Psychology Chapter 8

RP-9 Which parts of the brain are important for implicit memory processing, and which parts play a key role in explicit memory processing?

The cerebellum and basal ganglia are important for implicit memory processing, and the frontal lobes and hippocampus are key to explicit memory formation.

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

RP-7 Which strategies are better for long-term retention: cramming and rereading material, or spreading out learning over time and repeatedly testing yourself?

Although cramming and rereading may lead to short-term gains in knowledge, distributed practice and repeated self-testing will result in the greatest long-term retention.

Flashbulb Memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

Echoic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Iconic Memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

Reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

Short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten

RP-11 Which brain area responds to stress hormones by helping to create stronger memories?

amygdala

anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past

Long-term Potentiation

an increase in a cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory.

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

Semantic Memory

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems

Episodic Memory

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems

Source Amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined (at the heart of many false memories)

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information is incorporated into one's memory after an event

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last (a recency effect) and first items (a primacy effect) in a list

Parallel Processing

processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously: the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions

RP-17 Freud believed that we ___________ unacceptable memories to minimize anxiety.

repress

Explicit Memory

retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." (Also called declarative memory.)

Implicit Memory

retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection. (Also called nondeclarative memory.)

RP-16 You will experience less _______ (proactive/retroactive) interference if you learn new material in the hour before sleep than you will if you learn it before turning to another subject.

retroactive

RP-6 At which of Atkinson-Shiffrin's three memory stages would iconic and echoic memory occur?

sensory memory

RP-14 When we are tested immediately after viewing a list of words, we tend to recall the first and last items best, which is known as the ______________ effect.

serial position

Spacing Effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

Automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

RP-4 What are two basic functions of working memory?

(1) Active processing of incoming visual and auditory information, and (2) focusing our spotlight of attention.

RP-15 What are three ways we forget, and how does each of these happen?

(1) Encoding failure: Unattended information never entered our memory system. (2) Storage decay: Information fades from our memory. (3) Retrieval failure: We cannot access stored information accurately, sometimes due to interference or motivated forgetting.

RP-5 What is the difference between automatic and effortful processing, and what are some examples of each?

Automatic processing occurs unconsciously (automatically) for such things as the sequence and frequency of a day's events, and reading and comprehending words in our own language(s). Effortful processing requires attention and awareness and happens, for example, when we work hard to learn new material in class, or new lines for a play.

RP-19 Imagine being a jury member in a trial for a parent accused of sexual abuse based on a recovered memory. What insights from memory research should you offer the jury?

It will be important to remember the key points agreed upon by most researchers and professional associations: Sexual abuse, injustice, forgetting, and memory construction all happen; recovered memories are common; memories from our first four years are unreliable; memories claimed to be recovered through hypnosis are especially unreliable; and memories, whether real or false, can be emotionally upsetting.

RP-2 If you want to be sure to remember what you're learning for an upcoming test, would it be better to use recall or recognition to check your memory? Why?

It would be better to test your memory with recall (such as with short-answer or fill-in-the-blank self-test questions) rather than recognition (such as with multiple-choice questions). Recalling information is harder than recognizing it. So if you can recall it, that means your retention of the material is better than if you could only recognize it. Your chances of test success are therefore greater.

RP-8 If you try to make the material you are learning personally meaningful, are you processing at a shallow or a deep level? Which level leads to greater retention?

Making material personally meaningful involves processing at a deep level, because you are processing semantically—based on the meaning of the words. Deep processing leads to greater retention.

RP-10 Your friend has experienced brain damage in an accident. He can remember how to tie his shoes but has a hard time remembering anything you tell him during a conversation. How can implicit versus explicit information processing explain what's going on here?

Our explicit conscious memories of facts and episodes differ from our implicit memories of skills (such as tying shoelaces) and classically conditioned responses. The parts of the brain involved in explicit memory processing (the frontal lobes and hippocampus) may have sustained damage in the accident, while the parts involved in implicit memory processing (the cerebellum and basal ganglia) appear to have escaped harm.

RP-13 What is priming?

Priming is the activation (often without our awareness) of associations. Seeing a gun, for example, might temporarily predispose someone to interpret an ambiguous face as threatening or to recall a boss as nasty.

RP-18 What—given the commonness of source amnesia—might life be like if we remembered all our waking experiences and all our dreams?

Real experiences would be confused with those we dreamed. When seeing someone we know, we might therefore be unsure whether we were reacting to something they previously did or to something we dreamed they did.

RP-20 Which memory strategies can help you study smarter and retain more information?

Spend more time rehearsing or actively thinking about the material to boost long-term recall. Schedule spaced (not crammed) study times. Make the material personally meaningful, with well-organized and vivid associations. Refresh your memory by returning to contexts and moods that activate retrieval cues. Use mnemonic devices. Minimize interference. Plan for a complete night's sleep. Test yourself repeatedly—retrieval practice is a proven retention strategy.

RP-3 How does the working memory concept update the classic Atkinson-Shiffrin three-stage information-processing model?

The newer idea of a working memory emphasizes the active processing that we now know takes place in Atkinson-Shiffrin's short-term memory stage. While the Atkinson-Shiffrin model viewed short-term memory as a temporary holding space, working memory plays a key role in processing new information and connecting it to previously stored information.

Shallow Processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words

Deep Processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

RP-12 Increased efficiency at the synapses is evidence of the neural basis of learning and memory. This is called ___________-__________ ____________

long-term potentiation

Mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

RP-1 Multiple-choice questions test our _______. Fill-in-the-blank questions test our ______.

recognition, recall

deja vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

retroactive interference

the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

proactive interference

the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

Sensory Memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Memory Consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

Memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage and retrieval of information

Encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.