 | Term | Definition |
| |
encoding |
the process of putting information into a form that the memory system can accept and use |
| |
acoustic codes |
mental representations of stimuli as sounds |
| |
visual codes |
mental representations of stimuli as pictures |
| |
semantic codes |
mental representations of experiences by thier general meaning |
| |
storage |
the process of maintaining information in the memoy system over time |
| |
retrieval |
the process of recalling information stored in memory |
| |
episodic memory |
a person's recal of a specific event that happened while the person was present |
| |
semantic memory |
a type of memory containing generalized knowleddge of the world |
| |
procedural memory |
a type of memory containing information on how to do things |
| |
explicit memory |
the process through which people deliberately try to remember something |
| |
implicit memory |
the unintentional recollection and influnce of prior experiences |
| |
levels-of-processing model |
a model of memory suggesting the differences in how well something is remembered reflectthe degree or depth of mental processing |
| |
maintenance rehearsal |
a memorization method that involves repeating info over and over to keep it in memory |
| |
elaborative rehearsal |
a memorization method that relates new information to information already stored in memory |
| |
transfer-appropriate processing model |
a model suggesting that memory dependson how the encoding process matches up with what is later retrieved |
| |
parallel distributed processing (pdp) models |
models of memory suggesting that new experiences provide specific info, but also become part of, and alter, a whole network of associations in a person's knowledge base. |
| |
information-processing model |
a model suggesting that information must pass through sensor memory, short-term memory, and lnog tem 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 impression to the next |
| |
sensory registers |
memory sytems that briefly hold incoming info. |
| |
selective attention |
the process of focusing mental resources on only part of the stimulus field |
| |
short-term memory (stm) |
a stage of memory in which information normally lasts less than twenty seconds, a component of working memory |
| |
working memory |
the part of the memory system that mentally works with, or manipulates, info being held in short-term memory |
| |
immediate memory span |
the maximum number of items a person can recall perfectly after one presentation of the items |
| |
chunks |
stimuli that are percieved as units or meaningful groupings of information |
| |
Brown-Peterson procedure |
a method for determining how long unrehearsed info remains in short-term memory |
| |
long-term memory(Ltm) |
the stage of memory for which the capacity to store new info is believed to be unlimited |
| |
primacy effect |
a phenomenon whereby recall for the first two or three items in a list is particularly good |
| |
recency effect |
a phenomenon whereby recall for the last frew items in a list in particularly good |
| |
retrieval cues |
stimuli that allow or help people to recall information |
| |
encoding specificity principle |
a principle stating that the ability of a cue to ai retrieval depends on whether it taps into info that was originally encoded |
| |
context-dependent memories |
memories that are helped or hinderd by similarities or differences between the contet in which they are learned and recalled |
| |
state-dependent memory |
memory that is helpd or hindered by similarites or differences in a person's internal stae during learning versus recall |
| |
spreading activation |
in semantic network theories of memory, a principle that explains how info is retrieved |
| |
schemas |
mental representations of categories of objects, places, events and people |
| |
decay |
the gradual dissapearence of info from memory |
| |
interference |
the process through which storage or retrieval of info is imapired by the presence of other info |
| |
retroactive interference |
a couse of forgetting whereby new info placed in memory interferes with the ability to recall info already in memory |
| |
proactive interference |
a couse of forgetting whereby previosly learned information interferes with the ability to remember new info |
| |
anterograde amnesia |
a loss of memory for events that occur after a brain injury |
| |
retrograde amnesia |
a loss of memory for events that occured prior to a brain injury |
| |
mnemonics |
strategies for organizing info in order to remember it |
