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General Psychology Chapter 8
Memory
50
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
10/30/2010

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Term
Memory
Definition
The faculty for recalling past events and past learning.
Term
Encoding
Definition
A basic activity of memory, involving the recording of information in our brain.
Term
Storage
Definition
A basic activity of memory, involving recovery of information when we need it later.
Term
Retrieval
Definition
A basic activity of memory, involving recovery of information when we need it later.
Term
Information-Processing Model
Definition
View of memory suggesting that information moves among three memory stores during encoding, storage, and retrieval.
Term
Parallel Distributed-Processing (PDP) (or connectionist model)
Definition
Theory of memory suggesting information is represented in the brain as a pattern of activation across entire neural networks.
Term
Automatic Processing
Definition
Encoding of information with little conscious awareness or effort.
Term
Effortful Processing
Definition
Encoding of information through careful attention and conscious effort.
Term
Sensory Memory
Definition
Memory involving detailed, brief sensory image or sound retained for a brief period of time.
Term
Working Memory
Definition
A short-term memory store that can hold about seven items at once.
Term
Rehearsal
Definition
Conscious repetition of information in an attempt to make sure the information is encoded.
Term
Long-term Memory
Definition
The memory system in which we hold all of the information we have previously gathered, available for retrieval and use in a new situation or task.
Term
Spacing Effect
Definition
Facilitated encoding of material through rehearsal situations spread out over time.
Term
Semantic Code
Definition
Cognitive representation of information or an event based on the meaning of the information.
Term
Mnemonic Devices
Definition
Techniques used to enhance the meaningfulness of information, as a way of making them more memorable.
Term
Schemas
Definition
Knowledge bases that we develop based on prior exposure to similar experiences or other knowledge bases.
Term
Storage
Definition
The retention of information-whether brief or long--in either working memory or long-term memory.
Term
Memory Span
Definition
Maximum number of items that can be recalled in correct order.
Term

 

Chunking

Definition
Grouping bits of information together to enhance ability to hold that information in working memory.
Term
Explicit Memory
Definition
Memory that a person can consciously bring to mind, such as one's date of birth.
Term
Implicit Memory
Definition
Memory that a person is not consciously aware of, such as learned motor behaviors, skills, and habits.
Term
Semantic Memory
Definition
A person's memory of general knowledge of the world.
Term
Episodic Memory
Definition
A person's memory of personal events or episodes from his or her life.
Term
Retrieval Cues
Definition
Words, sights, or other stimuli that remind us of the information we need to retrieve from our memory.
Term
Priming
Definition
Activation of one piece of information, which in turns leads to activation of another piece, and ultimately to the retrieval of a specific memory.
Term
Recognition Tasks
Definition
Memory Tasks in which people are asked to identify whether or not they have seen a particular item before.
Term
Recall Tasks
Definition
Memory tasks in which people are asked to produce information using little or no retrieval cues.
Term
State-Dependent Memory
Definition
Memory retrieval facilitated by being in the same state of mind in which you encoded the memory in the first place.
Term
Flashbulb Memory
Definition
Detailed and near-permanent memories of an emotionally significant event, or of the circumstances surrounding the moment we learned about the event.
Term
Forgetting
Definition
The inability to recall information that was previously encoded into memory.
Term
Decay Theory
Definition
Theory of forgetting, suggesting memories fade over time due to neglect or failure to access over long period of time.
Term
Interference Theory
Definition
Theory that forgetting is influenced by what happens to people before or after they take information in.
Term
Proactive Interference
Definition
Competing information that is learned before the forgotten material, preventing its subsequent recall.
Term
Retroactive Interference
Definition
Learning of new information that disrupts access to previously recalled information.
Term
Repression
Definition
Process in which we unconsciously prevent some traumatic events from entering our awareness, so that we do not have to experience the anxiety or blows to our self-concept that the memories would belong.
Term
Source Misattribution
Definition
Remembering information, but not the source it came from; can lead to remembering as true information from unreliable sources.
Term
Prefrontal Cortex
Definition
Important brain structure located just behind the forehead and implicated in working memory.
Term
Long-term Potentiation (LTP)
Definition
Repeated stimulation of certain nerve cells in the brain greatly increases the likelihood that the cells will respond strongly to future stimulation.
Term
Amnestic Disorders
Definition
Organic disorders in which memory loss is the primary symptom.
Term
Retrograde Amnesia 
Definition
Inability to remember things that occurred before an organic event.
Term
Anterograde Amnesia
Definition
Ongoing inability to form new memories after an amnesia-inducing event.
Term
Dementia
Definition
Severe memory problems combine with losses in at least one other cognitive functions, such as abstract thinking or language.
Term
Alzheimer's Disease
Definition
Most common form of dementia, usually beginning with mild memory problems, lapses of attentions, and problems in language and progressing to difficulty with even simple tasks and recall of long-held memories.
Term
Neurofibrillary Tangles
Definition
Twisted protein fibers found within the cells of the hippocampus and certain other brain areas.
Term
Senile Plaques
Definition
Sphere-shaped deposits of a protein known as beta-amyloid that form in the spaces between cells in the hippocampus, cerebral cortex, and certain other brain regions, as well as in some nearby blood vessels.
Term
Dissociative Disorders
Definition
Psychological disorder characterized by major loss of memory without clear physical causes.
Term
Dissociative Amnesia
Definition
Psychological disorder characterized by inability to recall important information, usually of an upsetting nature, about one's life.
Term
Dissociative Fugue
Definition
Psychological disorder characterized by loss of memory of personal identities and details of one's past life and flight to an entirely different location.
Term
Dissociative Identity Disorder
Definition
Psychological disorder characterized by the development of two or more distinct personalities.
Term
Subpersonalitites
Definition
Alternate personalities developed in dissociative identity disorder, each with a unique set of memories, behaviors, thoughts, and emotions.
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