Chapter 7 Psychology

theory suggesting that the passage of time always increases forgetting

decay theory

concentrating on more than one activity at the same time

divided attention

Dr. Marsh has her General Psychology class go through an exercise in which they look at a group of objects and attempt to remember them. Then, she has the class look at another group of objects and. create a story involving them. The class finds the second group easier to remember because of...

elaboration

the formation of a number of different connections around a stimulus at any given level of memory encoding

elaboration

the first step in memory; the process by which information gets into memory storage

encoding

the retention of information about the where, when, and what of life's happenings

episodic memory

the conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or events

explicit memory

the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events

flashbulb memory

memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience

implicit memory

theory that people forget because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember

interference theory

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

not one memory center of the brain

theory that memory is stored throughout the brain in connections among neurons, several of which may work together to process a single memory

parallel distributed processing

the activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better and faster

priming

situation in which material that was learned earlier disrupts the recall of material that was learned later

proactive interference

memory for skills

procedural memory

Aaron has elaborate systems set up on his computer to remind him of all the things he has to do and when he has to do them. The computer is helping Aaron with...

prospective memory

memory for future intentions

prospective memory

After years of taking French, you study Spanish. When the word for "red" in Spanish is required, you correctly say "rojo". But you can't remember the French word for "red". This is an example of...

retroactive interference

Mimi is enthusiastic about baking and has used her grandmother's apple pie recipe for a number of years. Lately, she has been enrolled in pastry classes where she has learned to make 6 varieties of apple pie, so when she tries to make her grandmother's recipe, she becomes confused about ingredients. This is an example of...

retroactive interference

situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier

retroactive interference

memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events

retrograde amnesia

remembering information from the past

retrospective memory

a persons knowledge about the world; everyday knowledge

semantic memory

memory of the brief time it is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses

sensory memory

the tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list more readily than those in the middle

serial position effect

the ability to maintain attention to a selected stimulus for a prolonged period of time

sustained attention

a memory disorder that affects the retention of new information and events

anterograde amnesia

a special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person's recollections of his or her life experiences

autobiographical memory

theory stating that memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

Atkinson-Shiffrin theory