Psychology Chapter 6
divided attention
concentrating on more than one activity at the same time
explicit memory
conscious recollection of information that can be verbally communicated; who, what, when, where, and why
episodic memory
the retention of info about the where, when, and what of life's happenings- that is, how individuals remember life's episodes
memory
the retention of information or experience over time as the result of three key processes: encoding, storage, and retention
storage
the retention of information over time and how this information is represented in memory
absentmindedness
failure in prospective memory; a breakdown between attention and memory storage
motivated forgetting
forgetting that occurs when something is so painful or anxiety laden that remembering it is intolerable
retrieval failure
forgotten information; problem with entering info in storage, the effects of time, personal reasons for remembering or forgetting, and the condition of the brain
encoding specificity principle
information present at time of learning tends to be effective as retrieval cue
permastore content
information that is stored for a long-time; portion of original learning that stays with us forever
central executive
integrates information; attention, planning, and organizing; from phonological loop, visa-spatial, and long-term memory
time-based prospective memory
intention to engage in behavior after passage of time
event-based prospective memory
intention to engage in behavior when some external even elicits it
generative life stories
kind of people who make a contribution to future generations; describe life experiences that go from bad to better
short-term memory
limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for only as long as 30 seconds unless strategies are used to retain it longer
contamination life stories
memories go from good to bad
classical conditioning
memory for associations between stimuli
dual-code hypothesis
memory for pictures better than memory for words; pictures stored as both image codes and verbal codes
procedural memory
memory for skills
implicit memory (non declarative memory)
memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience
connectionism (parallel distributed processing)
memory is stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons; several may work together to process a single memory
retrograde amnesia
memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events
sensory memory
memory system that involves holding information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer that the brief time is is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses
recognition
memory task to identify, or recognize, learned items (multiple choice test)
recall
memory task to retrieve previously learned information (essay)
acoustic code
the sounds we heard; decays in a few seconds
serial position effect
the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of al its more readily than those in the middle
connectionism (parallel distributed processing: PDP)
the theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons, several of which may work together to process a single memory
interference theory
the theory that people forget no because memories are lost from storage but because other info gets in the way of what they want to remember
Atkinson-Shiffrin theory
theory stating that memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory
decay theory
theory stating that when an individual learns something new, a neurochemical memory trace forms, but over time this trace disintegrates; suggest that the passage of time always increases forgetting
retrieval cues
use different subcategories
iconic memory
visual sensory memory; retain for only about 1/4 second
decay
neurochemical memory trace disintegrates over time; passage of time always increases forgetting
encoding failure
not forgotten but, never encoded; information never entered into long-term memory
hippocampus, temporal lobes, limbic system
parts of the brain involved in explicit memory
cerebellum, temporal lobes, hippocampus
parts of the brain involved in implicit memory
self-reference
relating material to your own experience
context-dependent memory
remembering better when attempting to recall information in same context in which it was learned
implicit memory
remembering how; non conscious recollection of skills and sensory perceptions
prospective memory
remembering info about doing something in the future; includes memory for intentions
retrospective memory
remembering info from the past
right frontal lobe
retrieve memory
long-term potentiation
simultaneous activation of neurons strengthens memory
proactive interference
situation in which material that was learned earlier disrupts the recall of material that was learned later
retroactive interference
situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of info that was learned earlier
autobiographical memories
special form of episodic memory containing recollections of own life experiences
visuospatial working memory
stores visual and spatial information
sustained attention
the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time
priming
the activation of info that people already have in storage to help them remember new info better and faster
explicit memory (declarative memory)
the conscious recollection of info, such as specific facts or events and, at least in humans, info that can be verbally communicated
reminiscence bump
the effect that adults remember more events from the 2nd and 3rd decades of life than any other decade
encoding
the first step in memory; the process by which information gets into memory storage
elaboration
the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at any given level of memory encoding
amnesia
the loss of memory
flashbulb memory
the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events
retrieval
the memory process that occurs when info that was retained in memory comes out of storage
memory span
the number of digits an individual can report back in order after a single presentation of them
working memory
a combination of components, including short-term memory and attention, that allow individuals to hold info temporarily as they perform cognitive tasks; a kind of mental workbench on which the brain manipulates and assembles info to guide understanding, decision making, and problem solving
levels of processing
a continuum of memory processing form shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory
anterograde amnesia
a memory disorder that affects the retention of new info and events
semantic memory
a person's knowledge about the world
schema
a preexisting mental concept or framework that helps people to organize and interpret info
long-term memory
a relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of info for a long time
script
a schema for an event, often containing info about physical features, people, and typical occurrences
autobiographical memory
a special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person's recollections of his or her life experiences
tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon
a type of effortful retrieval associated with a person's feeling that he or she knows something but cannot quite pull it out of memory
echoic memory
auditory sensory memory, retained for up to several seconds
primacy effect
better recall for items at beginning of list; receive more elaborate processing or rehearsal
recency effect
better recall for items at end of list; still in working memory, just encountered
phonological loop
briefly stores speech-based information
amygdala
emotional memories
left frontal lobe
encode new information into memory
