memory

Question 1

sensory register

Answer 1

our immediate memory of sensory information.

Question 2

short-term memory

Answer 2

our initial memory store that is temporary and limited.

capacity
- seven units of information

duration
- 18 seconds without rehearsal

encoding
- acoustic

forgetting

• displacement
• decay

Question 3

long-term memory

Answer 3

a memory store that holds potentially limitless amounts of information for up to a lifetime.

capacity
- potentially limitless

duration
- a few minutes to a lifetime

encoding
- semantic

forgetting

• decay
• interference
• retrieval failure

Question 4

duration

Answer 4

the length of time information can be stored in short-term and long-term memory.

Question 5

capacity

Answer 5

the amount of information that can be stored in short-term and long-term memory.

Question 6

encoding

Answer 6

turning sensory information into a form that can be used and stored by the brain.

Question 7

rehearse

Answer 7

when we repeat information over and over to make it stick.

Question 8

displacement

Answer 8

when the short-term memory becomes ‘full’ and new information pushes out older information.

Question 9

interference

Answer 9

when new information overwrites older information, for example when a new phone number takes the place of an old phone number in your memory.

Question 10

processing

Answer 10

the operations we perform on sensory information in the brain.

Question 11

input

Answer 11

for human memory, this refers to the sensory information we receive from our environment.

Question 12

output

Answer 12

for memory, this refers to the information we recall; in a broader sense, output can refer to behavioral response.

Question 13

storage

Answer 13

the retention of information in our memory system.

Question 14

acoustic encoding

Answer 14

the process of storing sound in our memory system.

Question 15

visual encoding

Answer 15

the process of storing something that is seen in our memory system.

Question 16

semantic encoding

Answer 16

the process of storing the meaning of information in our memory system, rather than the sound of a word, we store the definition/meaning of that word.

Question 17

retrieval

Answer 17

the recall of stored memory.

Question 18

amnesia

Answer 18

memory loss, often through accident, disease or injury.

Question 19

anterograde amnesia

Answer 19

memory condition that means new long-term memories cannot be made; this is typically caused by injury to the brain.

Question 20

retrograde amnesia

Answer 20

a memory condition that affects recall of memories prior to an injury to the brain.

Question 21

peterson and peterson

Answer 21

investigated the duration of the short-term memory using trigrams and found it was about 18 seconds.

strengths
- standardised procedure

weaknesses
- lacks mundane realism; a realistic everyday task

Question 22

war of the ghosts

Answer 22

story used by bartlett.

Question 23

schema

Answer 23

a mental representation.

Question 24

omission

Answer 24

leaving out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details when remembering something.

Question 25

transformation

Answer 25

when details are changed to make them more familiar and rational.

Question 26

familiarisation

Answer 26

when unfamiliar details are changed to align with one's own schema.

Question 27

rationalisation

Answer 27

when details are added into our recall to give a reason for something that may not have originally fitted with a schema.

Question 28

bartlett's theory of reconstructive memory

Answer 28

contradicts the idea that memory is retrieved perfectly. it suggests that one's memories are full of blanks and we use schemas to help remake the memory. strengths - real world practical application - ecologically valid weaknesses - subjective - not standardised

Question 29

iconic memory

Answer 29

a sensory register for visual information.

Question 30

echoic memory

Answer 30

a sensory register for auditory information.

Question 31

modality free

Answer 31

a store in the msmm which is not linked to a specific type of sensory information.

Question 32

modal specific

Answer 32

a store of the msmm which is linked specifically to a type of sensory information.

Question 33

retrieval failure

Answer 33

when a memory is not lost but can't be recalled. e.g. tip of the tongue moment.

Question 34

decay

Answer 34

when a memory is forgotten over time.

Question 35

digit span test

Answer 35

a test of stm capacity involving the recall of numbers.

Question 36

multi-store model of memory

Answer 36

atkinson and shiffrin - sensory register - short-term memory - long-term memory strengths - lots of evidence to support the theory weaknesses - oversimplified; does not contain other stores of long-term memory

Question 37

primary

Answer 37

the tendency to recall words at the beginning of a list when asked to remember it.

Question 38

recency

Answer 38

the tendency to recall words at the end of a list when asked to remember it.

Question 39

serial reproduction

Answer 39

technique in which participants retell something to another participant to form a chain; this is how folk stories are passed down through cultures.

Question 40

repeated reproduction

Answer 40

technique in which participants are asked to recall something again and again.

Question 41

mundane realism

Answer 41

a realistic everyday task

Question 42

reductionism

Answer 42

theory of explaining something according to its basic congruent parts. laboratory experiments are used to be able to isolate variables to gather a conclusion strengths - simplistic explanation - high in validity because lab experiments are used and there is control present weaknesses - over simplistic causes us to ignore other factors that cause the behavior or interaction effects between multiple cause - lacks ecological validity

Question 43

holism

Answer 43

theory of explaining something as a whole. qualitative methods are used to gain greater insight into the causes of the behavior. strengths - results of the study are rich in data. - conclusion explains how multiple factors influence one another to change behavior. weaknesses - difficult to achieve a holistic approach as it requires investigation of lots of variables. - regarded as unscientific because the explanation only applies to the particular individual.

Question 44

reliable

Answer 44

outcome of the study is consistent.

Question 45

attention

Answer 45

focus on certain sensory information.