Memory

Question 1

relearning

Answer 1

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.

Question 1

retrograde amnesia

Answer 1

an inability to retrieve information from one’s past.

Question 2

anterograde amnesia

Answer 2

an inability to form new memories.

Question 2

hippocampus

Answer 2

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage.

Question 3

mnemonics

Answer 3

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Question 4

implicit memory

Answer 4

retention independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory.)

Question 4

retroactive interference

Answer 4

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

Question 5

long-term potentiation

Answer 5

an increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Question 6

automatic processing

Answer 6

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

Question 8

explicit memory

Answer 8

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare.” (Also called declarative memory.)

Question 8

retrieval

Answer 8

the process of getting information out of memory storage.

Question 9

chunking

Answer 9

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Question 10

recall

Answer 10

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Question 10

source amnesia

Answer 10

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.

Question 11

serial position effect

Answer 11

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Question 11

spacing effect

Answer 11

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

Question 13

long-term memory

Answer 13

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Question 14

shallow processing

Answer 14

encoding on a basic level based on structure or appearance of words.

Question 15

proactive interference

Answer 15

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.

Question 16

deep processing

Answer 16

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

Question 18

testing effect

Answer 18

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply reading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

Question 20

sensory memory

Answer 20

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

Question 21

echoic memory

Answer 21

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Question 22

working memory

Answer 22

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from longterm memory.

Question 23

encoding

Answer 23

the processing of information into the memory system-for example, by extracting meaning.

Question 24

short-term memory

Answer 24

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.

Question 25

mood-congruent memory

Answer 25

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.

Question 26

recognition

Answer 26

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.

Question 27

effortful processing

Answer 27

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Question 29

Deja vu

Answer 29

that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

Question 30

iconic memory

Answer 30

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Question 32

storage

Answer 32

the retention of encoded information over time.

Question 33

misinformation effect

Answer 33

incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event.

Question 34

memory

Answer 34

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

Question 35

repression

Answer 35

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Question 36

flashbulb memory

Answer 36

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.