Chapter 6

Question 1

Memory

Answer 1

The mental process that enable you to retain and retrieve information over time

Question 2

Encoding

Answer 2

The process of transforming information into a form that can be entered into and retained by the memory system

Question 3

Storage

Answer 3

The process of retaining information in memory so that it can be used at a later time

Question 4

Retrieval

Answer 4

The process of recovering information stored in memory so that we are consciously aware of it

Question 5

Stage model of memory

Answer 5

A model describing memory as consisting of three distinct stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long term memory

Question 6

Sensory memory

Answer 6

The stage memory that registers information from the environment and holds it for a very brief period of time

Question 7

Short-term memory

Answer 7

The active stage of memory in which information is stored for up to about 20 seconds

Question 8

Long-term memory

Answer 8

The stage of memory that represents the long-term storage of information

Question 9

Maintenance rehearsal

Answer 9

The mental or verbal repetition of information in order to maintain it beyond the usual 20-second duration of short-term memory

Question 10

Chunking

Answer 10

Increasing the amount of information that can be held in short-term memory by grouping related items together int a single unit, or chunk

Question 11

Working memory

Answer 11

The temporary storage and active, conscious manipulation of information needed for complex cognitive tasks, such as reasoning, learning, and problem solving

Question 12

Elaborative rehearsal

Answer 12

Rehearsal that involves focusing on the meaning of information to help encode and transfer it to long-term memory

Question 13

Procedural memory

Answer 13

Category of long-term memory that includes memories of different skills, operations, and actions

Question 14

Episodic memory

Answer 14

Category of long-term memory that includes memories of particular events

Question 15

Semantic memory

Answer 15

Category of long-term memory that includes memories of general knowledge, concepts, facts, and names

Question 16

Explicit memory

Answer 16

Information of knowledge that can be consciously recollected; also called the declarative memory

Question 17

Implicit memory

Answer 17

Information or knowledge that affects behavior or task performance but cannot be consciously recollected; also called non-declarative memory

Question 18

Clustering

Answer 18

Organizing items into related groups during recall from long-term memory

Question 19

Semantic network model

Answer 19

A mode that describes units of information in long-term memory as being organized in a complex network of associations

Question 20

Retrieval

Answer 20

The process of accessing stored information

Question 21

Retrieval cue

Answer 21

A clue, prompt, or hint that helps trigger recall of a given piece of information stored in long-term memory

Question 22

Retrieval cue failure

Answer 22

The inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues

Question 23

Tip-of-tongue experience

Answer 23

A memory phenomenon that involves the sensation of knowing that specific information is stored in long-term memory, but being temporary unable to retrieve it

Question 24

Recall

Answer 24

A test of long-term memory that involves retrieving information without the aid of retrieval cues; also called free recall

Question 25

Cued recall

Answer 25

A test of long-term memory that involves remembering an item of information in response to a retrieval cue

Question 26

Recognition

Answer 26

A test of long-term memory that involves identifying correct information out of several possible choices

Question 27

Serial position effect

Answer 27

The tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than items in the middle

Question 28

Encoding specificity principle

Answer 28

The principle that when the conditions of information retrieval are similar to the conditions of information encoding, retrieval is more likely to be successful

Question 29

Context effect

Answer 29

The tendency to recover information more easily when retrieval occurs in the same settings as the original learning of the information

Question 30

Mood congruence

Answer 30

A encoding specificity phenomenon in which a given mood tends to evoke memories that are consistent with that mood

Question 31

Flashbulb memory

Answer 31

The recall of very specific image or details surrounding a vivid, rare, or significant personal event; details may or may not be accurate

Question 32

Forgetting

Answer 32

The inability to recall information that was previously available

Question 33

Encoding failure

Answer 33

The inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding of the information for storage in long-term memory

Question 34

Deja vu experience

Answer 34

A memory illusion characterized by brief but intense feelings of familiarity in a situation that has never been experienced before

Question 35

Source memory or source monitoring

Answer 35

Memory for when, where and how a particular experience or piece of information was acquired

Question 36

Prospective memory

Answer 36

Remembering to do something in the future

Question 37

Decay theory

Answer 37

The view that forgetting is due to normal metabolic processes that occur in the brain over time

Question 38

Interference theory

Answer 38

The theory that forgetting is caused by one memory competing with or replacing another

Question 39

Radioactive interference

Answer 39

Forgetting in which a new memory interferes with remembering and old memory; backward-acting memory interference

Question 40

Proactive interference

Answer 40

Forgetting in which an old memory interferes with remembering a new memory; forward-acting memory interference

Question 41

Suppression

Answer 41

Motivated forgetting that occurs consciously; a deliberate attempt to not think abut and remember specific information

Question 42

Repression

Answer 42

Motivated forgetting that occurs unconsciously; a memory that is blocked and unavailable to consciousness

Question 43

Misinformation effect

Answer 43

A memory distortion phenomenon in which a person's existing memories can be altered if a person is exposed to misleading information

Question 44

Source confusion

Answer 44

A memory distortion that occurs when the true source of the memory is forgotten

Question 45

False memory

Answer 45

A distorted or fabricated recollection of something that did not actually occur

Question 46

Schema

Answer 46

An organized cluster of information abut a particular topic

Question 47

Script

Answer 47

A scheme for the typical sequence of an everyday event

Question 48

Imagination inflation

Answer 48

A memory phenomenon in which vividly imagining an event markedly increases confidence that the event actually occurred

Question 49

Memory trace or engram

Answer 49

The hypothetical brain changes associated with a particular stored memory

Question 50

Long-term potentiation

Answer 50

A long-lasting increase in synaptic strength between two neurons

Question 51

Amnesia

Answer 51

Severe memory loss

Question 52

Retrograde amnesia

Answer 52

Loss of memory, especially for episodic information; backward-acting amnesia

Question 53

Memory consolidation

Answer 53

The gradual, physical process of converting new long-term memories to stable, enduring memory codes

Question 54

Anterograde amnesia

Answer 54

Loss of memory caused by the inability to store new memories; forward-acting amnesia

Question 55

Dementia

Answer 55

Progressive deterioration and impairment of memory, reasoning, and other cognitive functions occurring as the result of disease or a condition

Question 56

Alzheimer's disease

Answer 56

A progressive disease that destroys the brain's neurons, gradually impairing memory, thinking, language, and other cognitive functions, resulting in the complete inability to care for oneself; the most common cause of dementia