Long-Term Memory and Level of Processing Theory Quiz

Long-Term Memory

• Refers to the process of storing large amounts of information over a long period with the potential of retrieving it in the future.

Level of Processing Theory

• States that remembering depends on how information is encoded, with deeper encoding resulting in better recall.

Flashbulb Memories

• Clear and detailed reconstructions of events that are surprising, important, and emotionally stirring.

Memory Phenomena

• Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon: feeling of knowing information but being unable to recall it.
• Context-dependent memory: information is better retrieved in the context in which it was encoded.
• State-dependent memory: information is better retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in which it was encoded.
• Photographic memory: ability to form sharp, detailed visual images after brief exposure and recall them later.

Reasons for Forgetting

• Repression: mental process that hides emotionally threatening or anxiety-producing information in the unconscious.
• Poor retrieval cues/poor encoding: failure to create vivid mental images or associations leads to forgetting.
• Interference: recall of a particular memory is blocked or prevented by other related memories.
• Proactive interference: old information blocks or disrupts the remembering of related new information.
• Retroactive interference: new information blocks or disrupts the retrieval of related old information.
• Amnesia: temporary or permanent loss of memory due to brain damage, disease, anesthesia, or physiological trauma.

Thinking and Cognition

• Refers to the mental activity of organizing, understanding, and communicating information.

Forming Concepts

• A concept is a way to group or classify objects, events, animals, or people based on shared features or characteristics.
• Exemplar model: forming a concept by defining essential characteristics of a particular thing.
• Prototype theory: creating a mental image of an object, event, animal, or person by matching it to a prototype.

Problem Solving

• Involves searching for a rule, plan, or strategy to achieve a goal.
• Algorithms: fixed set of rules that lead to a solution if followed correctly.
• Heuristics: rules of thumb or creative mental shortcuts that reduce operations and allow for easy problem-solving.
• Availability heuristics: relying on prominent or easily recalled information and overlooking other available information.

Strategies for Problem Solving

• Changing one's mental set.
• Using analogies: finding similarity between new and old situations.
• Forming subgoals: breaking down problems into separate parts.