Chapter 7 Psychology

Anterograde Amnesia Loss of memory for events that occur after a head injury Attention Focusing awareness on a narrowed range of stimuli or events Chunk A group of familiar stimuli stored as a single unit Clustering Tendancy to remember similar or related items in groups Conceptual hierarchy multilevel classification system based on common properties among items Connectionist Models PDP models Consolidation hypothetical process involving the gradual conversion of the information into durable memory codes stored in long-term memory Decay theory the idea that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time Declarative memory system memory for factual information Dual-coding theory Paivo's theory that memory is inhanced by forming semantic and visual codes, since either can lead to recall Elaboration linking a stimulus to other information at the time of encoding Encoding forming a memory code encoding specific principal the idea that the value of a retreival cue depends on how well it corresponds to the memory code episodic memory system chronological recollations of personal experiences explicit memory intentional recollation of previous experiences flashbulb memory unusually vivid and detailed recollections of momentuous events forgetting curve graph showing retention and forgetting over time implicit theory type of memory apparent when retention is exhibited on a task that does not require intentional remembering interference theory the idea that people forget information because of competition from other material keyword method a mnemonic technique in which one associates a concrete word with an abstract word and generates an image to represent the concrete word levels of processing theory theory holding that deeper levels of mental processing result in longer lasting memory codes link method forming a mental image of items to be remembered in a way that links them together long term memory an unlimited capacity store that can hold information for lengthy periods of time long term potentation a long lasting increase in neural excitability in synapses along a specific neural pathway method of loci mnemonic device that involves taking an imainary walk along a familiar pathway where images of items to be remembered are associated with certain locations mnemonic devices strategies for inhancing memory nondeclarative memory system memory for actions overlearning continued rehearsal of material after one first appears to have mastered it parallel distributed processing models models of memory that assume cognitive processes depend on patterns of activation in highly interconnected computational networks that resemble neural networks proactive interference a memory problem that occurs when previously learned information interferes with the retention of new information procedural memory system the repository of memores for actions, skills, and operations reality monitoring the process of deciding whether memories are based on external sources or internal sources recall a memory test that requires subjects to reproduce information on their own without any ques rehearsal the process of repetitively verbalizing or thining about information to be stored in memory relearning a memory test that requires a subject to memorize information a second time to determine how much time/effort is saved by having learned it before repression keeping distressing thoughts and feelings buried in the unconcious retention the proportion of material retained retereival recovering information from memory stores retrograde amnesia loss of memories for events that occured prior to a head injury retroactive interference a memory problem that occurs when new information impairs the retention of previously learned information retrospective memory the ability to remember events from the past or previously learned information schema an organized cluster of knowledge about a particular object or sequence of events script a type of schema that organizes what people know about common activities self-referent encoding deciding how or whether information is personally relevent semantic memory system general knowledge that is not tied to the time when the information was learned sensory memory the preservation of information in its original sensory form for a brief time, usually only a fraction of a second serial-position effect in memory tests, the fact that subjects show better recall for items at the beginning and end of the list than for items in the middle short-term memory a limited capacity store that can maintain unrehearsed information for about 20-30 seconds source monitoring the process of making attributions about the origin of memories source monitoring error an error that occurs when a memory derived from one source is misattributed to another source storage maintaining encoded information in memory over time tip-of-the-toungue phenomenon temporary inability to remember something accompanied by a feeling that it's just out of reach transfer-appropriate processsing the situation that occurs when the inital processing of information is similar to the type of processing required by the subsequent measures of attention