A.P. Psychology Modules 31-34
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.
Testing Effect
Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also sometimes referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.
Repression
In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
Misinformation Effect
Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event
Mnemonics
Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
Retroactive Interference
Occurs when new learning disrupts recall of old information
Proactive Interference
Occurs when prior learning disrupts your recall of new information
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.
Implicit Memory
Retention independent of conscious recollection
Sensory Memory
The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
Memory
The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information
Retrieval
The process of getting information out of memory storage.
Storage
The process of retaining encoded information over time
Encoding
The processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning
Parallel Processing
The processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision. Contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving
Long-term memory
The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
Spacing Effect
The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
Automatic Processing
Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.
Flashbulb Memory
a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
Recall
a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test
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 again
Concept
a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people
Prototype
a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
Hippocampus
a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage
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. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
Source Amnesia
attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories
Effortful Processing
encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
Divergent Thinking
expands the number of possible problem solutions
Explicit Memory
memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare
Convergent thinking
narrows the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
déjà vu
that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
Creativity
the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas
Priming
the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response
Mood-Congruent memory
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood
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-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
Short-term memory
Activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.
Cognition
All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating