Cognition: Memory Flashcards
(40 cards)
The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information
Memory
The processing of information into the memory system-for example, by extracting meaning
Encoding
The retention of encoded information over time
Storage
The process of getting information out of memory storage
Retrieval
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
Sensory memory
Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.
Short-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of he memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experience
Long-term memory
A newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing o incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
Working memory
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of info processing for many functions. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and conscious problem solving
Parallel processing
Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space,time, frequency, and well-learned information
Automatic processing
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Effortful processing
The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage
Rehearsal
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study (cramming)
Spacing effect
Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list
Serial position effect
The encoding of picture images
Visual encoding
The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
Acoustic encoding
The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words
Semantic encoding
Mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding
Imagery
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Mnemonics
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically
Chunking
A few broad concepts divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts
Hierarchies
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
Iconic memory
A momentary sensory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
Echoic memory
An increase in a synapse’s firing potential after a brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
Long-term potentiation