Psychology 101 - Exam 2

Front 1

Memory

Back 1

The ability to encode, store, and retrieve information over time

--Memories are constructed, not recorded

Front 2

Encoding

Back 2

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

Front 3

Elaborative encoding

Back 3

Actively relating new information to pre-existing knowledge

-----Structural
-----Phonemic
-----Semantic
-----Self-referential

Front 4

Visual imagery encoding

Back 4

-Storing new information as mental images
-Difficult for “non-visual” items
-Involves verbal and visual placeholders
----Activates left/frontal and occipital lobes

Front 5

Organizational encoding

Back 5

-Categorizing new information by identifying relationships among items
-e.g., hierarchical organization
----Outlines, flowcharts

Front 6

Memory storage

Back 6

The process of maintaining information in memory over time

Front 7

Sensory storage

Back 7

-Sensory information for a few seconds (or less)
--Iconic memory (visual info)
--Echoic memory (auditory info)

Front 8

Short-term storage

Back 8

-Nonsensory information kept for more than a few seconds but less than a minute
-Also limited in quantity of info: 7(+-2) units at a time

Front 9

Rehearsal

Back 9

Keeping information in short-term storage through repetition

Front 10

Chunking

Back 10

-Combining small pieces of info into clusters
--ROY G. BIV, HOMES (great lakes)
--CNNABCCBSNBCCIAFBI

Front 11

Working memory

Back 11

-Active maintenance of information in short-term storage
-Thinking ahead in chess, doing math in your head

Front 12

Long-term storage has no known capacity (limitless!)

Back 12

-Long-term potentiation
--Enhanced neural processing as a result of strengthening synaptic
--Consistently used pathways become stronger
----Remembering & Misremembering classmates

Front 13

Retrograde amnesia

Back 13

The inability to retrieve information acquired before a particular time/event

Front 14

Anterograde amnesia

Back 14

The inability to transfer new information from short-term to long-term storage

Front 15

Retrieval

Back 15

All information in long-term storage is not always accessible

Front 16

Retrieval cues

Back 16

Details associated with stored information that helps bring it back to mind

Front 17

Encoding specificity principle

Back 17

Retrieval is facilitated in environmental contexts similar to when info was encoded

Front 18

State dependent retrieval

Back 18

-Retrieval is facilitated when in the same internal state as when info was encoded
-e.g., mood congruent memory

Front 19

Explicit Memory

Back 19

Consciously & intentionally retrieving information
-Semantic memory
--Facts & general knowledge

Front 20

Episodic memory

Back 20

Personally experiences events

Front 21

Implicit Memory

Back 21

The “unconscious” influence of past experiences on later behavior
-Without intention or awareness

Front 22

Procedural memory

Back 22

-The gradual acquisition of behavioral skills as a result of practice or learning
-Involves activation of the motor cortex

Front 23

Priming

Back 23

-The automatic influence of recent information leading to biased retrieval
-Faster recognition of previously seen stimuli
---Despite less brain activation
-Prime-congruent information is more accessible

Front 24

Transience

Back 24

-Forgetting information with the passage of time
--After encoding and storage, but before retrieval
-Loss of info levels off after 9 hours
-Quantity of information degrades with time
--From specific to general

Front 25

Retroactive interference

Back 25

-Later learning impairs memory for information acquired earlier
--Learning Spanish after having learned French disrupts memory of French

Front 26

Proactive interference

Back 26

-Earlier learning impairs memory for information acquired later
--It’s hard to remember my new bank account # because I already memorized my old number

Front 27

Absentmindedness

Back 27

-A lapse in attention that results in forgetting
-Prospective memory
--Remembering to do things in the future

Front 28

Blocking

Back 28

-Failure to retrieve information known to be available in memory
--Tip of the tongue phenomenon
-A retrieval cue is necessary

Front 29

Memory misattribution

Back 29

-Assigning memory information to the wrong source
-Failure to remember the source of a memory may lead to Déjà vu experiences

Front 30

Suggestibility

Back 30

-The tendency to incorporate misleading information into personal recollections
-How fast were the cars going when they _____?
--- -contacted (29) -hit (35) -smashed (40)

-Visualization can lead to false memories

Front 31

Bias

Back 31

The distorting influence of present, knowledge, beliefs & feelings on recollection of past experiences

Front 32

Consistency bias

Back 32

Reconstructing the past to reflect the present

Front 33

Change bias

Back 33

Exaggerating differences between past and present

Front 34

Egocentric bias

Back 34

Self-flattering inaccuracy

Front 35

Persistence

Back 35

-The intrusive recollection of events we wish to forget
-Amygdala activated for emotional memories

Front 36

Flashbulb memories

Back 36

Detailed recollections of when & where we heard about shocking events