Unit 5: Memory

Question 1

Hierarchies

Answer 1

processing information not only in chunks but also in hierarchies composed of a few broad concepts divided and subdivided into narrow concepts and facts, (helps people achieve expertise in an area)

Question 2

Spacing Effect

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Testing effect

Answer 3

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

Question 4

Mnemonic

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Chunking

Answer 5

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Question 6

Shallow Processing

Answer 6

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

Question 7

Deep processing

Answer 7

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

Question 8

echoic memory

Answer 8

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

Question 9

iconic memory

Answer 9

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

Question 10

George Miller 7 +/- 2

Answer 10

proposed that short-term memory can retain about seven information bits (give or take two)

Question 11

implicit memory

Answer 11

retention independent of conscious recollection (also called nondeclarative memory)

Question 12

automatic processing

Answer 12

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

Question 13

automatic processing (space)

Answer 13

the tendency to remember the location of a piece of information (ex; visualizing the location of a specific bit of information on a page)

Question 14

automatic processing (time)

Answer 14

The tendency to remember a sequence of events (ex; retracing your steps after losing something)

Question 15

automatic processing (frequency)

Answer 15

The tendency to take note of how many times things happen (ex; passing someone for the nth time in one day)

Question 16

effortless processing

Answer 16

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Question 17

explicit memory

Answer 17

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and ‘declare” (also known as declarative memory)

Question 18

Working memory (Alan Baddeley)

Answer 18

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 long-term memory

Question 19

long term memory

Answer 19

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

Question 20

short-term memory

Answer 20

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 21

sensory memory

Answer 21

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

Question 22

parallel processing

Answer 22

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) process of most computers and of conscious problem-solving

Question 23

retrieval

Answer 23

the process of getting information out of memory stage

Question 24

storage

Answer 24

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Question 25

encoding

Answer 25

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

Question 26

memory

Answer 26

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval if information

Question 27

Hippocampus

Answer 27

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

Question 28

flashbulb memory

Answer 28

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Question 29

Long-term potentiation

Answer 29

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

Question 30

Recall

Answer 30

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

Question 31

Recognition

Answer 31

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

Question 32

relearning

Answer 32

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

Question 33

priming

Answer 33

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Question 34

mood-congruent theory

Answer 34

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

Question 35

serial position effect

Answer 35

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

Question 36

anterograde amnesia

Answer 36

an inability to form new memories

Question 37

retrograde amnesia

Answer 37

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Question 38

proactive interference

Answer 38

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

Question 39

retroactive interference

Answer 39

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

Question 40

repression

Answer 40

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

Question 41

misinformation effect

Answer 41

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

Question 42

source amnesia

Answer 42

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

Question 43

Deja vu

Answer 43

The eerie sense that "I've experienced this before". Cues from the current situation that may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Question 44

cognition

Answer 44

all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

Question 45

concept

Answer 45

a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Question 46

prototype

Answer 46

a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories (as when comparing feathered creatures to a prototypical bird, such as a robin)

Question 47

creativity

Answer 47

the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

Question 48

convergent thinking

Answer 48

narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Question 49

Divergent thinking

Answer 49

expands the number of possible problem solutions (creative thinking that diverges in different directions)

Question 50

algorithm

Answer 50

a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem. Contrasts with the usually speedier - but also more error-prone - use of heuristics

Question 51

heuristic

Answer 51

a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but also more error-prone than algorithms

Question 52

insight

Answer 52

a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

Question 53

Confirmation bias

Answer 53

a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

Question 54

mental set

Answer 54

a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

Question 55

intuition

Answer 55

an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit conscious reasoning

Question 56

representativeness heuristic

Answer 56

judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

Question 57

availability heuristic

Answer 57

estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness) we presume such events are common

Question 58

overconfidence

Answer 58

the tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

Question 59

belief perserverance

Answer 59

clinging to one's initial conceptions after the basis on which they were formed has been discredited

Question 60

framing

Answer 60

the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgments