MOD 31 & 32
the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.
what is memory
an inability to retrieve information from one's past.
what is retrograde amnesia
all the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating.
what is cognition
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
what is representative heuristic
in a language, the smallest distinctive sound unit.
what is morpheme
the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it
what is encoding
in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories
what is repression
a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories
what are prototypes
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
what is availability heuristic
early speech stage in which a child speaks like a telegram—"go car"—using mostly nouns and verbs.
what is telegraphic speech
processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions
what is parallel processing
a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again.
what is re-consolidation
the ability to produce new and valuable ideas.
what is creativity
a sudden realization of a problem's solution; contrasts with strategy-based solutions.
what is insight
impairment of language, usually caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca's area (impairing speaking) or to Wernicke's area (impairing understanding)
what is aphasia
activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as digits of a phone number while calling, before the information is stored or forgotten.
what is short term memory
faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined. (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories
what is source amnesia
narrowing the available problem solutions to determine the single best solution
what is convergent thinnking
(1) in cognition, the inability to see a problem from a new perspective; an obstacle to problem solving. (2) in personality theory, according to Freud, a lingering focus of pleasure-seeking energies at an earlier psychosexual stage, in which conflicts were unresolved.
what is fixation
a brain area involved in language comprehension and expression; usually in the left temporal lobe.
what is wernicke's area
the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences
what is long term memory
that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before." Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.
what is deja vu
expanding the number of possible problem solutions; creative thinking that diverges in different directions.
what is divergent thinking
the way an issue is posed; how an issue is worded can significantly affect decisions and judgments.
what is framing
the weaker form of "linguistic relativity"—the idea that language affects thought (thus our thinking and world view is "relative to" our cultural language).
what is linguistic interference