Chapter 6
Levels of Processing
A continuum of memory processing from shallow to intermediate to deep, with deeper processing producing better memory
Recall
A memory task in which the individual has to retrieve previously learned information
Semantic memory
A person's knowledge about the world
Schema
A preexisting mental concept or framework that helps people to organize and interpret information -support reconstruction process, helping us fill in gaps between our fragmented memories
Long-term Memory
A relatively permanent type of memory that stores huge amounts of information for a long time
Script
A schema for an event, often containing information about physical features, people, and typical occurences
Autobiographical memory
A special form of episodic memory, consisting of a person's recollections of his or her life experiences -contains three levels: life time periods, general events, and event-specific knowledge
Working memory
A three-part system that allows us to hold information temporarily as we perform cognitive tasks; a kind of mental workbench on which the brain manipulates and assembles information to help us understand, make decisions, and solve problems
Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon
A type of effortfull retrieval that occurs when we are confident that we know something but cannot quite pull it out of memory
Echoic Memory
Auditory sensory memory, which is retained for up to several seconds
Long-term potentiation
Concept states that if two neurons are activated at the same time, the connection between them--and thus the memory-may be strengthened
Repression
Defense mechanism by which a person is so traumatized by an event that s/he forgets it and then forgets the act of forgetting
Reminiscence Bump
Effect that adults remember more events from the second and third decades of life than from other decades
Amygdala
Emotional memories
Frontal Lobes
Episodic Memory
Hippocampus
Explicit memory, priming
Temporal Lobes
Explicit memory, priming
Absentmindedness
Failures in prospective memory -more when we become preoccupied with something else, are distracted by something, or are under a lot of time pressure -often involves a breakdown between attention and memory storage
Herman Ebbinghuas
First to study "forgetting." Identified that we forget information soon after we learn it. However . . . if we place "meaning" we are more likely to remember this information
Motivated Forgetting
Forgetting that occurs when something is so painful or anxiety laden that remembering it is intolerable
Cerebellum
Implicit Memory
Short-term memory
Limited-capacity memory system in which information is usually retained for only as long as 30 seconds unless we use strategies to retain it longer -can remember 7 +/- 2 items
Procedural memory
Memory for skills
Implicit (nondeclarative) memory
Memory in which behavior is affected by prior experience without a conscious recollection of that experience
Retrograde Amnesia
Memory loss for a segment of the past but not for new events -much more common than anterograde amnesia
Sensory Memory
Memory system that involves holding information from the world in its original sensory form for only an instant, not much longer than the brief time it is exposed to the visual, auditory, and other senses
Recognition
Memory task in which the individual only has to identify (recognize) learned items
General Events
Middle level in autobiographical memory
Event-Specific Knowledge
Most concrete level of autobiographical memory
Encoding Failure
Occurs when the information was never entered into long-term memory
Divided Attention
Occurs when we attend to several things simultaneously
Time-based Prospective Memory
Our intention to engage in a given behavior after a specified amount of time has gone by
Primacy Effect
Refers to better recall for items at the beginning of a list
Recency Effect
Refers to better recall for items at the end of a list
Iconic Memory
Refers to visual sensory memory, which is retained only for about 1/4 of a second
Prospective Memory
Remembering information about doing something in the future; includes memory for intentions
Retrospective Memory
Remembering information from the past
Proactive Interference
Situation in which material that was learned earlier disrupts the results of material that was learned later
Retroactive Interference
Situation in which material that was learned later disrupts the retrieval of information that was learned earlier
Phonological Loop
Specialized to briefly store speech-based information about the sounds of language
Atkinson-Shiffrin Theory
THeory stating that memory storage involves three separate systems: sensory memory, Short-term memory, and long-term memory
Priming
The activation of information that people already have in storage to help them remember new information better and faster
Explicit (declarative) memory
The conscious recollection of information, such as specific facts or events and, at least in humans, information that can be verbally communicated
Rehearsal
The conscious repetition of information
Encoding
The first step in memory; the process by which information gets into memory storage
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 information that was retained in memory comes out of storage
Elaboration
The number of different connections that are made around a stimulus at a given level of memory encoding
Episodic memory
The retention of information 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 retrieval
Storage
The retention of information overtime and how this information is represented in memory
Serial Position Effect
The tendency to recall the items at the beginning and end of a list 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 not because memories are lost from storage but because other information gets in the way of what they want to remember
Decay Theory
Theory stating that when we learn something new, a neurological memory trace forms, but over time this trace disintegrates; suggests that the passage of time always increases forgetting
Event-based Prospective Memory
We engage in the intended behavior when some external event or cue elicits it -More effective than time-based prospective memory
Central executive
integrates information not only from the phonological loop and visuospatial working memory but also from long-term memory -plays important roles in attention, planning, and organizing
Chunking
involves grouping or "packing" information that exceeds the 7 +/- 2 memory span into higher-order units that can be remembered as single units
Classical conditioning
involves the automatic learning of associations between stimuli, so that one comes to evoke the same response as the other
Encoding specificity principle
states that information present at the time of encoding or learning tends to be effective as a retrieval cue
Visuospatial working memory
stores visual and spatial information, including visual imagery
Memory span
the number of digits an individual can report back in order after a single presentation of them
Anterograde amnesia
a memory disorder that affects the retention of new information and events
Amnesia
loss of memory
Life time Periods
most abstract level in autobiographical memory
