Chapter 6: Memory

The mental processes that enable us to retain and use information over time

The process of transforming information into a form that can be entered into and retained by the memory system

The process of retaining information in memory so that it can be used at a later time

The process of recovering information stored in memory so that we are consciously aware of it

A model describing memory as consisting of three distinct stages: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory

The stage of memory that registers information from the environment and holds it for a very brief period of time

The active stage of memory in which information is stored for about 30 seconds

The stage of memory that represents the long-term storage of information

The mental or verbal repetition of information in order to maintain it beyond the usual 30-second duration of short-term memory

Increasing the amount of information that can be held in short-term memory by grouping related items together into a single unit, or chunk

Rehearsal that involves focusing on the meaning of information to help encode and transfer it to long-term memory

The view that information that is processed at a deeper (more meaningful) level is more likely to be remembered that information that is processed at a shallow (less meaningful) level

Category of long-term memory that includes memories of different skills, operations, and actions

Category of long-term memory that includes memories of particular events

Category of long-term memory that includes memories of general knowledge of facts, names, and concepts

Information or knowledge that can be consciously recollected; also called declarative memory

Information or knowledge that affects behavior or task performance but cannot be consciously recollected; also called nondeclarative memory

Organizing items into related groups during recall from long-term memory

A model that describes unites of information in long-term memory as being organized in a complex network of associations

the process of accessing stored information

A clue, prompt, or hint that helps trigger recall of a given piece of information stored in long-term memory

The inability to recall long-term memories because of inadequate or missing retrieval cues

A memory phenomenon that involves the sensation of knowing that specific information is stored in long-term memory, but being temporarily unable to retrieve it

A test of long-term memory that involves retrieving information without the aid of retrieval cues; also called free recall

A test of long-term memory that involves remembering an item of information in response to a retrieval cue

A test of long-term memory that involves identifying correct information out of several possible choices

The tendency to remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than items in the middle

The principle that when the conditions of information retrieval are similar to the conditions of information encoding, retrieval is more likely to be successful

The tendency to recover information more easily when the retrieval occurs in the same setting as the original learning of the information

An encoding specificity phenomenon in which information that is learned in a particular drug state is more likely to be recalled while the person is in the same drug state

An encoding specificity phenomenon in which a given mood tends to evoke memories that are consistent with that mood

The recall of very specific images or details surrounding a vivid, rare, or significant personal event

An organized cluster of information about a particular topic

A memory distortion that occurs when the true source of the memory is forgotten

A memory distortion in which a seemingly "new," or "original," memory is actually based on an unrecalled previous memory

A memory-distortion phenomenon in which a person's existing memories can be altered if the person is exposed to misleading information

The inability to recall information that was previously available

The inability to recall specific information because of insufficient encoding for storage in long-term memory

The theory that forgetting is caused by one memory competing with or replace another

Forgetting in which an old memory interferes with remembering an old memory; backward-acting memory interference

Forgetting in which an old memory interferes with remembering a new memory; forward-acting memory interference

The theory that forgetting occurs because an undesired memory is held back from awareness

Motivated forgetting that occurs consciously

Motivated forgetting that occurs unconsciously

The view that forgetting is due to normal metabolic processes that occur in the brain over time

The brain changes associated with a particular stored memory

A long-lasting increase in synaptic strength between two neurons

Severe memory loss

Loss of memory, especially for episodic information; backward-acting amnesia

The gradual, physical process of converting new long-term memories to stable, enduring long-term memory codes

Loss of memory caused by the inability to store new memories; forward-acting amnesia

Memory involving the sequence of events, but not the events themselves

Encodes emotional aspects of memories

Encodes and transfers new explicit memories to long-term memory

Encodes and transfers new explicit memories to long-term memory

Memories involving movement

German psychologist who originated the scientific study of forgetting; plotted the first forgetting curve, which describes the basic pattern of forgetting learned information over time

American neurobiologist, born in Austria, who won the Nobel Prize in 2000 for his work on the neural basis of learning and memory in the sea snail aplysia

American physiological psychologist who attempted to find the specific brain location of particular memories

American psychologist who has conducted extensive research on the memory distortions that can occur in eyewitness testimony

American psychologist who identified the duration of visual sensory memory in a series of classic experiments in 1960

American psychologist and neuroscientist who has conducted extensive research on the neurobiological foundations of learning and memory