Unit 9 Psych

Pioneering memory researcher who studied relearning, retention, and forgetting(“retention” & “forgetting” curve)

Proposed three-stage model for memory (sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory)

Proposed short-term memory capacity is 7+/-2

Studied the neural basis for memory & learning using sea slugs

Studied memory reconstruction and the misinformation effect

Studied insight learning in animals

Studied representativeness & availability heuristics

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again

The process of getting information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning

The process of retaining encoded information over time

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain’s natural mode of information processing for many functions

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly (7+/-2), such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

A newer understanding of short-term memory that adds conscious , active processing of incoming auditory and visual information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory (what you are currently “working” with in your mind)

Retention of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare” (also called declarative memory)

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection (also called nondeclarative memory)

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

The tendency for distributed studying or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice (i.e. cramming)

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information (i.e. daily quizzing)

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory)

Explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is explicit memory)

A neural center, located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious) memories - of facts and events - for storage

The neural storage of long-term memory

A clear, sustained memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

An increase in a cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory

The activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

The idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Our tendency to recall best the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list

An inability to form new memories

An inability to retrieve information from one’s past

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information (old interferes with new)

The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information (new interferes with old)

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

A process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

Occurs when misleading information has distorted one’s memory of an event

Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined (also called source misattribution); source amnesia, along with misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories

That eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before”; cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

All the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

A mental image or best example of a category; matching new items to prototypes provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories

The ability to produce new and valuable ideas

Narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution

Expanding the number of possible problem solutions’ creative thinking that diverges in different situations

A methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular problem

A simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgements and solve problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error-prone than an algorithm

A sudden realization of a problem’s solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions

A tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

In cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving

A tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past

An effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted with explicit, conscious reasoning

Estimating the likelihood of events in terms of how well they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; may lead us to ignore other relevant information

Estimating the likelihood of events based on their availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are common

The tendency to be more confident than correct - to overestimate the accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

Clinging to one’s initial conceptions after basis on which they were formed has been discredited

The way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgments