Chapter 6 : Memory

proactive

In _____ interference, older learning interferes with the capacity to retrieve more recently learned material

eidetic

_____ imagery is the ability to retain exact mental representations of visual stimuli over long periods of time.

semantic

________ memories concern generalization knowledge.

relearning

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

episodic memory

a memory of an event in one's life

engram

an assumed electrical circuit in the brain that corresponds to a memory trace

elaborative

another way of storing information is by _____ rehearsal, when we relate new information to things we know.

chunking and maintenance rehearsal

breaking THUNSTOFAM into three syllables THUN-STO-FAM and then repeating them many times in an effort to remember the 10 letters is an example of using the techniques of ______

rote learning

depending on chancy episodic memory rather than reliable semantic memory

flashbulb

detailed memories of surprising, important, and emotional events are termed _____ memories

long-term potentiation (LTP)

enhanced efficiency in synaptic transmission that follows brief, rapid stimulation

antergrade amnesia

failure to remember events that occurred after physical trauma because the effects of the trauma

different brain areas

from the clinical evidence on brain injury, it appears that storage bins for long term memories are located in _____

true

if you can see, you have photographic memory

true

if you study with the stereo on you would probably do better to take the test with the stereo on

state-dependent memory

information that is better retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in which it was encoded and stored, or learned

thalmus

involved in the formation of verbal memories

true

it may be easier for you to remember the name of your first grade teacher than the name of someone you just met at a party

paired associates

nonsense syllables presented in pairs in experiments that measure recall

recognition

one simply indicates whether an item has been seen before; an aspect of forgetting

maintenance

one way of storing information is by _____ rehearsal, or by mentally repeating it.

flashbulb memory

preserve experiences in detail

retrospective memory

recalling information that has been previously learned (episodic, semantic and implicit memories all fall under this category)

serial position effect

the tendency to recall more accurately the first and last items in a series

long-term memory (LTM)

the type or stage of memory capable of relatively permanent storage

sensory memory

the type or stage of memory first encountered by a stimulus; sensory memory holds impressions briefly, but long enough so that series of perceptions are psychologically continuous

short-term memory (STM)

the type or stage of memory that can hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus decays; also called working memory

interference theory

the view that we may forget stored material because other learning interferes with it

synapses

Experience enhances the avenues of communication among brain cells by development of dendrites and _____

retroactive

In _____ interference, new learning interferes with the retrieval of old learning

method of savings

a measure of repetition in which the difference between the number of repetitions to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to relearn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed is calculated

icons

a mental representation of a visual stimulus that is held briefly in sensory memory

echo

a mental representation of an auditory stimulus (sound) that is held briefly in sensory memory

chunks

a stimulus or group of stimuli that are perceived as a discrete piece of information

hippocampus

a structure of the limbic system that plays an important that plays an important role in the formation of new memories

schemas

a way of mentally representing the world, such as a belief or an expectation, that can influence perceptions of persons, objects and situations

true

a woman who could not remember who she was automatically dialed her mothers number when the police gave her a telephone

false

all of our experiences are permanently imprinted on the brain, so the proper stimulus can cause us to remember them exactly

hierarchical structure

an arrangement of items into groups according to common or distinct features

memory trace

an assumed change in the nervous system that reflects the impression made by a stimulus

tip of the tongue phenomenon

evan met lesley at a party three weeks ago. he bumps into her on her way to class. he feels though he knows her name but he just can't retrieve the information. this experience is referred to as _____

semantic memory

general knowledge (ex. you can know the U.S. has 50 states without having to visit them all)

prospective memory

hamilton told himself to remember to get three things at the corner deli. on the way to the store, he ran into Jason and chatted for a few minutes. Afterward, he could only remember two of the items. chatting with jason had apparently interfered with hamilton's _____

You will relearn it more quickly than you originally learned it

if you learn how to do something once, and then forget it, what is most likely to happen if you attempt to relearn it?

repression

in Freud's psychodynamic theory, the ejection of anxiety-evoking ideas from conscious awareness

displaces

in memory theory, to cause information to be lost from short-term memory by adding new information

infantile amnesia

inability to recall events that occur prior to the age of three or so; also termed childhood amnesia

context dependent memory

information that is better retrieved in the context in which it was encoded and stored, or learned

false

learning must be meaningful if we are to remember it

true

learning spanish can make it harder to remember french and vice versa

dissociative amnesia

loss of memory of personal information that is thought to stem from psychological conflict or trauma

storage

maintaining information over time; the second stage of information processing

nonsense syllables

meaningless sets of two consonants, with a vowel sandwiched in between, that are used to study memory

episodic

memories of the events that happen to a person are ______ memories.

explicit memory (declarative memory)

memory for specific information, things that are clearly stated or explained

implicit memory

memory that is suggested (implied) but not plainly expressed, as illustrated in the things that people do but do not state clearly (ex. riding a bike)

maintenance rehearsal

mental repetition of information to keep it in memory

maintence rehearsal

mentally repeating a list or saying it to yourself refers to ____

encode

modifies information so that it can be placed in memory; encoding is the first stage of information processing

prospective memory

refers to remembering to engage in planned actions in the future

prospective memory

remembering to do something in the future

episodic

remembering what you had for dinner is an example of ______ memory

priming

the activation of specific associations in memory, often as a result of repetition and without making a conscious effort to access the memory

savings

the difference between the number of repetitions originally required to learn a list and the number of repetitions required to relearn the list after a certain amount of time has elapsed

prefrontal cortex

the executive center in memory

retrograde amnesia

the failure to remember events that occurred prior to physical trauma because of the effects of the trauma

tip of the tongue phenomenon

the feeling that information is stored in memory although it cannot be readily retrieved

proactive interference

the interference by old learning with the ability to retrieve material learned recently

retroactive interference

the interference of new learning with the ability to retrieve material learned previously

elaborative rehearsal

the kind of coding in which new information is related to information that is already known

retrieval

the location of stored information and its return to consciousness; the third stage of information processing

recall

the person must retrieve a syllable with another syllable serving as a cue

memory

the process by which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved

encoding

the process of modifying information so that we can place it in memory is called _____

iconic memory

the sensory register that briefly holds mental images of visual stimuli

echoic memory

the sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of auditory stimuli

implicit

tracy took tennis lessons when she was very young but had not played tennis for years when she decided to enroll in a tennis class at college. a moment after she picked up her racket, she realized with surprise that she had shifted it to the correct forehand grip without even thinking. tracy's _____ memory made this possible

true

you may always recall where you were and what you were doing on the morning of sept. 11, 2001

semantic memory

you recall what you ate for breakfast this morning, but you know who wrote hamlet. your knowledge that shakespeare wrote hamlet is an example of ____

sesory; short term; long term

The Atkinson-Shiffrin model hypothesizes three stages of memory: