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Intro--Lackawanna Chapter 7
Study Aid for Jessica
50
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
07/28/2013

Additional Psychology Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
What is Encoding?
Definition
Encoding is getting information into memory.
Term
What is Storage?
Definition
Storage is keeping information in memory.
Term
What is Retrieval?
Definition
Retrieval is getting information out of memory.
Term
What are 3 reasons we forget information?
Definition
  1. Failure in encoding information;
  2. Decay of the storage of information;
  3. Failure of retrieving information.
Term
What is Memory?
Definition
Memory is the persistence of learning over time through encoding, storage and retrieval of information.
Term
What are the 3 steps in information processing according to the I-P (Information Processing) Model?
Definition

1. Experience is first recorded, for just a moment, as a sensory memory;

2. Information is processed into short-term memory, encoded through rehearsal

3. Information moves to long-term memory for later retrieval.

 

Term
What is Unconscious Processing?
Definition
Unconscious Processing is memories being formed without our awareness.
Term
What is Working Memory?
Definition
Working Memory is a view of short-term memory that stresses conscious, active processes which link new and old information.
Term
What are 2 updates to the Information Processing (I-P) Model?
Definition
  1. Unconscious processing
  2. Working memory
Term
What are the 2 tracks (2 ways) we process information?
Definition
  1. automatically
  2. effortfully (with effort)
Term
What are the 3 types of information we process automatically?
Definition
  1. Information about space like where something is;
  2. Information about time like the order things happened;
  3. Information about frequency like how often something happened.
Term
What are 3 ways we can improve our Effortful Processing?
Definition
  1. Pay close attention;
  2. Put in effort;
  3. Rehearsing information--choosing to repeat it in our heads so we remember.
Term

Effortful Processing

 

What is the Spacing Effect?

Definition
The Spacing Effect says that we learn better if study or practice is spread over time.
Term

Effortful Processing

 

What is the Testing Effect?

Definition
The Testing Effect says that repeated quizzin of previously studied material helps us remember.
Term

Effortful Processing

 

What is the Serial Position Effect?

Definition
The Serial Position Effect shows we remember the first and last items in a list best, especially the first items.
Term
Does sleep help with memory?
Definition
Yes.  During sleep, 2 parts of the brain (the hippocampus and cortext) seem to communicate with each other possibly replaying the day's experiences.
Term
What are 3 ways information is more easily encoded?
Definition
  1. When the information is meaningful to use--then we may remember the main point but not the exact words;
  2. When the information is connected to something visual like an image or picture;
Term
Does sensory information get stored quickly or slowly?
Definition
Quickly.  From seeing 9 letters in 3 rows for only 1/20th of 1 second, people could usually remember a row of letters correctly (Sperling study).
Term
Do people keep information in their Short-Term Memory (STM) for a long time?
Definition
No.  Information disappears in just a few seconds--90% of the information was gone in 12 seconds (Peterson study).
Term
Which can store more information--short-term or long-term memory?
Definition

Long-term memory--it's capacity (how much it can hold) is unlimited and can last your whole life.

 

Short-term memory is limited.

Term

The Brain


What are Synapses?

Definition
Synapses are where the signal from one neuron is received by another.
Term

The Brain


Do Synapses change

during a person's life?

Definition
Yes.  As people have experiences, there is increased activity in certain Synapses which makes some connections stronger than others, and changes the way people react in the future.  For example, slugs learned to withdraw their tail when squirted with water to avoid a shock.
Term
How do Synapses change?
Definition
Long-term Potentiation (LPT).
Term
What is Long-Term Potentiation?
Definition
Long-term Potentiation (LPT) is an increase in the liklihood of a Synapse firing which is the neural basis for learning and memory.
Term
What is something that enhances (strengthen) memories?
Definition
Stress
Term
What are Flashbulb Memories?
Definition
Flashbulb Memories are unusually clear memories of an emotionally significant moment or event.
Term
What are 2 ways that people show they have retrieved information?
Definition
  1. Recall--like you need to do on a fill-in-the-blank test;
  2. Recognized--like you need to do on a multiple-choice test.
Term
What is Relearning?
Definition
Relearning is learning something for the second time.  It is usually easier to relearn than to learn something the 1st time.
Term
What are Associations?
Definition
Association are the ways memories are linked together in the brain.
Term
What are Retrieval Cues?
Definition
Retrieval Cues are events, feelings places, etc. which are linked to a memory that help you remember.
Term
What is the effect of Context on memory?
Definition

A person is more likely to remember something when they return to the same place or situation as when they first learned it.  

Example:  when scuba divers learned words underwater, they remembered these best when they were underwater.

Term
What is Mood-congruent memory?
Definition
Mood-congruent Memory means we more easily recall experiences that are similar to the mood we are in.
Term
What are 3 reasons we forget things?
Definition
  1. Absent-mindedness--when we don't pay attention to details as we are learning, we don't remember;
  2. Transience--we forget when we haven't used the information we are trying to remember;
  3. Blocking--we can't access stored memories when something blocks the memory, such as a very painful experience.
Term

Ways Our Memories Gets Distorted

(remembered wrong)


What is Misattribution?

Definition
Misattribution is getting confused about where information came from.
Term

Ways Our Memories Gets Distorted

(remembered wrong)


What is Suggestibility?

Definition

Suggestibility is being influenced by the way a question is asked.


 Example:  Isn't that a pretty dress? vs. Do you like the dress? can make you think the dress is pretty.

Term

Ways Our Memories Gets Distorted

(remembered wrong)


What is Bias?

Definition

Bias is how what you remember is based upon how you feel at the moment about what happened.


Example:  If you are happy with someone, you may remember the bad things they did as not so bad.

Term
What is the name for 1 way our memories can bother us when we don't want them to? 
Definition

Persistence which is unwanted memories that keep coming back.


Example:  Soldiers tormented by bad war experiences.

Term
What is a Memory Trace?
Definition
Memory Trace is the physical changes in the brain as a memory forms.
Term
What is Interference?
Definition

Interference is the blocking of recall as old or new learning disrupts the recall of othewr memories.


Example:  learning new passwords might interfere with remembering old passwords.

 

Term
What does it mean to Repress a memory?
Definition

To Repress a memory means to block it because of something painful that happened.



Term
What is Reconsolidation?
Definition
Reconsolidation is the way we change a memory slightly when we replay it in our mind.
Term
What is Misinformation?
Definition

Misinformation is the way a memory can be corrupted (messed up) by misleading information.

 

Example:  “How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?”

vs.

  “How fast were the cars going when they hit each other?”

Just the word "smashed" made people remember the cars as going faster and even remember seeing broken glass that wasn't there.

Term
What are 2 ways false memory can be implanted (put in a person's mind)?
Definition
  1. A false memory can be put in someone's mind when they hear a powerful retelling of an event.  That makes them remember it differently from the way they would have remembered it.
  2. A false memory can be created when a person imagines something that never happened.  Later they may believe it actually happened.
Term
What is Source Amnesia?
Definition
Source Amnesia is a faulty memory for how, when or where information was learned or imagined.
Term
What are 2 ways memories of abuse can result in tragedies?
Definition
  1. When people don't believe people who were abused;
  2. When innocent people are falsely accused because a person remembers abuse that never happened or happened with a different person.
Term
Are memories that are recovered under hypnosis reliable?
Definition
No.
Term
Are memories about things that happened before someone was 3 years old reliable?
Definition
No.
Term
Can false memories be emotionally upsetting?
Definition
Yes.
Term
What are ways to improve memory?
Definition
Study repeatedly
Space study sessions apart
Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material
Make the material personally meaningful
Activate retrieval cues
Minimize interference
Sleep more

 

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