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semantic memory

memory for general factual knowledge and concepts, of the kind that endows information with meaning and ultimately allows people to engage in such complex cognitive processes as recognizing objects and using language. Impairments of semantic memory may be seen following brain injury as well as in certain neurological disorders, particularly dementia. For instance, people with Alzheimer’s disease often find it increasingly difficult to categorize and name items (i.e., to refer to an apple as an apple) as their memory deficits worsen. Semantic memory is considered by many theorists to be one of the two forms of declarative memory, the other being episodic memory. [defined in 1972 by Endel Tulving]

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Psychology term of the day

November 16th 2024

trajectories of dying

trajectories of dying

the rate of movement and the length of the passage from a life-threatening condition to death. In 1968, U.S. sociologists Barney G. Glaser (1930–  ) and Anselm L. Strauss (1916–1996) developed a classification of dying trajectories, two of which have received particular attention from clinicians and researchers. The first, the lingering trajectory, is often characteristic of long-term, terminally ill patients who seldom receive aggressive, all-out treatment. By contrast, the second is the quick trajectory associated with an emergency situation, in which any possible intervention to save a person’s life might be attempted.