Chapter 6: The Psychology of Aging Flashcards
Sensory memory
Information percieved through the senses and stored as memory
Short-term memory
Where information is stored temporarily while it is being processed, or for a short time afterwards
Long-term memory
The storehouse of knowledge that also includes the rules fro applying knowledge
Latency
The length of time it takes for a person to process information or respond to a question
Non-episodic memory
Oriented toward the present or the future, with no reference to the time at which the person stored the memory; includes learned skills through practice or a person’s general knowledge of the world
Episodic memory
Oriented toward the past, or acquired at a specific time and place, as in learning in an experimental setting
Encoding
The process whereby a person puts new bits of information together with already stored information
Working memory
Where recently acquired information is manipulated and processed at the same time as it is being stored temporarily
Cognitive reserve
Refers to exceptional mental performance, particularly when a person has to work at maximum mental capacity; first observed in cognitively impaired people who performed better than expected in everyday life
Plasticity
The brain’s ability to change and adapt over time
Stereotypical threat
An older person’s fear of failure on memory tests; this can lead to poor performance
Contextual view of memory
The idea that many conditions influence memory, including physical, psychological, and social contexts and the knowledge, abilities, and characteristics of the individual, as well as the situation in which the individual is asked to remember
Semantic memory
The store of factual information
Intelligence
The “ability to negotiate environmental demands successfully,” that which intelligence tests measure or what a person taking the test can do now
Fluid intelligence
Reasoning,abstracting, concept formationm and problem solving, with little use of knowledge gained through reading, schooling, and work
