Module 21
Terms
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- Memory
- learning that has persisted over time
- Encoding
- the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning
- Retrieval
- – the process of getting information out of memory storage
- Sensory Memory
- – the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
- Short-term memory
- activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing it, before the information is stored or forgotten
- Long-term memory
- the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
- Working memory
- a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory
- Automatic processing
- unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings
- Effortful processing
- encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
- Rehearsal
- the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or encode it for storage
- Spacing effect
- the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice
- Serial Position Effect
- our tendency to recall best the last and first items on the list
- Imagery
- – mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding
- Mnemonics
- memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
- Chunking
- organizing items into familiar manageable units; often occurs automatically
- Iconic memory
- – a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli auditory; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second
- Echoic memory
- a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled with 3 or 4 seconds
- Long-term Potentiation (LTP)
- an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after a brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory
- Flashbulb memory
- a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
- Amnesia
- the loss of memory
- Implicit memory
- retention independent of conscious recollection (also called non-declarative memory)
- Explicit memory
- memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare†(also called declarative memory)
- Hippocampus
- – a neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage
- 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 memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time
- Priming
- the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory
- Déjà vu
- that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.†Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience
- Mood-congruent memory
- the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood