Dual psych chapter 7 – Flashcards
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Alzheimer's disease
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A chronic organic brain syndrome characterized by gradual loss of memory, decline in intellectual ability, and deterioration of personality
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Anterograde amnesia
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The inability to form new memories after a brain injury; forward acting amnesia
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Chunking
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The process of grouping separate pieces of information into a single unit on the basis of similarity or some other organizing principle
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Consolidation
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The process by which neutral changes associated with recent learning become durable and stable
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Constructive process
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The process of organizing and shaping information during processing, storage, and retrieval of memories
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Distributed practice
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A study technique in which practice sessions are interspersed with rest periods
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Elaborative rehearsal
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A technique for improving memory by linking new information to previously stored material; also known as deeper levels of processing
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Encoding
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The process by which a mental representation is formed in memory
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Encoding-specificity principle
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The principle that retrieval of information is improved if cues received at the time of recall are consistent with those present at the time of encoding
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Encoding, storage, and retrieval (ESR) model
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A memory model which suggests that memory is formed through three processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval
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Episodic memory
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A subsystem of LTM that stores autobiographical events and the contexts in which they occurred; a mental diary of a person's life
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Explicit/declarative memory
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A subsystem within long-term memory (LTM) that consciously stores facts, information, and personal life experiences
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Flashbulb memory (FBM)
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A recall of vivid, detailed, and near-permanent images associated with surprising or strongly emotional events
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Implicit/nondeclarative memory
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A subsystem within LTM that unconsciously stores procedural skills and simple classically conditioned responses
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Long-term memory (LTM)
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The third stage of memory, which stores information for long periods of time; the capacity is virtually limitless, and the duration is relatively permanent
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Long term potentiation (LTP)
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A long lasting increase in neutral excitability, which may be a biological mechanism for learning and memory.
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Maintenance rehearsal
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The memory improvement technique of repeating information over and over to maintain it in STM
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Massed practice
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A study technique in which time spent learning is grouped into long, unbroken intervals; also known as cramming
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Memory
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The internal record or representation of some prior event or experience; the mental capacity to encode, store, and retrieve information
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Misinformation effect
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A memory distortion that results from misleading post-event information
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Mnemonic
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A strategy or device that uses familiar information during the encoding of new information to enhance subsequent access to the information in memory
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Priming
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A process in which a prior exposure to a stimulus facilitates or inhibits the processing of new information, even when one has no conscious memory of the initial learning and storage
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Proactive interference
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A memory error in which old information interferes with remembering new information; it is forward-acting interference
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Retrieval
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The recovery of information from memory storage
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Retrieval cue
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A prompt or stimulus that aids recall or retrieval of a stores piece of information from LTM
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Retroactive interference
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A memory error in which new information interferes with remembering old information; it is backward-acting interference
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Retrograde amnesia
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The loss of memory for events before a brain injury; backward acting amnesia
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Semantic memory
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A subsystem of LTM that stores general knowledge; a mental encyclopedia or dictionary
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Sensory memory
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Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory. It is the ability to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimuli have ended.
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Serial-position effect
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A characteristic of memory retrieval in which information at the beginning and end or a series is remembered better than material in the middle
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Short term memory (STM)
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The scones memory stage, which temporarily stores sensory information and decides whether to send it on to LTM; its capacity is limited to five to nine items and it has a duration of about 30 seconds
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Sleeper effect
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A memory error in which information from an unreliable source that was initially discounted later gains creditability because the source is forgotten
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Source amnesia
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A memory error caused by forgetting the true source of a memory
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Storage
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The retention of encoded information over time
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Three-stage memory model
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A memory model which suggests that memory storage requires passage of information through three stages (sensory, short-term, and long-term memory)
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Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon
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Feeling that specific information is stored in your LTM but being temporarily unable to retrieve it
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Working memory
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An alternate term for STM, which emphasizes the active processing of information
