Chapter 6 Memory

holds information from the world in its original form for only a brief moment in time

Sensory memory

Which of the following statements explain why the last several items on a list are remembered?

The items' recency makes them easier to recall. The items may still be in working memory.

grouping information into higher-order units that can be remembered as single units

chunking

Explicit memory is the _____ recollection of information such as facts and events.

conscious

_____ is the process by which interconnected networks of neurons are formed.

consolidation

People remember better when they attempt to recall information in the same external circumstances in which they learned it. This describes _____.

context-dependent memory

The two main components of long-term memory are _____ memory, which consists of our semantic and episodic memories, and _____ memory, which consists of our procedural memories, classical conditioning, and priming.

explicit; implicit

In forensic psychology, most of the interest in _____ testimony focuses on distortion, bias, and inaccuracy of memory.

eyewitness

_____ memory is when behavior is affected by prior experiences without conscious recollection of the experience.

implicit

Rehearsal increases the _____.

length of time that information can be held in short-term memory

The term _____ refers to a continuum from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper producing better memory.

levels of processing

A relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information

long-term memory

What concept suggests that if two neurons are activated at the same time, the connection between them (and thus the memory) may be strengthened?

long-term potentiation

Short-term memory stores information for a _____ time than sensory memory.

longer

According to the connectionist network perspective, our _____ are organized sets of neurons that are activated together.

memories

_____ is defined as the retention of information or experience over time.

memory

Neuroscientists studying memory have benefited greatly from the use of MRI scans. They are able to see brain activation while a person is remembering. This has led them to conclude that _____.

there is no one memory center in the brain

The Atkinson-Shiffrin theory of memory proposed that there are _____ systems in memory.

three

According to levels-of-processing theory, we are most likely to remember things if we consider _____.

what they mean

the concept of _____ memory was proposed as an alternate conceptualization of short-term memory.

working

What is the term used to describe the process that occurs when a person forgets something because it is painful or anxiety-laden?

motivated forgetting

From a connectionist network perspective, memories are organized sets of _____ that are routinely activated together.

neurons

Before using memory processes, you must first _____ the information you are about to study.

organize

The _____ effect occurs because those items in a list are rehearsed more, they are more elaborately processed, and they are able to get the benefit of more rehearsal time with less competition from other items.

primacy

If a researcher activates information in participants' minds and the activation helps participants remember new information more efficiently later, we would say that the researcher used _____, a type of implicit memory, to improve participant performance.

priming

The type of memory that involves remembering information about doing something in the future is _____ memory.

prospective

In the context of serial position, the _____ effect is when one can recall items at the end of the list.

recency

A multiple-choice question that requires that you remember what you have seen before is an example of a _____ task.

recognition

the conscious repetition of information

rehearsal

The term used to describe remembering to do something is prospective memory. The term used for remembering the past is _____ memory.

retrospective

A(n) _____ is a general mental framework that helps us to understand and organize information.

schema

The three stages of memory in the Atkinson-Shiffrin theory are...

sensory memory long-term memory short-term memory

The _____ position effect refers to the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list better than the items in the middle.

serial

According to researchers such as George Miller, short-term memory's capacity is _____ plus or minus _____.

seven; two

_____ memory is a limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for less than a minute unless strategies are used to retain it longer.

short-term

Saving information for future use is called _____.

storage

Information must be encoded and _____ in order to be retrieved later.

stored

What are the two subtypes of explicit memory?

episodic and semantic

_____ amnesia occurs when you cannot remember what happened AFTER you fell down and hit your head.

Anterograde

Select all of the following that cause retrieval failure.

Effects of time Personal reasons for remembering Errors in storage

Special cases of memory retrieval have been researched and debated by cognitive psychologists. Select all of the following that describe a special case in which special memory retrieval is utilized.

Emotional memories Traumatic character of memories

What strategy can be used to increase the number of pieces of information that can be held in short-term memory?

Chunk the information.

_____ is the theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in connections.

Connectionism

Flashbulb memories tend to be extremely accurate. (T or F)

False

Memories in the brain are stored in a specific location. (T or F)

False

Which of the following statements apply to the concept of working memory?

It is a mental blackboard. It consists of three parts.

Which of the following statements are true regarding eyewitness testimony?

Memory can fade. Witnesses may share their thoughts. Bias may be involved. Memory can be distorted by new information.

Special cases of memory retrieval have been researched and debated by cognitive psychologists. Which of the following is NOT a special case in which special memory retrieval is utilized.

Memory for words

Select all of the following that are powerful tools for processing memory.

Organizing Encoding Retrieving Rehearsing

______ is a memory task in which the person has to retrieve previously learned information; ______ is a memory task in which the person has to identify learned items.

Recall; recognition

_____ is the memory process by which information retained in memory is brought out of storage, that is, when we recall or remember something.

Retrieval

Which of the following are true regarding the effect of elaboration on encoding?

Retrieval paths are created. The material is easier to remember.

_____ amnesia is characterized by memory loss for a segment of the individual's past.

Retrograde

_____ memory involves remembering information from the past, whereas ______ memory involves remembering to do something in the future.

Retrospective; prospective

Which of the following are explanations for why the primacy effect occurs?

The first few items are more elaboratively processed. The first few items are rehearsed more. When the first items enter working memory, there is little competition for rehearsal time.

Multitasking is NOT a powerful tool for processing information into memory. (T or F)

True

A specific part of the brain, the _____, plays an important role in emotional memory.

amygdala

Traumatic memories appear to be linked to the release of stress-related hormones. The _____ and the _____ (brain areas) are involved in the release of stress-related hormones.

amygdala; hippocampus

Which theory states that the passage of time always increases forgetting?

decay

The conscious recollection of information is called _____, or explicit, memory.

declarative

At which of the following levels of processing are we most likely to recall information?

deepest level

_____ attention involves concentrating on more than one task or activity at a time.

divided

Generally speaking, the more _____ the processing, the better memory will be; deep processing is a powerful way to remember information.

elaborate

When _____ is extensive, the person has attempted to make the to-be-remembered information meaningful and has engaged in detailed processing.

elaboration

The process by which information gets into memory storage is _____.

encoding

occurs when the information has never entered into long-term memory

encoding failure

The _____ principle identifies the idea that information present at the time of learning tends to make an effective retrieval cue.

encoding specificity