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Myers Psychology (6th ed.) Ch. 9
vocabulary-based flashcards--memory
38
Psychology
Undergraduate 1
07/22/2010

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Term
Memory
Definition
The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.
Term
Flashbulb Memory
Definition
A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.
Term
Encoding
Definition
The processing of information into the memory system- for example, by extracting meaning.
Term
Storage
Definition
The retention of encoded information over time.
Term
Retrieval
Definition
The process of getting information out of memory storage.
Term
Sensory Memory
Definition
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.
Term
Short-Term Memory
Definition
Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialling, before the information is stored or forgotten
Term
Long-Term Memory
Definition
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Term
Working Memory
Definition
A newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.
Term
Automatic Processing
Definition
Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
Term
Effortful Processing
Definition
Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.
Term
Rehearsal
Definition
The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage.
Term
Spacing Effect
Definition
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.
Term
Serial Position Effect
Definition
Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.
Term
Visual Encoding
Definition
The encoding of picture images.
Term
Acoustic Encoding
Definition
The encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.
Term
Semantic Encoding
Definition
The encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words.
Term
Imagery
Definition
Mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding.
Term
Mnemonics
Definition
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.
Term
Chunking
Definition
Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.
Term
Iconic Memory
Definition
A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.
Term
Echoic Memory
Definition
A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.
Term
Long-Term Potentiation
Definition
An increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
Term
Amnesia
Definition
The loss of memory.
Term
Implicit Memory
Definition
Retention independent of conscious recollection. (Also called procedural memory.)
Term
Explicit Memory
Definition
Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." (Also called declarative memory.)
Term
Hippocampus
Definition
A neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage.
Term
Recall
Definition
A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.
Term
Recognition
Definition
A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test.
Term
Relearning
Definition
A memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.
Term
Priming
Definition
The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory. Ask a friend two rapid-fire questions: (a) How do you pronounce the word spelled by the letters s-h-o-p? (b) What do you do when you come to a green light? If your friend answers "stop" to the second question, you have demonstrated priming.
Term
Déjà Vu
Definition
That eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
Term
Mood-Congruent Memory
Definition
The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.
Term
Proactive Interference
Definition
The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.
Term
Retroactive Interference
Definition
Retroactive Interference The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.
Term
Repression
Definition
In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories.
Term
Misinformation Effect
Definition
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.
Term
Source Amnesia
Definition
Attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) It, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories.
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