Ch. 6 Vocab (Psych.)

Front 1

Memory

Back 1

the retention of information or experience over time as the result of three key processes: encoding, storage, and retrieval

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Divided attention

Back 2

concentrating on more than one activity at the same time

Front 3

Sustained attention

Back 3

the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time

Front 4

Endoding

Back 4

the first step in memory; the process by which information gets into memory storage

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Levels of processing

Back 5

a continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory

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elaboration

Back 6

the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at any given level o memory encoding

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Sensory memory

Back 7

memory system that involves holding information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer than the brief time it is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses.

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Storage

Back 8

the retention of information over time and how this information is represented in memory

Front 9

Atkinson-Shiffrin theory

Back 9

theory stating that memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

Front 10

Short-term memory

Back 10

limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for only as long as 30 seconds unless strategies are used to retain it longer

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Working memory

Back 11

a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow individuals to hold information temporarily as they perform cognitive tasks; a kind of mental work-bench on which the brain manipulates and assembles information to guide understanding, decision making, and problem solving.

Front 12

Long-term memory

Back 12

a relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time

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Explicit memory (declarative memory)

Back 13

the conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or events and, at least in humans, information that can be verbally communicated.

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Episodic memory

Back 14

the retention of information about the where, when, and what of life's happenings-that is, how individuals remember life's episodes.

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Semantic memory

Back 15

a person's knowledge about the world

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Implicit memory (nondeclarative memory)

Back 16

memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience with out a conscious recollection of that experience.

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Procedural memory

Back 17

memory for skills

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Priming

Back 18

the activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better and faster.

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Script

Back 19

a schema for an event, often containing information about physical features, people, and typical occurrences

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Schema

Back 20

a preexisting mental concept or framework that helps people to organize and interpret information. Schemas from prior encounters with the environment influence the way individuals encode, make inferences about, and retrieve information

Front 21

Connectionism (parallel distributed processing: PDP)

Back 21

THE THEORY THAT MEMORY IS STORED THROUGHOUT THE BRAIN IN CONNECTIONS AMONG NEURONS, SEVERAL OF WHICH MAY WORK TOGETHER TO PROCESS A SINGLE MEMORY

Front 22

Retrieval

Back 22

the memory process that occurs when information that was retained in memory comes out of storage

Front 23

Serial position effect

Back 23

the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list more readily than those in the middle

Front 24

Autobiographical memory

Back 24

a special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person's recollections of his or her life experiences

Front 25

Flashbulb memory

Back 25

the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events

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Motivated forgetting

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forgetting that occurs when something is so painful or anxiety laden that remembering it is intolerable

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Interference theory

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the theory that people forget not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember

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Retroactive interference

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situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier

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Proactive interference

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situation in which material that was learned earlier disrupts the recall of material that was learned later

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Decay theory

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theory stating that when an individual learns something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms, but over time this trace disintegrates; suggests that the passage of time always increases forgetting.

Front 31

Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon

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a type of effort full retrieval associated with a person's feeling that he or she knows something (say, a word or a name) but cannot quite pull it out of memory

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Retrospective memory

Back 32

remembering information from the past

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Prospective memory

Back 33

remembering information about doing something in the future; includes memory for intentions

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Anterograde amnesia

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a memory disorder that affects the retention of new information and events

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Retrograde amnesia

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memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events

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Amnesia

Back 36

the loss of memory