lead to storage of information on long-term memory |
| elaborative rehearsal | a memory strategy that involves relating new information to something that is already known |
| long-term memory (LTM) | the memory system with a virtually unlimited capacity that contains vast stores of a person's permanent or relatively permanent memories |
| declarative memory | the subsystem within long-term memory that stores fact, information, and personal life events that can be brought to mind verbally or in the form of images and then declared or stated; also called explicit memory |
| episodic memory | the type of declarative memory that records events as they have been subjectively experienced |
| semantic memory | the type of declarative memory that stores general knowledge, or objective facts and information |
| nondeclarative memory | the subsystem within long-term memory that stores motor skills, habits, and simple classically conditioned responses; also called implicit memory |
| priming | the phenomenon by which an earlier encounter with a stimulus (such as a word or a picture) increases the speed or accuracy of naming that stimulus or a related stimulus at a later time |
| recall | a memory task in which a person must produce required information by searching memory |
| retrieval cue | any stimulus or bit of information that aids in retrieving particular information from long-term memory |
| recognition | a memory task in which a person must simply identify material as familiar or as having been encountered before |
| relearning method | a measure of memory in which retention is expressed as the percentage of time saved when material is relearned compared with the time required to learn the material originally |
| savings score | the percentage of time saved when relearning material compared with the amount of time required for the original learning |
| serial position effect | the finding that, for information learned in a sequence, recall is better for the beginning and ending items than for the middle items in the sequence |
| primacy effect | the tendency to recall the first items in a sequence more readily than the middle items |
| recency effect | the tendency to recall the last items in a sequence more readily than those in the middle |
| state-dependent memory effect | the tendency to recall information better if on is in the same pharmacological or psychological state as when the information was encoded |
| reconstruction | an account of an event that has been pieced together from a few highlights, using information that may or may not be accurate |
| schemas | the integrated frameworks of knowledge and assumptions a person has about people, objects, and events, which affect how the person encodes and recalls information |
| flashbulb memory | an extremely vivid memory of the conditions surrounding one's first hearing the news of a surprising, shocking, or highly emotional event |
| eidetic imagery | the ability to retain the image of a visual stimulus for several minutes after it has been removed from view and to use this retained image to answer questions about the visual stimulus |
| infantile amnesia | the relative inability of older children and adults to recall events from the first few years of life |
| hippocampal region | a part of the limbic system, which includes the hippocampus itself and the underlying cortical areas, involved in the formation of semantic memories |
| anterograde amnesia | the inability to form long-term memories of events occurring after a brain injury or brain surgery, although memories formed before the trauma are usually intact and short-term memory is unaffected |
| nonsense syllable | a consonant-vowel-consonant combination that does not spell a word and is used in memory research |
| encoding failure | a cause of forgetting that occurs when information was never put into long-term memory |
| decay theory | the oldest theory of forgetting, which holds that memories, if not used, fade with time and ultimately disappear altogether |
| interference | a cause of forgetting that occurs because information or associations stored either before or after a given memory hinder the ability to remember it |
| consolidation failure | any disruptions in the consolidation process that prevents a long-term memory from forming |
| retrograde amnesia | a loss of memory for experiences that occurred shortly before a loss of consciousness |
| motivated forgetting | forgetting through suppression or repression in order to protect oneself from material that is painful, frightening, or otherwise unpleasant |
| repression | completely removing unpleasant memories from one's consciousness, so that one is no longer aware that a painful event occurred |
| amnesia | a partial or complete loss of memory due to loss of consciousness, brain damage, or some psychological cause |
| prospective forgetting | nor remembering to carry out some intended action |
| retrieval failure | not remembering something one is certain of knowing |
| overlearning | practicing or studying material beyond the point where it can be repeated once without error |
| massed practice | learning in one long practice session without rest periods |
| spaced practice | learning in short practice sessions with rest periods in between |
| long term potentiation (LTP) | an increase in the efficiency of neural transmission at the synapses that lasts for hours or longer |
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