Psy 101 Ch 6 Memory

Front 1

Memory

Back 1

The ability to store and retrieve information over time

Front 2

Encoding

Back 2

The process by which we transform what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory

Front 3

Storage

Back 3

The process of maintaining information in memory over time

Front 4

Retrieval

Back 4

The process of bringing to mind information that has been previously encoded and stored

Front 5

Elaborative encoding

Back 5

The process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory

Front 6

Visual imagery encoding

Back 6

The process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures

Front 7

Organizational encoding

Back 7

The process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items

Front 8

Sensory memory

Back 8

Storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less

Front 9

Iconic memory

Back 9

A fast-decaying store of visual information

Front 10

Echoic memory

Back 10

A fast-decaying store of auditory information

Front 11

Short-term memory (STM)

Back 11

Storage that holds non-sensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute; can hold about 7 items

Front 12

Rehearsal

Back 12

The process of keeping information in STM by mentally repeating it

Front 13

Chunking

Back 13

Combining small pieces of information into larger clusters that are more easily held in STM

Front 14

Working memory

Back 14

Active maintenance of information in STM

Front 15

Long-term memory (LTM)

Back 15

Storage that holds information for hours, days, weeks, or years; no known capacity

Front 16

Anterograde amnesia

Back 16

The inability to transfer new information from the short-term store into the long-term store

Front 17

Retrograde amnesia

Back 17

The inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation

Front 18

Consolidation

Back 18

The process by which memories become stable in the brain

Front 19

Reconsolidation

Back 19

Memories can become vulnerable to disruption when they are recalled, requiring them to become consolidated again

Front 20

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

Back 20

A process whereby communication across the synapse between neurons strengthens the connection, making further communication easier

Front 21

NMDA receptor

Back 21

A glutamate (excitatory) receptor that influences the flow of information between neurons by controlling the initiation of LTP

Front 22

Retrieval cues

Back 22

External information that helps bring stored information to mind

Front 23

Encoding specificity principle

Back 23

The idea that a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps recreate the specific way in which information was initially encoded

Front 24

State-dependent retrieval

Back 24

The tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval

Front 25

Transfer-appropriate processing

Back 25

Memory is likely to transfer from one situation to another when the encoding context of the situations match

Front 26

Retrieval-induced forgetting

Back 26

A process by which retrieving an item from long-term memory impairs subsequent recall of related items (frontal lobe suppresses competing information)

Front 27

Explicit memory

Back 27

The act of consciously or intentionally retrieving past experiences

Front 28

Semantic memory

Back 28

A network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world

Front 29

Episodic memory

Back 29

The collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place (also imagining the future)

Front 30

Implicit memory

Back 30

The influence of past experience on later behavior, even without an effort to remember them or an awareness of the recollection

Front 31

Procedural memory

Back 31

The gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things

Front 32

Transience

Back 32

Forgetting what occurs with the passage of time

Front 33

Retroactive interference

Back 33

Situations in which information learned later impairs memory for information acquired earlier

Front 34

Proactive interference

Back 34

Situations in which information learned earlier impairs memory for information acquired later

Front 35

Absentmindedness

Back 35

A lapse in attention that results in memory failure

Front 36

Prospective memory

Back 36

Remembering to do things in the future

Front 37

Blocking

Back 37

A failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it

Front 38

Memory misattribution

Back 38

Assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source

Front 39

Source memory

Back 39

Recall of when, where, and how information was acquired

Front 40

False recognition

Back 40

A feeling of familiarity about something that hasn't been encountered before

Front 41

Suggestibility

Back 41

The tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections

Front 42

Bias

Back 42

The distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences

Front 43

Consistency bias

Back 43

The tendency to reconstruct the past to fit the present

Front 44

Change bias

Back 44

The tendency to exaggerate differences between what we feel or believe now and what we felt or believed in the past

Front 45

Egocentric bias

Back 45

The tendency to exaggerate the change between present and past in order to make ourselves look good in retrospect

Front 46

Persistence

Back 46

The intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget

Front 47

Flashbulb memories

Back 47

Detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking events