chapter 6: memory

Question 1

encoding

Answer 1

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

Question 2

storage

Answer 2

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

Question 3

retrieval

Answer 3

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

Question 4

sensory memory

Answer 4

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

Question 5

short term memory

Answer 5

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

Question 6

long term memory

Answer 6

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

Question 7

maintenance rehearsal

Answer 7

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

Question 8

chunking

Answer 8

increasing the amount of information that can be held in short-term memory by grouping related items together into a single unit

Question 9

working memory

Answer 9

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

Question 10

elaborative rehearsal

Answer 10

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

Question 11

procedural memory

Answer 11

a category of long-term memory that includes memories of different skills, operations, and actions.

Question 12

episodic memory

Answer 12

category of long-term memory that includes memories of particular events, including the time and place that they occurred

Question 13

semantic memory

Answer 13

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

Question 14

explicit memory

Answer 14

information or knowledge that can be consciously recollected

Question 15

implicit memory

Answer 15

information or knowledge that affects behavior or task performance but cannot be consciously recollected.

Question 16

clustering

Answer 16

organizing items into related groups, or clusters, during recall from long-term memory.

Question 17

retrieval

Answer 17

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

Question 18

tip of the tongue experience

Answer 18

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

Question 19

recall

Answer 19

a test of long-term memory that involves retrieving information without the aid of retrieval cues

Question 20

cued recall

Answer 20

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

Question 21

recognition

Answer 21

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

Question 22

serial position effect

Answer 22

tendency to retrieve information more easily from the beginning and the end of a list rather than from the middle.

Question 23

encoding specificity principle

Answer 23

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

Question 24

context effect

Answer 24

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

Question 25

decay theory

Answer 25

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

Question 26

retroactive interference

Answer 26

backward-acting memory interference in which a new memory interferes with remembering an old memory.

Question 27

proactive inference

Answer 27

forward-acting memory interference, in which an old memory interferes with remembering a new memory.

Question 28

suppression

Answer 28

motivated forgetting that occurs consciously, a deliberate attempt to not think about and remember specific information.

Question 29

repression

Answer 29

motivated forgetting that occurs unconsciously, a memory that is blocked and unavailable to consciousness

Question 30

misinformation effect

Answer 30

a memory-distortion phenomenon in which your existing memories can be altered if you are exposed to misleading information.

Question 31

schemas

Answer 31

organized clusters of information about particular topics.

Question 32

source confusion

Answer 32

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

Question 33

imagination inflation

Answer 33

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

Question 34

false familiarity

Answer 34

Increased feelings of familiarity due to repeatedly imagining an event

Question 35

blending fact and fiction

Answer 35

Using vivid, authentic details to add to the legitimacy and believability of a false event

Question 36

retrograde amnesia

Answer 36

loss of memory, especially for episodic information of recent events

Question 37

anterograde amnesia

Answer 37

the loss of memory caused by the inability to store new memories