Cognitive Psych 2

Front 1

the processes involved in retaining, retrieving, and using information about stimuli, images, events, ideas, and skills, after the original information is no longer present

Back 1

memory

Front 2

the model proposed by Atkinson and Shriffrin describing memory as a mechanism that involves processing information through a series of stages, which include short-term memory and long term memory

Back 2

modal model of memory

Front 3

the underlying principle of a problem

Back 3

structural features

Front 4

a brief stage of memory that holds information for seconds or fractions of a second. First stage in modal model of memory

Back 4

sensory memory

Front 5

a memory mechanism that can hold a limited amount of information for a brief period of time, usually around 30 seconds, unless there is rehearsal

Back 5

short-term memory (STM)

Front 6

a memory mechanism that can hold large amounts of information for long periods of time

Back 6

long-term memory (LTM)

Front 7

in Atkinson and Shiffrin's modal model of memory, active processes that can be controlled by the person and may differ from one task to another (rehearsal)

Back 7

control processes

Front 8

the process of repeating a stimulus over and over, usually for the purpose of remembering it, that keeps the stimulus active in short-term memory

Back 8

rehearsal

Front 9

the continued perception of light for a fraction of a second after the original light stimulus has been extinguished

Back 9

persistence of vision

Front 10

the procedure used in Sperling's experiment in which he was studying the properties of the visual icon. Participants were instructed to report all the stimuli they saw in a brief presentation

Back 10

whole report-method

Front 11

the procedure used in Sperling's experiment in which he was studying the properties of the visual icon. Participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display

Back 11

partial-report method

Front 12

a procedure used in Sperling's experiment in which he was studying the properties of the visual icon. Participants were instructed to report only some of the stimuli in a briefly presented display. A cue tone that was delayed for a fraction of a second after the display was extinguished indicated which part of the display to report

Back 12

delayed partial report method

Front 13

brief sensory memory for visual stimuli that lasts for a fraction of a second after a stimulus is extinguished (sensory memory stage of modal model)

Back 13

iconic memory/visual icon

Front 14

brief sensory memory for auditory stimuli that lasts for a few seconds after a stimulus is extinguished

Back 14

echoic memory

Front 15

when information learned previously interferes with learning new information

Back 15

proactive interference (PI)

Front 16

the number of digits a person can remember used as a measure of the capacity of STM

Back 16

digit span

Front 17

combining small units into larger ones, such as when individual words are combined into a meaningful sentence. Can be used to increase the capacity of memory

Back 17

chunking

Front 18

a collection of elements that are strongly associated with each other but are weakly associated with other elements

Back 18

chunk

Front 19

the form in which stimuli are represented in the mind (visual, semantic, phonological forms)

Back 19

coding

Front 20

determining how a stimulus or experience is represented in the mind

Back 20

mental approach to coding

Front 21

representation of the sound of a stimulus in the mind

Back 21

auditory coding

Front 22

coding in the mind in the form of a visual image

Back 22

visual coding

Front 23

coding in the mind in the form of meaning

Back 23

semantic coding

Front 24

a situation in which conditions occur that eliminate or reduce the decrease in performance caused by proactive interference

Back 24

release from proactive interference

Front 25

a limited-capacity system for temporary storage and manipulation of information for complex tasks such as comprehension, learning, and reasoning

Back 25

working memory

Front 26

the part of working memory that holds and processes verbal and auditory information

Back 26

phonological loop

Front 27

the part of working memory that holds and processes visual and spatial information

Back 27

visuospatial sketch pad

Front 28

the part of working memory that coordinates the activity of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketch pad

Back 28

central executive

Front 29

an effect that occurs when letters or words that sound similar are confused (T and P)

Back 29

phonological similarity effect

Front 30

the notion that it is more difficult to remember a list of long words than a list of short words

Back 30

word-length effect

Front 31

interference with operation of the phonological loop that occurs when a person repeats an irrelevant word such as "the" as he or she is carrying out a task that requires the phonological loop

Back 31

articulatory suppression

Front 32

an additional component added to Baddeley's original working memory model that serves as a "backup" store that communicates with both LTM and the components of working memory. Holds information longer and has greater capacity than the phonological loop or visuospatial sketch pad

Back 32

episodic buffer

Front 33

a task in which information is provided, a delay is imposed, and then memory is tested

Back 33

delayed-response task

Front 34

a language based on hand and arm gestures that is used by deaf people in the US and parts of Canada

Back 34

American Sign Language (ASL)

Front 35

a condition caused by prolonged vitamin B1 deficiency that leads to destruction of areas on the frontal and temporal lobes that causes severe impairments in memory

Back 35

Korsakoff's Syndrome

Front 36

in a memory experiment in which a number of participants are presented with a list of words, this is a plot of the percentage of participants remembering each word, versus the position of that word in the list

Back 36

serial-position curve

Front 37

in a memory experiment in which a list of words is presented, enhanced memory for words presented at the beginning of the list

Back 37

primacy effect

Front 38

memory that involves conscious recollections of events or facts that we have learned in the past

Back 38

declarative memory

Front 39

memory that occurs when an experience affects a person's behavior, even though the person is not aware that he or she had the experience

Back 39

implicit (nondeclarative) memory

Front 40

memory for specific events that have happened to the person having the memory. Those events are usually remembered as a personal experience that occurred at a particular time and place.

Back 40

episodic memory

Front 41

memory for knowledge about the world that is not tied to any specific personal experience

Back 41

semantic memory

Front 42

according to Tulving, the defining property of the experience of episodic memory, in which a person travels back in time in his or her mind to reexperience events that happened in the past

Back 42

mental time travel

Front 43

the experience of mental time travel that occurs when experiencing an episodic memory

Back 43

self-knowing

Front 44

used by Tulving as equivalent to the self-knowing characteristic of episodic memory

Back 44

remembering

Front 45

used by Tulving to describe the experience of semantic memory (contrast with self-knowing and remembering which he used to describe the experience of episodic memory and non-knowing--implicit memory)

Back 45

knowing

Front 46

semantic memories that have personal significance. These are often easier to remember than semantic memories that are not personally significant

Back 46

personal semantic memories

Front 47

a term used by Tulving to describe implicit memory. Refers to the fact that the defining characteristic of implicit memory is that a person is unaware that it is being used

Back 47

nonknowing

Front 48

when an initial presentation of a stimulus affects the person's response to the same stimulus when it is presented later

Back 48

repetition priming

Front 49

memory for how to carry out highly practiced skills. A type of implicit memory because although people can carry out a skilled behavior, they often cannot explain exactly how they are able to carry out this behavior

Back 49

procedural memory

Front 50

the initial stimulus presented in the repetition priming procedure. If priming occurs, the presentation of this stimulus affects a participant's response to a test stimulus, which is presented later

Back 50

priming stimulus

Front 51

a procedure for testing memory in which stimuli are presented during a study period and then, later, the same stimuli plus other, new stimuli are presented. the participants' task is to pick the stimuli that were originally presented

Back 51

recognition test

Front 52

a test in which participants are presented with stimuli and then, after a delay, are asked to remember as many of the stimuli as possible

Back 52

recall test

Front 53

when people are more likely to rate statements they have read or heard before as being true, just because of prior exposure to the statements

Back 53

propaganda effect

Front 54

the process of acquiring information and transferring it into memory

Back 54

encoding

Front 55

the process of remembering information that has been stored in long-term memory

Back 55

retrieval

Front 56

rehearsal that involves repetition without any consideration of meaning or making connections to other information

Back 56

maintenance rehearsal

Front 57

rehearsal that involves thinking about the meaning of an item to be remembered or making connections between that item and prior knowledge

Back 57

elaborative rehearsal

Front 58

part of levels-of-processing theory that states that there are different depths of processing

Back 58

levels of processing

Front 59

the idea that memory depends on how information is encoded with better memory being achieved when processing is deep than when processing is shallow

Back 59

levels of processing theory

Front 60

involves attention to meaning and is associated with elaborate rehearsal

Back 60

deep processing

Front 61

involves repetition with little attention to meaning and is associated with maintenance rehearsal

Back 61

shallow processing

Front 62

the idea that the processing that occurs as an item is being encoded into memory can be deep or shallow

Back 62

depth of processing

Front 63

when the type of task that occurs during encoding matches the type of task that occurs during retrieval. This type of processing can result in enhanced memory

Back 63

transfer-appropriate processing

Front 64

memory for a word is improved by relating the word to the self

Back 64

self reference effect

Front 65

cues that help a person remember information that is stored in memory

Back 65

retrieval cues

Front 66

memory for material is better when a person generates the material him or herself rather than passively receiving it

Back 66

generation effect

Front 67

the increased firing that occurs in a neuron due to prior activity at the synapse

Back 67

long-term potentiation (LTP)

Front 68

loss of memory for something that happened prior to an injury or traumatic event such as a concussion

Back 68

retrograde amnesia

Front 69

amnesia for events that occur after an injury--that is, the inability to form new memories

Back 69

anterograde amnesia

Front 70

when amnesia is most severe for events that occurred just prior to an injury and becomes less severe for earlier, more remote events

Back 70

graded amnesia

Front 71

the process that transforms new memories into a state in which they are more resistant to disruption

Back 71

consolidation

Front 72

a process of consolidation that involves structural changes at synapses that happen rapidly, over a period of minutes

Back 72

synaptic consolidation

Front 73

a consolidation process that involves the gradual reorganization of circuits within brain regions and takes place on a long time scale, lasting weeks, months, or even years

Back 73

systems consolidation

Front 74

proposes that memory retrieval depends on the hippocampus during consolidation, and then once consolidation is complete, retrieval no longer depends on the hippocampus

Back 74

standard mode of consolidation

Front 75

a process that occurs during memory consolidation in which the hippocampus replays the neural activity associated with a memory. During this, activity occurs in the network connecting the hippocampus and the cortex. The activity results in the formation of connections between the cortical areas

Back 75

reactivation

Front 76

memories for events that occurred long ago

Back 76

remote memories

Front 77

an area in the temporal lobe that consists of the hippocampus and a number of surrounding structures. Damage causes problems in forming new long-term memories

Back 77

medial temporal lobe

Front 78

a procedure for testing memory in which a participant with cues such as words or phrases to aid recall of previously experienced stimuli

Back 78

cued recall

Front 79

the principle that we learn information together with its context. This means that presence of context can lead to enhanced memory for the information

Back 79

encoding specificity

Front 80

the principle that memory is best when a person is in the same state for encoding and retrieval

Back 80

state-dependent learning

Front 81

memory is better when learning occurs in a number of short study sessions with breaks in between, than when learning occurs in one long session

Back 81

distributed versus massed practice effect

Front 82

a procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits a response causes the neutral stimulus to elicit that response

Back 82

conditioning

Front 83

a procedure in which pairing a neutral stimulus with a stimulus that elicits fear or avoidance causes the neutral stimulus to elicit fear or avoidance

Back 83

fear conditioning

Front 84

a process by Nader and others that occurs when a memory is reactivated (occurs more rapidly than consolidation)

Back 84

reconsolidation

Front 85

remembering to perform intended actions

Back 85

prospective memory

Front 86

memory for dated events in a person's life. Usually considered to be a type of episodic memory, but has also been defined as including personal semantic memories

Back 86

autobiographical memory

Front 87

remembering an event as though you are seeing it

Back 87

field perspective

Front 88

remembering an event as observed from the outside, so the person observes him or herself experiencing the event

Back 88

observer perspective

Front 89

the empirical finding that people over forty years old have enhanced memory for events from adolescence and early adulthood, compared to other periods of their lives

Back 89

reminiscence bump

Front 90

an explanation for the reminiscence bump, which states that memories are better for adolescence and early adulthood because people assume their life identities during that time

Back 90

life narrative hypothesis

Front 91

an explanation for the reminiscence bump, which states that memories are better for adolescence and early adulthood because encoding is better during periods of rapid change that are followed by stability

Back 91

cognitive hypothesis

Front 92

the idea that events in a person's life story become easier to recall when they fit the cultural life script for that person's culture

Back 92

cultural life script hypothesis

Front 93

life events that commonly occur in a particular culture

Back 93

cultural life script

Front 94

memory of emotionally charged or especially memorable events that have been claimed to be particularly vivid and accurate

Back 94

flashbulb memory

Front 95

recall that is tested immediately after an event and then is retested at various times after the event

Back 95

repeated recall

Front 96

the idea that we remember some life events better because we rehearse them (Neisser explains flashbulb memories)

Back 96

narrative rehearsal hypothesis

Front 97

the idea that what people report as memories are constructed based on what actually happened plus additional factors, such as expectations, other knowledge, and other life experiences

Back 97

constructive approach to memory

Front 98

a method of measuring memory in which a person reproduces a stimulus on repeated occasions so his or her memory is tested at longer and longer intervals after the original presentation of the material to be remembered

Back 98

repeated production

Front 99

the process by which people determine the origins of memories, knowledge, or beliefs. Remembering that you heard about something from a particular person would be an example of this

Back 99

source monitoring

Front 100

misidentifying the source of a memory. equivalent to source misattribution

Back 100

source monitoring error

Front 101

knowledge of the origins of our memories, knowledge, or beliefs. For example, knowing that the source of a person's memory for a particular event was seeing it reported on television

Back 101

source memory

Front 102

inference that occurs when reading or hearing a statement leads a person to expect something that is not explicitly stated or necessarily implied by the statement

Back 102

pragmatic inference

Front 103

a person's knowledge about what is involved in a particular experience

Back 103

schema

Front 104

a type of schema. The conception of the sequence of actions that describe a particular activity

Back 104

script

Front 105

occurs when misleading information presented after a person witnesses an event can change how that person describes the event later

Back 105

misformation effect

Front 106

the misleading information that causes the misinformation effect

Back 106

misleading post event information (MPI)

Front 107

the idea that misleading post event information impairs or replaces memories that were formed during the original experiencing of an event

Back 107

memory-trace replacement hypothesis

Front 108

when more recent learning interferes with memory for something that happened in the past

Back 108

retroactive interference

Front 109

testimony by eyewitnesses to a crime about what they saw during commission of the crime

Back 109

eye-witness testimony

Front 110

a situation that occurs in which eye witnesses to a crime tend to focus attention on a weapon, which causes poorer memory for other things that are happening

Back 110

weapons focus

Front 111

a procedure used for interviewing crime scene witnesses that involves letting witnesses talk with a minimum of interruption, and also uses techniques that help witnesses recreate the situation present at the crime scene by having them place themselves back in the scene and recreate things like emotions they were feeling, where they were looking, and how the scene may have appeared when viewed from different perspectives

Back 111

cognitive interview

Front 112

a mental representation used for a variety of cognitive functions, including memory, reasoning, and using and understanding language

Back 112

concept

Front 113

the process by which things are placed into groups called categories

Back 113

categorization

Front 114

groups of objects that belong together because they belong to the same class of objects, such as "houses," "furniture," or "schools"

Back 114

category

Front 115

the idea that we can decide whether something is a member of a category by determining whether the object meets the definition of the category

Back 115

definitional approach to categorization

Front 116

in considering the process of categorization, the idea that things in a particular category resemble each other in a number of ways

Back 116

family resemblance

Front 117

the idea that we decide whether something is a member of a category by determining whether it is similar to a standard representation of the category, called a prototype

Back 117

prototype approach to categorization

Front 118

a standard used in categorization that is formed by averaging the category members a person has encountered in the past

Back 118

prototype

Front 119

the degree to which a particular member of a category matches the prototype for that category

Back 119

prototypicality

Front 120

a category member that closely resembles the category prototype

Back 120

high prototypicality

Front 121

a category member that does not resemble the category prototype

Back 121

low prototypicality

Front 122

a technique in which the participant is asked to indicate whether a particular sentence is true or false

Back 122

sentence verification technique

Front 123

the ability to judge the truth or falsity of sentences involving high-prototypical members of a category more rapidly than sentences involving low-prototypical members of a category

Back 123

typicality effect

Front 124

the approach to categorization in which members of a category are judged against exemplars, which are examples of members of the category that the person has encountered in the past

Back 124

exemplar approach to categorization

Front 125

in categorization members of a category that a person has experienced in the past

Back 125

exemplar

Front 126

organization of categories in which larger, more general categories are divided into smaller, more specific categories

Back 126

hierarchical organization

Front 127

the level in Rosch's categorization scheme that is a level below the basic level, and so would correspond to kitchen table for the basic category of table

Back 127

subordinate level

Front 128

in Rosch's categorization scheme, the level that would correspond to table or chair for the superordinate category of furniture. this level is psychologically special because it is the level above which much information is lost and below which little is gained

Back 128

basic level

Front 129

the highest level in Rosch's categorization scheme that corresponds to general categories such as furniture or vehicles

Back 129

superordinate level

Front 130

the approach to concepts in which concepts are arranged in networks that represent the way concepts are organized in the mind

Back 130

semantic network approach

Front 131

a feature of some semantic network models in which properties of a category that are shared by many members of a category are stored at a higher level node in the network

Back 131

cognitive economy

Front 132

activity that spreads out along any link in a network that is connected to an activated node

Back 132

spreading activation

Front 133

a procedure in which a person is asked to decide as quickly as possible whether a particular stimulus is a word or nonword

Back 133

lexical decision task

Front 134

a network model of mental operation that proposes that concepts are represented in networks that are modeled after neural networks (also called parallel distributed processing approach)

Back 134

connectionism

Front 135

the type of network proposed by the connectionist approach to the representation of concepts. Based on neural networks but not necessarily identical to them

Back 135

connectionist networks

Front 136

"neuronlike processing units" in a connectionist network

Back 136

units

Front 137

units in a connectionist network that are activated by stimulation from the environment

Back 137

input units

Front 138

units in a connectionist network that are located between input units and output units

Back 138

hidden units

Front 139

units in a connectionist network that contain the final output of the network

Back 139

output units

Front 140

the strength of a connection between units in a connectionist network

Back 140

weights

Front 141

a learning process in which mistakes are corrected. This mechanism is a property of some types of connectionist networks

Back 141

supervised learning

Front 142

during learning in a connectionist network, the difference between the output signal generated by a particular stimulus and the output that actually represents that stimulus

Back 142

error signal

Front 143

a process by which learning can occur in a connectionist network, in which an error signal is transmitted backward through the network. This provides the information needed to adjust the weights in the network to achieve the correct output signal for a stimulus

Back 143

back propogation

Front 144

disruption of performance due to damage to a system that occurs only gradually as parts of the system are damaged. this occurs in some cases of brain damage and also when parts of a connectionist network are damaged.

Back 144

graceful degradation

Front 145

a condition associated with brain damage in which a person can see an object but cannot name the object

Back 145

visual agnosia

Front 146

neurons in the temporal lobe that respond best to objects in a specific category

Back 146

category-specific neurons