Psychology: Memory and Learning
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Created by:
apfeifer14 on October 9, 2011
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77 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Memory | the ability to store and retrieve information over time |
| Encoding | the process by which we transform what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory |
| Elaborative encoding | the process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory (helps with long term retention) (ex. Remembering 20 experiences rather than 20 #s) → lower left part of frontal lobe and inner part of left temporal lobe → more activity in these areas results in being more likely to remember it |
| Semantic judgments | meaning of words |
| Rhyme judgments | sound of words |
| Visual judgments | appearance of words |
| Visual Imagery Encoding | the process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures → visual processing regions in the occipital lobe → people enlist the visual system when forming memories based on mental images |
| Organizational encoding | process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items (waitresses) → upper surface of the left frontal lobe |
| Storage | the process of maintaining information in memory over time |
| Retrieval | the process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored |
| Sensory memory | holds sensory information for a few seconds or less |
| Short term memory | holds non sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute |
| Rehearsal | process of keeping information in short term memory by repeating it |
| Chunking | combining small pieces of information into large clusters or chunks |
| Working memory | active maintenance of information in short term storage |
| Long term memory | hold information for hours, days, weeks, or years → hippocampus |
| Anterograde amnesia | inability to transfer new information from the short term store into the long term store (results from damage to hippocampal region of brain) |
| Retrograde amnesia | inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation |
| Memory consolidation | process by which memories become stable in the brain |
| Reconsolidation | memories can become vulnerable to disruption when they are recalled, thus requiring them to be consolidated again |
| Long term potentiation | (LTP) process whereby communication across the synapse between neurons strengthens the connection, making further communication easier |
| NMDA receptor | influences the flow of information between neurons by controlling the initiation of LTP in most hippocampal pathways → hippocampus contains an abundance of NMDA receptors that must be activated 1. presynaptic or "sending" neuron releases a neurotransmitter called glutmate which attaches to the NMDA receptor site on the post-synaptic or "receiving" neuron 2. excitation takes place in the post-synaptic neuron |
| Retrieval cues | external information that is associated with stored information and helps bring it to mind |
| Encoding specificity principal | a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way in which information was initially encoded |
| State dependant retrieval | the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval |
| Transfer appropriate processing | states that memory is likely to transfer from one situation to another when encoding context of the situations match |
| Consequence of Retrieval | Retrieval can improve subsequent memory, Retrieval can impair subsequent memory |
| Retrieval-induced forgetting | is a process by which retrieving an item from long-term memory impairs subsequent recall of related items |
| Explicit memory | occurs when people consciously or intentionally retrieve past experiences |
| Implicit memory | occurs when past experiences influence later behavior and performance, even though people are not trying to recollect them and are not aware that they are remembering them |
| Procedural memory | refers to the gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice or "knowing how" to do things (implicit memory) |
| Priming | refers to an enhanced ability to think of a stimulus, such as a word or object, as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus (implicit memory) |
| Semantic memory | a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world (implicit) |
| Episodic memory | the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place (implicit) |
| Transience | forgetting what occurs with the passage of time → occurs during the storage phase of memory, after it is encoded, but before it is retrieved |
| Retroactive interference | later learning impairs memory for information acquired earlier |
| Proactive interference | earlier learning impairs memory for information acquired later |
| Absentmindedness | a lapse of judgment in attention that results in memory failure (Yo-Yo Ma) |
| Prospective memory | remembering to do things in the future |
| Blocking | failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it (Munsters and Addams Family) |
| Memory Misattribution | assigning a recollection or idea to wrong source (John Doe 2) |
| False recognition | feeling of familiarity about something that hasn't been encountered before |
| Suggestibility | tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections (film of plane crash) |
| Bias | distorting influences of present knowledge beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences |
| Persistence | intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget |
| Flashbulb memories | detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking events |
| Learning | acquisition of new knowledge, skills, or responses from experience that result in a relatively permanent change in the state of the learner |
| Classical Conditioning | when a neutral stimulus produces a response after being paired with a stimulus that naturally produces a response |
| Unconditioned stimulus | something that reliably produces a naturally occurring reaction in an organism (plate of food) |
| Unconditioned response | reflexive reaction that is reliably produced by an unconditioned stimulus (dogs salivation) |
| Conditioned stimulus | a stimulus that is initially neutral and produces no reliable response in an organism (buzzer) |
| Conditioned response | a reaction that resembles an unconditioned response but it is produced by a conditioned stimulus (salivating from a buzzer) |
| Acquisition | the phase of classical conditioning when the conditioned stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus are presented together |
| Second-Order Conditioning | conditioning where the stimulus of that functions as the US is actually the CS from an earlier procedure in which it acquired its ability to produce learning (paired black square w/ tone → dogs salivate) |
| Extinction | gradual elimination of a learned response that occurs when US is no longer presented (dog does not respond to food but does to tone) |
| Spontaneous recovery | the tendency of a learned behavior to recover from extinction after a rest period |
| Generalization | the CR is observed even though the CS is slightly different from the original one used during acquisition |
| Discrimination | the capacity to distinguish between similar but distinct stimuli |
| Fear conditioning | Little Albert → presented with stimuli (white rat, then loud bar to make him cry) |
| Operant Conditioning | a type of learning in which the consequences of an organisms behavior determine whether it will be repeated in the future (active behaviors) |
| Law of effect | behaviors that are followed by a "satisfying state of affairs" tend to be repeated and those that produce an "unpleasant state of affairs" are less likely to be repeated |
| Fixed Interval | reinforcers are presented at fixed time periods, provided that the appropriate response is made |
| Variable Interval | behavior is reinforced based on an average time that has expired since the last reinforcement |
| Fixed Ratio | reinforcement is delivered after a specific number of responses has been made |
| Variable Ratio | delivery of reinforcement is based on a particular average number of responses |
| Intermittent Reinforcement | when only some of the responses made are followed by reinforcement |
| Intermittent Reinforcement effect | the fact that operant behaviors that are maintained under intermittent reinforcement schedules resist extinction better than those maintained under continuous reinforcement |
| Reinforcer | any stimulus or event that functions to increase the likelihood of the behavior that led to it |
| Punisher | any stimulus or event that functions to decrease the likelihood of the behavior that led to it |
| Positive | stimulus is presented |
| Negative | stimulus is removed |
| Positive Reinforcement | stimulus is presented → increases likelihood of behavior |
| Negative Reinforcement | stimulus is presented → decreases likelihood of behavior |
| Positive Punishment | stimulus is removed → increases likelihood of behavior |
| Negative Punishment | stimulus is removed → decreases likelihood of behavior |
| Overjustification effect | external rewards undermine the intrinsic satisfaction of performing a behavior (children draw pictures and are given external awards vs. children that draw and do not receive external awards. The external awards were taken away and the 1st set of children were less motivated to draw) |
| Ebbinghaus's learning curve | shows that most forgetting happens soon after the event about forgetting |
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