19 Questions
What is the term for our individually determined ways of organizing memories?
Subjective organization
Which mnemonic device involves creating interactive images that link isolated words in a list?
Interactive images
The method of loci mnemonic device involves visualizing what?
Walking in a familiar area
Which mnemonic technique associates each new word with a previously memorized word?
Pegword system
What does the term 'proactive interference' refer to in memory?
Tendency for old memories to interfere with the retrieval of new memories
Which memory phenomenon explains the better recall of items at the beginning of a list?
Primacy effect
What theory suggests that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade over time?
Decay theory
Which concept involves recalling items at the end of a list more easily?
'Recency effect'
Which memory phenomenon explains the better recall of items at the end of a list?
Recency effect
What term refers to the phenomenon where people sometimes remember things as consequential that are actually inconsequential?
Persistence
In the context of memory distortions, what does the term 'blocking' refer to?
Inability to retrieve information one knows should be remembered
Which of Schacter's Seven Sins of Memory involves the tendency for people to be biased in the way they recall information?
Bias
What type of memory is linked to self-esteem and influences whether individuals remember more positive or negative events?
Autobiographical memory
In the context of memory distortions, which sin involves not being able to remember where we heard or read certain information?
Misattribution
What factor makes people susceptible to suggestions and leads them to sometimes think they remember seeing something that was suggested to them?
Suggestibility
Regarding eyewitness testimony, what tendency do people have when constructing a memory that may differ from what actually occurred?
Constructive memory bias
'People sometimes think they saw things they did not see or heard things they did not hear' relates to which sin of memory?
Misattribution
What aspect of memory distortion involves the idea that if a person is told they saw something, they might remember seeing it even if they did not?
Suggestibility
What sin of memory refers to the phenomenon when people cannot recall something despite knowing they should remember it?
Blocking
Study Notes
Memory and Forgetting
- Interference Theory: Forgetting occurs when competing information interferes with recall of previously learned information.
- Retroactive Interference: Interference caused by activity after learning, affecting recall of previously learned information.
- Proactive Interference: Interference caused by material learned before the to-be-remembered material.
- Decay Theory: Forgetting occurs due to the gradual disappearance of the memory trace unless it is maintained.
Memory Distortion
- Autobiographical Memory: Memory of an individual's history, subject to distortions and influenced by self-esteem.
- Schacter's Seven Sins of Memory:
- Transience: Memory fades quickly.
- Absent-Mindedness: Forgetting due to lack of attention.
- Blocking: Inability to retrieve information despite knowing it.
- Misattribution: Confusion about the source of information.
- Suggestibility: Susceptibility to false suggestions.
- Bias: Biased recall of information.
- Persistence: Remembering inconsequential events as important.
Eyewitness Testimony
- Eyewitness accounts are prone to distortion and construction of a different memory from what really happened.
- People may imagine seeing things they did not see.
Mnemonic Devices
- Techniques to help memorize lists of words:
- Categorical Clustering: Organizing items into categories.
- Interactive Images: Creating interactive images linking isolated words.
- Pegword System: Associating new words with previously memorized words.
- Method of Loci: Visualizing walking an area with distinctive landmarks and linking items to be remembered.
- Acronym: Creating a word or expression where each letter stands for a certain word or concept.
- Acrostic: Forming a sentence to help remember new words.
- Keyword System: Forming an interactive image linking sound and meaning of foreign words with familiar words.
Organization of Information
- Subjective Organization: Individually determined ways of organizing memories.
- Mnemonic Devices: Add meaning to otherwise meaningless lists of items.
Test your knowledge on memory distortion theories, including Interference Theory, and the processes of forgetting. Learn about how competing information and recall interference can impact memory retention.
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