psy ch6

flashbulb memory

A detailed account of circumstances surrounding an emotionally significant or shocking, sometimes historic, event.

Sensory memory

A stage of memory that captures near-exact copies of vast amounts of sensory stimuli for a very brief period of time.

short-term memory

A stage of memory that temporarily maintains and processes a limited amount of information.

long-term memory

A stage of memory with essentially unlimited capacity that stores enduring information about facts and experiences.

chunking.

Grouping pieces of information together to expand the capacity of short-term memory is called:

iconic

Psychologists use the term _____ memory to refer to photographic visual impressions that last less than a second.

maintenance

The conscious repetition of information to ensure its survival in short-term memory is termed _____ rehearsal.

Retrieval cues

Stimuli that help in the retrieval of stored information that is difficult to access.

distributed practice.

Spacing study sessions over long periods of time with breaks in between is called:

encoding specificity principle

Memories are more easily recalled when the context and cues at the time of encoding are similar to those at the time of retrieval.

implicit

Memories of which a person is not consciously aware are called ______ memories.

serial position

People's ability to recall an item from a list depends on where in the list the item occurs. This is known as the _____ effect.

storage

The process of preserving information for possible recollection in the future.

retroactive interference

The tendency for recently learned information to interfere with the retrieval of things learned in the past.

primacy effect

The tendency to remember items at the beginning of a list.

recency effect

The tendency to remember items at the end of a list.

repression.

The unconscious process whereby disturbing memories are prevented from entering awareness is called:

short-term memory

Which stage in the information-processing model of memory has the smallest capacity?

Mnemonic

_____ devices are methods for improving memory.