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information-processing theory

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an approach to the study of mental structures and processes that uses the computer as a model for human thinking

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encoding

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The process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory

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storage

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the process of keeping or maintaining information in memory

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retrieval

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the process of bringing to mind information that has been stored in memory

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memory

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a cognitive process that includes encoding, storage, and retrieval of information. ESR

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sensory memory

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the memory system that holds information from the senses for a period of time ranging from only a fraction of a second to about 2 seconds.

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short-term memory (STM)

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the memory system that codes information according to sound and holds about seven (from 5-9) items for less than 30 seconds without rehearsal; also called working memory.

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displacement

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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.

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chunking

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a memory strategy that involves grouping or organizing bits of information into larger units, which are easier to remember.

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rehearsal

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the acts of purposely repeating information to maintain it in short-term memory.

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working memory

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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.

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maintenance rehearsal

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repeating information in short-term memory until it is no longer needed; may eventually lead to storage of information on long-term memory.

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elaborative rehearsal

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a memory strategy that involves relating new information to something that is already known.

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long-term memory (LTM)

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the memory system with a virtually unlimited capacity that contains vast stores of a person's permanent or relatively permanent memories.

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declarative memory

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the subsystem within long-term memory that stores facts, 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.

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episodic memory

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the type of declarative memory that records events as they have been subjectively experienced.

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semantic memory

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the type of declarative memory that stores general knowledge, or objective facts and information.

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nondeclarative memory

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the subsystem within long-term memory that stores motor skills, habits, and simple classically conditioned responses; also called implicit memory.

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priming

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the phenomenon by which an earlier encounter with 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.

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recall

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a memory task in which a person must produce required information by searching memory.

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retrieval cue

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any stimulus or bit of information that aids in retrieving particular information from long term memory.

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recognition

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a memory task in which a person must simply identify material as familiar or as having been encountered before.

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relearning method

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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.

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savings score

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the percentage of time saved when relating material compared with the amount of time required for original learning.

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serial position effect

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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.

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primacy effect

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the tendency to recall the first items in a sequence more readily than the middle items.

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recency effect

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the tendency to recall the last items in a sequence more readily than those in the middle.

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state-dependent memory effect

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the tendency to recall information better if one is in the same pharmacological or psychological state as when the information was encoded.

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reconstruction

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an account of an event that has been pieced together from a few highlights, using information that may or may not accurate.

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schemas

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the integrated frameworks fo knowledge and assumptions a person has about people, objects, and events, which affect how the person encodes and recalls information.

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flashbulb memory

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an extremely vivid memory or the conditions surrounding one's first hearing the news of a surprising, shocking, or highly emotional event.

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eidetic imagery

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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.

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infantile amnesia

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the relative inability of older children and adults to recall events from the first few years of life.

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hippocampal region

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a part of the limbic system, which includes the hippocampus itself and the underlying cortical areas, involved in the formation of semantic memories.

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long-term potential (LTP)

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an increase in the efficiency of neural transmission at the synapses that lasts for hours or longer.

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amnesia

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a partial or complete loss of memory due to loss of consciousness, brain damage, or some psychological cause.

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anterograde amnesia

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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 shot-term memory is unaffected.

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retrograde amnesia

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a loss of memory for experiences that occurred shortly before a loss of consciousness

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dementias

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a collection of neurological disorders in which degenerative processes in the brain diminish sufferers' ability to remember and process information.

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nonsense syllable

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a consonant-vowel-consonant combination that does not spell a word and is used in memory research

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encoding failure

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a cause of forgetting that occurs when information was never put into long-term memory.

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decay theory

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the oldest theory of forgetting, which holds that memories, if not used, fade with time and ultimately disappear altogether.

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interference

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a cause of forgetting that occurs because information or associations stored either before or after a given memory hinder ability to remember it.

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consolidation failure

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any disruption in the consolidation process that prevents a long-term memory form fitting.

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motivated forgetting

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forgetting through suppression or repression in order to protect onself from material that is painful, frightening, or otherwise unpleasant.

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repression

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completely removing unpleasant memories from one's consciousness, so that one is no longer aware that a painful event occurred.

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prospective forgetting

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not remembering to carry out some intended action.

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retrieval failure

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not remembering something one is certain of knowing.

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tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

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the experience of knowing that a particular piece of information has been learned but being unable to retrieve it.

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over learning

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practicing or studying material beyond the point where it can be repeated once without error.

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massed practice

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learning is one long practice session without rest periods

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spaced practice

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learning is short practice sessions with rest periods in between.

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Learning

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a relatively permanent change in behavior, knowledge, capability, or attitude that is acquired through experience and cannot be attributed to illness, injury, or maturation.

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classical conditioning

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type of learning organism learns to associate one stimulus with another.

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stimulus

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any event or object in the environment to which an organism responds plural is stimuli

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reflex

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involuntary response to a particular stimulus (salivating to food)

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conditioned reflexes

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learned involuntary responses.

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unconditioned response (UR)

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a response that is elicited by an unconditioned stimulus without prior learning.

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unconditioned stimulus (US)

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a stimulus that elicits a specific unconditioned response without prior learning.

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conditioned stimulus (CS)

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a neutral stimulus that, after repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus, becomes associated with it and elicits a conditioned response.

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conditioned response (CR)

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the learned response that comes to be elicited by a conditioned stimulus as a result of its repeated pairing with an unconditioned stimulus.

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higher-order conditioning

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conditioning that occurs when conditioned stimuli are linked together to form a series of signals.

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extinction

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IN classical conditioning, the weakening and eventual disappearance of the conditioned response as a result of repeated presentation of the conditioned response as a result of repeated presentation of the conditioned stimulus without the unconditioned stimulus.

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spontaneous recovery

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the reappearance of an extinguished response (in a weaker form) when an organism is exposed to the original conditioned stimulus.

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generalization

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in classical conditioning, the tendency to make a conditioned response to a stimulus that is similar to the original conditioned stimulus.

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discrimination

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the learned ability to distinguish between similar stimuli so that the conditioned response occurs only to the original conditioned stimulus but not to similar stimuli.

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taste aversions

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the intense dislike and/or avoidance of particular foods that have been associated with nausea or discomfort.

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trial-and-error learning

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learning that occurs when a response is associated with a successful solution to a problem after a number of unsuccessful responses.

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law of effect

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One of Thorndike's laws of learning, which states that the consequence, or effect, of a response will determine whether the tendency to respond in the same way in the future will be strengthened or weakened.

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operant conditioning

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a type of learning in which the frequency of a voluntary behavior changes because of the consequences that the behavior produces.

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reinforcer

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anything that follows a response and strengthens it or increases the probability that it will occur.

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shaping

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an operant conditioning technique that consists of gradually molding a desired behavior by reinforcing any movement in the direction of the desired response, thereby gradually guiding the responses toward the ultimate goal.

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skinner box

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a soundproof chamber with a device for delivering food to an animal subject; used in operant conditioning experiments.

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successive approximations

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a series of gradual steps, each of which is more similar to the final desired response.

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extinction

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in operant conditioning, the weakening and eventual disappearance of the conditioned response as a result of the withholding of reinforcement.

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generalization

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in operant conditioning, the tendency to make the learned response to a stimulus similar to that for which the response was originally reinforced.

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discriminative stimulus

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a stimulus that signals whether a certain response or behavior is likely to be rewarded, ignored, or punished.

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reinforcement

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an increase in the frequency of a behavior that occurs as the result of the consequence that the behavior produces.

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positive reinforcement

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an increase in a behavior that occurs as the result of an added consequence.

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negative reinforcement

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an increase in a behavior that occurs because increasing the behavior results in the termination of an unpleasant condition or stimulus.

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primary reinforcer

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a reinforcer that fulfills a basic physical need for survival and does not depend on learning.

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secondary reinforcer

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a reinforcer that is acquired or learned through association with other reinforcers.

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continuous reinforcement

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reinforcement that is administered after every desired or correct response; the most effective method of conditioning a new response.

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partial reinforcement

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a pattern of reinforcement in which some but not all correct responses are reinforced.

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schedules of reinforcement

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systematic processes for administering partial reinforcement that produce distinct rates and patterns of responses and degrees of resistance to extinction.

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fixed-ratio schedule

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a schedule in which a reinforcer is given after a fixed number of correct, nonreinforced responses.

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variable-ratio schedule

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a schedule in which a reinforcer is given after a varying number of nonreinforced responses, based on an average ratio.

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fixed-interval schedule

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a schedule in which a reinforcer is given following the first correct response after a specific period of time has elapsed.

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variable-interval schedule

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a schedule in which a reinforcer is given after the first correct response that follows a varying time of non-reinforcement, based on an average time.

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partial-reinforcement effect

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the greater resistance to extinction that occurs when a portion, rather than all, of the correct responses are reinforced.

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punishment

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a decrease in the frequency of a behavior caused by some kind of consequence

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positive punishment

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a decrease in behavior that results from an added consequence

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negative punishment

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a decrease in behavior that results from a removed consequence

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avoidance learning

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learning to avoid events or conditions associated with aversive consequences or phobias.

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learned helplessness

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a passive resignation to aversive conditions that is learned through repeated exposure to inescapable or unavoidable aversive events.

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biofeedback

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the use of sensitive equipment to give people precise feedback about internal physiological processes so that they can learn, with practice, to exercise control over them.

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behavior modification

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a method of changing behavior through a systematic program based on the learning principles of classical conditioning, operant conditioning, or observational learning.

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token economy

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a program that motivates socially desirable behavior by reinforcing it with tokens that can be exchanged for desired items or privileges.

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cognitive process

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mental processes such as thinking, knowing, problem solving, remembering, and forming mental representations.

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insight

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the sudden realization of the relationship between elements in a problem situation, which makes the solution apparent.

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latent learning

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learning that occurs without apparent reinforcement and is not demonstrated until the organism is motivated to do so.

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cognitive map

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a mental representation of a spatial arrangement such as a maze.

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observational learning (modeling)

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learning by observing the behavior of others and the consequences of that behavior; learning by imitation.

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model

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the individual who demonstrates a behavior or whose behavior is imitated.

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modeling effect

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learning a new behavior from a model through the acquisition of new responses.

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elicitation effect

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exhibiting a behavior similar to that shown by a model in an unfamiliar situation.

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disinhibitory effect

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exhibiting a behavior similar to that shown by a model in an unfamiliar situation.

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inhibitory effect

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suppressing a behavior because a model is punished for displaying the behavior.

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