ch 9 txtbk

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

ability to retain knowledge

-requires energy to form memories

Question 2

information processing

Answer 2

refers to the flow of info through the human nervous system, including the perceptual and attention systems

top-down processes(expectations) can influence how info is interpreted and perceived

Question 3

encoding

Answer 3

refers to the process of acquiring info and transferring it into memory

(e.g. in class by paying attention we encode info that we can retrieve later)

Question 4

retrieval

Answer 4

recovery of stored info

2 common causes of retrieval failure are interference and stress

Question 5

sensory memory

Answer 5

first stage of the Atkinson-Shiffrin model that holds large amounts of incoming data for BRIEF amounts of time

(only last as long as the neural activity produced by a sensation continues)

Question 6

visual codes (or iconic memories)

Answer 6

sensory memory for visual info
-used for the temporary storage of info about visual images

Question 7

acoustic codes (or echoic memories)

Answer 7

last longer than visual codes to meet our needs to hear entire words and phrases before we can understand spoken language

Question 8

george sperling

Answer 8

demonstrated the duration of sensory memory
-by presenting a matrix of letters to study for 15 milliseconds, when asked to recall the whole matrix, they only remembered 4 or 5

-but when tones instead of verbal commands were used to signal which row to remember, they were able to recall the entire matrix

Question 9

short-term memory

Answer 9

2nd stage of Atkinson-Shiffrin model that holds a small amount of info for a limited time

-nothing gets processed in short-term memory unless you pay attention to them
-have limitations in duration (w/o additional processing)

Question 10

rehearsal

Answer 10

if you repeat info over nd over, info stays in short-term memory indefinitely, as long as you don’t think about anything else

Question 11

chunking

Answer 11

grouping similar, or meaningful info tg

Question 12

working memory

Answer 12

involves an active manipulation of info and is more complex, allowing multiple processes to occur simultaneously

Question 13

short term vs. working memory

Answer 13

(1) information in working memory can be actively manipulated, whereas short-term memory passively stores memory

(2) working memory can manage multiple types of information simultaneously, whereas short-term memory cannot

Question 14

long term memory

Answer 14

has few limitations in capacity or duration
-we don’t run out of room for new data and info can last a lifetime

Question 15

maintenance rehearsal

Answer 15

repeating info over and over again in order to keep it in working memory

aka rote rehearsal

Question 16

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 16

involves linking the new material to things you already know
-more effective way to move info into more permanent storage

Question 17

levels of processing theory

Answer 17

the depth (shallow to deep) of processing applied to info that predicts its ease of retrieval

-according to this theory, words encoded according to MEANING, would be easier to remember than words encoded according to their VISUAL APPEARANCE bc encoding meaningfulness produces deeper level of attention and processing

Question 18

serial position effect

Answer 18

When people are given a list of words to remember and told they can recall the items in any order, the likelihood that a word on the list will be remembered depends on its POSITION in the list

The primacy effect refers to the superior recall for the first words on the list, and the recency effect refers to the superior recall for the last words on the list
–the primacy effect probably occurs because people have more time to place these items in long-term memory

The recency effect probably occurs because these last words still remain in working memory at the time of retrieval
–delay in retrieval erases the RECENCY effect but not the primacy effect

Question 19

Declarative memories

Answer 19

easy to “declare” or discuss verbally

-aka explicit memories bc they are accessed in a conscious, direct and effortful manner

Question 20

nondeclarative memories

Answer 20

unconsciously and effortlessly retrieved memory thats difficult to verbalize (e.g. memory for classical conditioning)

aka implicit memory

Question 21

semantic memory

Answer 21

contains your store of general knowledge in the form of word meanings and facts

(general knowledge memory)

Question 22

episodic memory

Answer 22

personal account of past experiences

Question 23

autobiographical memories

Answer 23

semantic or episodic memories that reference the self

Question 24

procedural memories

Answer 24

contain info about how to carry out a skilled movement (riding bike)

Question 25

priming

Answer 25

occurs when exposure to a stimulus changes a response to a subsequent stimulus

Question 26

collective memory

Answer 26

refers to memories of past events that are common to members of a particular social group

Question 27

transactive memory

Answer 27

division of info among members of a group -members of the social group are each responsible for remembering diff pieces of info, so no one needs to know everything

Question 28

spreading activation model

Answer 28

recognizes that people form their own organizations in memory based on their personal experiences

Question 29

Frederic bartlett

Answer 29

observed that memory does not work like a video recording of events -we are more likely to remember details that are consistent with our schemas than those that are not

Question 30

schema

Answer 30

a set of expectations about objects and situations

Question 31

cue

Answer 31

any stimulus that helps you access target info

Question 32

encoding specificity

Answer 32

a process in which memories incorporate unique combos of info when encoded -any stimulus that was present and noticed during this encoding process could serve as a cue for retrieving target memory

Question 33

context-dependent memory

Answer 33

the improvement in memory that occurs when the external context present at encoding and retrieval are the same (walk into room and forget purpose for being there)

Question 34

state-dependent memory

Answer 34

the improvement in memory that occurs when the internal state of the individual is the SAME at encoding and retrieval (ppl in bad mood who witness event are more likely to remember details when in bad mood)

Question 35

reconstruction

Answer 35

building of a memory out of the stored bits by blending retrieved info with new content present in working memory

Question 36

own-race bias

Answer 36

participants show an improved memory for faces of people from their own race -when ambiguous faces are presented, participants' memories for the faces depend on whether they're primed to think of the ambiguous faces as members of their own ingroup or not

Question 37

flashbulb memory

Answer 37

a vivid and detailed memory of an emotional event

Question 38

forgetting

Answer 38

decrease in the ability to remember a previously formed memory -provides a way to prioritize the things we should remember

Question 39

decay

Answer 39

memories fade over time unless we continually practice retrieving the info

Question 40

interference

Answer 40

the competition between newer and older info in the memory system -the brain requires a measurable amount of time to produce a physical representation of a memory

Question 41

retroactive interference

Answer 41

reduced memory for target info bc of subsequent learning

Question 42

proactive interference

Answer 42

refers to reduced memory for target info as a result of earlier learning

Question 43

blocking

Answer 43

refers to cases of forgetting that occur when we know that we have the correct info stored, but we simply can't access it

Question 44

motivated forgetting

Answer 44

failure to remember or retrieve unpleasant or threatening info

Question 45

where does working memory in the brain occur?

Answer 45

the phonological loop and visuospatial sketch pad use the same posterior parts of the brain that are used in verbal and visual perception

Question 46

top-down

Answer 46

influences originating in the prefrontal and parietal cortex provide the attention necessary to maintain stimulus info in working memory

Question 47

declarative memories and the hippocampus

Answer 47

hippocampus participates in the consolidation of semantic and location info into long-term memory -also involved with the re-experiencing of episodic memories

Question 48

anterograde amnesia

Answer 48

inability to form new memories due to injury/trauma

Question 48

source amnesia

Answer 48

ppl with this maintain their semantic knowledge but do not recall how they acquired it -a man who experienced this could play chess but couldn't remember who taught him how to play

Question 48

which areas of the brain are important for remembering emotional personal experiences

Answer 48

temporal lobe and insula

Question 48

what is affected when damage is done to prefrontal cortex

Answer 48

episodic memory affected and can produce source amnesia

Question 49

procedural memories and brain

Answer 49

correlated with activation of basal ganglia, forebrain structures that are part of the brain's motor systems

Question 49

mnemonics

Answer 49

expand memory capacity by linking the material to be remembered to info that's relatively effortless to retrieve

Question 49

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 49

(when you connect material to personal experience), anchors new material in your existing memory stores and makes it easier to retrieve