Memory

Question 1

What is memory?

Answer 1

The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.

Question 2

What is encoding?

Answer 2

Forming a memory code—initial recording of information.

Question 3

What is storage?

Answer 3

Maintaining encoded information over time.

Question 4

What is retrieval?

Answer 4

Recovering information from memory stores.

Question 5

What are the three types of memory in the Three-System Memory Model?

Answer 5

Sensory memory, Short-term (working) memory, Long-term memory.

Question 6

How long does sensory memory last?

Answer 6

About 1 second.

Question 7

How long does short-term memory last without rehearsal?

Answer 7

15–25 seconds.

Question 8

What is sensory memory?

Answer 8

Brief preservation of information in original sensory form (sight, sound, touch).

Question 9

What is iconic memory?

Answer 9

Visual sensory memory.

Question 10

What is echoic memory?

Answer 10

Auditory sensory memory.

Question 11

What did George Sperling’s study show?

Answer 11

People can briefly retain all items in sensory memory, even if only a few can be reported.

Question 12

What is short-term memory (STM)?

Answer 12

Memory that holds meaningful info briefly (15–25 sec).

Question 13

What is the STM capacity?

Answer 13

7 ± 2 items.

Question 14

What is chunking?

Answer 14

Grouping items into larger, familiar units.

Question 15

What is rehearsal?

Answer 15

Repeating information to keep it in STM or move it to LTM.

Question 16

What is elaborative rehearsal?

Answer 16

Making connections to organize information meaningfully.

Question 17

What is working memory?

Answer 17

Temporary memory that actively manipulates and rehearses info.

Question 18

What are the components of working memory?

Answer 18

Visual store, Verbal store, Episodic buffer, Central executive processor.

Question 19

What is long-term memory?

Answer 19

Permanent memory store; info may be difficult to retrieve.

Question 20

What is the Serial Position Effect?

Answer 20

Recall is better for items at the beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list.

Question 21

What is declarative memory?

Answer 21

Memory for factual information.

Question 22

What is semantic memory?

Answer 22

General knowledge, facts, logic.

Question 23

What is episodic memory?

Answer 23

Personal experiences and events.

Question 24

What is procedural memory?

Answer 24

Skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike).

Question 25

What are semantic networks?

Answer 25

Webs of related concepts; closely linked concepts are recalled faster.

Question 26

What does the hippocampus do?

Answer 26

Encodes new memories and sends them to the cortex.

Question 27

What role does the amygdala play?

Answer 27

Stores emotional memories.

Question 28

What is the 'tip of the tongue' phenomenon?

Answer 28

Knowing something but being unable to retrieve it.

Question 29

What is a retrieval cue?

Answer 29

A stimulus that helps recall stored information.

Question 30

Difference between recall and recognition?

Answer 30

Recall: retrieving info without cues; Recognition: identifying info from choices.

Question 31

What does the Levels of Processing Theory propose?

Answer 31

Deeper processing = better memory.

Question 32

What are the three levels of processing?

Answer 32

Shallow (structural): appearance; Intermediate (phonemic): sound; Deep (semantic): meaning.

Question 33

What is explicit memory?

Answer 33

Conscious recollection (e.g., dates, names).

Question 34

What is implicit memory?

Answer 34

Unconscious memory shown by behavior.

Question 35

What is priming?

Answer 35

Prior exposure makes recall easier.

Question 36

What are flashbulb memories?

Answer 36

Vivid memories of emotional or significant events (e.g., 9/11).

Question 37

What are constructive processes?

Answer 37

Memory is shaped by personal meaning.

Question 38

What are schemas?

Answer 38

Mental frameworks based on previous experiences.

Question 39

Is eyewitness memory reliable?

Answer 39

No; attention can be misdirected (e.g., weapon focus).

Question 40

What is the misinformation effect?

Answer 40

Altering memory with misleading post-event info (Loftus).

Question 41

What is a false memory?

Answer 41

A vivid but inaccurate recollection.

Question 42

What are autobiographical memories?

Answer 42

Memories of personal life events.

Question 43

What are repressed memories?

Answer 43

Memories pushed into the unconscious due to trauma.

Question 44

Are repressed memories reliable?

Answer 44

Highly debated; people are suggestible and may create false memories.

Question 45

What causes forgetting?

Answer 45

Encoding failure, Decay over time, Interference, Lack of retrieval cues.

Question 46

What is the forgetting curve?

Answer 46

Most forgetting happens soon after learning (Ebbinghaus).

Question 47

What is decay theory?

Answer 47

Memory fades over time.

Question 48

What is interference?

Answer 48

New or old info blocks recall.

Question 49

Difference between proactive and retroactive interference?

Answer 49

Proactive: old info interferes with new; Retroactive: new info interferes with old.

Question 50

What is cue-dependent forgetting?

Answer 50

Inability to recall without proper retrieval cues.

Question 51

What is Alzheimer’s disease?

Answer 51

Illness causing severe memory loss and cognitive decline.

Question 52

What is amnesia?

Answer 52

Memory loss without other mental difficulties.

Question 53

What is retrograde amnesia?

Answer 53

Loss of past memories before an event.

Question 54

What is anterograde amnesia?

Answer 54

Inability to form new memories after an event.

Question 55

What is Korsakoff’s syndrome?

Answer 55

Memory disorder in alcoholics; includes confabulation and hallucinations.