MCAT Psychology Memory/Learning Flashcards by Amir Mostafavi

An inability to form new memories

Anterograde amnesia

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Process of learning in which one event, object, or action is directly connected with another. Two general categories include classical and operant conditioning

Associative learning

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Parents impose strict rules that are expected to be followed unconditionally

Authoritarian parenting

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Parents place limits on behavior and consistently follow through on consequences, but also allow for two-way communication with children

Authoritative parenting

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The process by which one learns to ensure that a negative stimulus will not occur

Avoidance learning

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The idea that information that is thought about at a deeper level is better remembered

Depth of processing

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Occurs when the conditioned stimulus is differentiated from other stimuli

Discrimination (scientific)

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The restoration to full strength of a response to a stimulus that had previously become weakened through habituation

Dishabituation

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

A hypothesis that is easier to remember words with associated images than either words or images alone

Dual coding hypothesis

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The process of transferring sensory information into the memory system

Encoding

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Autobiographical memory for information of personal importance

Episodic memory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Through operant conditioning, this is the process of learning to engage in a particular behavior in order to get away from a negative or aversive stimulus

Escape learning

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Memories that can be consciously recalled, such as factual knowledge

Explicit (or declarative) memory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

In classical conditioning, the unpairing of the conditioned and unconditioned stimuli

Extinction

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Inaccurate memory created by the power of imagination or suggestion

False memory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Reinforcement schedule in which reward is offered after a set period of time has passed

Fixed-interval schedule

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Reinforcement schedule in which reward is offered after a set number of instances of a behavior

Fixed-ratio schedule

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Intense vivid “snapshot” of an emotionally intense experience

Flashbulb memory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

In classical conditioning, the process by which stimuli similar to a conditioned stimulus elicit the conditioned response

Generalization

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Action that is performed repeatedly until it becomes automatic

Habit

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

A decrease in response to a stimulus after repeated presentations

Habituation

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

The brief photographic memory for visual information, which decays in a few tenths of a second

Iconic memory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Memory that involves conditioned associations and knowledge of how to do something

Implicit (or procedural) memory

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

A lack of explicit memory for events that occurred before the age of roughly 3.5 years

Infantile amnesia

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Category of attachment style in which infants are less likely to explore the environment in the presence of the mother and less likely to be soothed by her

Insecure attachment

Sudden flash of inspiration that provides a solution to a problem

Insight learning

Learning that takes place in the absence of any observable behavior to show that it has occurred

Latent learning

The unintended or less recognizable consequences or a social structure

Latent functions

Information that is retained long-term, potentially indefinitely

Long-term memory

A memory technique that involves imagining moving through a familiar place, and leaving visual representation topics to be remembered

Method of loci

Neurons that fire when a particular behavior or emotion is observed in another

Mirror neurons

A tendency to misremember an event, particularly when misleading information is presented between the event and the mental encoding of the event

Misinformation effect

Any memory technique use to promote the retention and retrieval of information

Mnemonic

Mechanism behind observational learning in which an observer sees a behavior performed, then imitates the behavior

Modeling

When learning occurs during a particular emotional state, it is most easily recalled when one is again in that emotional state

Mood-dependent memory

The removal of a positive or rewarding stimulus that decreases the likelihood of that behavior

Negative punishment

The removal of a negative or aversive stimulus following a behavior. Tends to increase the frequency of that behavior

Negative reinforcement

A form of associative learning based on consequences, in which rewards increase the frequency of behaviors and punishments decrease their frequency

Operant conditioning

In response to stroking a baby's palm, the baby's hand will grasp. This reflex lasts a few months

Palmar grasp reflex

Mnemonic strategy that involves assigning images to a sequence of numbers

Peg word method

Parenting style that creates few rules and demands and little discipline

Permissive parenting

The introduction of a negative or aversive stimulus following a behavior. Tends to decrease the likelihood of that behavior

Positive punishment

Reward immediately following a behavior that increases the frequency of that behavior

Positive reinforcement

When old information facilitates the learning of new information

Positive transfer

Unconditioned consequences that are innately satisfying or desirable. May be biologically driven

Primary reinforcers

An effect of implicit memory whereby exposure to a given stimulus "primes" or prepares the brain to respond to a later stimulus

Priming

A type of memory interference that occurs when previously learned information interferes with the recall of information learned more recently

Proactive interference

Remembering to do something in the future

Prospective memory

Retrieving information from memory

Recall

Retrieving information from memory with the use of cues

Recognition

Theory that memory is constructed rather than a perfect recollection of an event

Reconstructive memory

Theory that suggests that memory recall occurs through storage of the original stimulus input and subsequent recall

Reproductive memory

The amount of time elapsed since information was learned and when it must be recalled

Retention interval

A type of memory interference that occurs when newly learned information interferes with the recall of information learned previously

Retroactive interference

Occurs when one is unable to recall information that was previously encoded

Retrograde amnesia

In response to touching one of a baby's cheeks, it will turn its head in the direction of the stroke and open its mouth to "root" for a nipple

Rooting reflex

Conditioned reinforcers that are learned through their relationship with primary reinforcers

Secondary reinforcers

An attachment style that forms when an infant has caregivers who are sensitive and responsive to needs

Secure attachment

The tendency to better remember information relevant to ourselves

Self-reference effect

Memory for factual information

Semantic memory

An increase in the strength of a response with a repeated presentation of a stimulus

Sensitization

The initial recording of sensory information in the memory system: __is a very brief snapshot that quickly delays

Sensory memory

When information is presented in a list, individuals are more likely to recall the first and last items presented

Serial position effect

In operant conditioning, the process of reinforcing intermediate proximal behaviors until a final desired behavior is achieved

Shaping

Memory that is limited in duration and in capacity

Short-term memory

A specific type of error of recollection where a memory is incorrectly attributed to the wrong source

Source monitoring error

In classical conditioning, a reoccurence of a previously extinct conditioned response in the presence of a conditioned stimulus

Spontaneous recovery

Developmentally typical anxiety displayed by children aged eight to twelve months toward strangers

Stranger anxiety

In response to anything touching the roof of the baby's mouth, it will begin to suck

Sucking reflex

In response to its head being turned to one side, a baby will stretch out its arm on the same side and the opposite arm bends up at the elbow

Tonic neck reflex

A response that automatically follows an unconditioned stimulus, without necessitating learning and conditioning to create the link

Unconditioned response

A stimulus that elicits an unconditioned response automatically, without necessitating learning and conditioning to create the link

Unconditioned stimulus

In response to the soles of a baby's feet touching a flat surface, they will attempt to "walk" by placing one foot in front of the other

Walking/stepping reflex

Short term memory for information in immediate awareness, consisting of four components: - a central executive - phonological loop - visuospatial sketchpad - episodic buffer

Working memory

The ___ of the brain is important in negative conditioning

Amygdala

The ___ of the brain is believed to be particularly important in positive conditioning

Hippocampus

Food and avoiding pain and danger are all forms of

Primary positive and negative reinforcers

If a child reads a book and receives a stamp and 10 stamps gets her a pizza the stamps are__

secondary reinforcers

Continuous reinforcement will result in rapid behavior ___ but also rapid __

acquisition and extinction

Intermittent reinforcmeent schedule typically results in __

slower acquisiton of behavior but great persistence

The two reinforcement schedules that produce the highest response rate in operant conditioning are__and__

Fixed ratio schedule | Variable ratio schedule

The best way to teach new behavior with operant conditioning is __

Continuous reinforcement

The slowest rate of extinction of a response in operant conditioning is through__

Variable ratio

Two types of sensory memory are __ and ___

iconic memory and echoic memory

Information from sensory memory decays rapidly if it is not passed through __ into short-term memory

Broadbent's filter

___ which is strongly correlated with the hippocampus, is where new information sought to be remembered resides temporarily and is then encoded to long-term memory or forgotten

Short term memory

___ which is strongly correlated with the prefrontal cortex, is a storage bin to hold memories that are needed at a particular moment in order to process information or solve a problem

Working memory

___ and __ are two subdivisions of Explicit memory

Semantic memory and Episodic memory

Knowing that the capital of England is London is factual this is an example of ___

Semantic memory

Remembering the fish I caught on christmas that was 25 lbs is an example of a memory of personal importance, an example of __

Episodic memory

The ___ is necessary for the encoding of new explicit memories

Hippocampus

The ___ is involved in learning skills and conditioned associations (implicit memories)

Cerebellum

The ___ is involved in associating emotion with memories, particularly negative memoires

Amygdala

___ involves retrieving information when provided with a cue

Cued recall

__ involves retrieving the item "out of thin air"

Free recall

__ is a mental blueprint containing common aspects of some part of the world. For example, if asked to describe what your 4th grade classroom looked like, you might "remember" a chalkboard, chalk, desks, posters encouraging reading, and books, based on your schema for such a classroom, even though the room may not have had posters

Schema

This reflex lasts from birth-6 months and is the response to a loud sound or sudden movement, an infant will startle; throw its head back and extend its arms and legs, then pull arms and legs back in

Moro (startle) reflex

In response to the sole of the foot being stroked, the babys big toe moves upward or toward the top surface of the foot and the other toes fan out

Babinski reflex

__ are primitive, involuntary movements that serve to "prime" the neuromuscular system to from the basis for the more sophisticated movement to come. This occurs from age 0-1 years

Reflexive movements

__ serve as the first voluntary movement performed by a child, from birth to age 2, includes rolling, sitting, crawling, standing, and walking

Rudimentary movements

__ stage occurs from age 2-7 during this time child is learning to manipulate his or her body through actions such as running, jumping, throwing, catching

Fundamental movement