semantics

(noun)

The study of the relationship between words and their meanings.

Related Terms

  • cognition
  • cognitive distortion

Examples of semantics in the following topics:

  • Detail on Types of Long-Term Memory

    • Explicit memory can be further sub-divided into semantic memory, which concerns facts, and episodic memory, which concerns primarily personal or autobiographical information.
    • Another type of semantic memory is called a script.
    • Through practice, you learn these scripts and encode them into semantic memory.
    • Semantic and episodic memory are closely related; memory for facts can be enhanced with episodic memories associated with the fact, and vice versa.
    • Likewise, semantic memories about certain topics, such as football, can contribute to more detailed episodic memories of a particular personal event, like watching a football match.
  • Long-Term Memory

    • Semantic memory involves abstract factual knowledge, such as "Albany is the capital of New York."
    • You use semantic memory when you take a test. 
    • Another type of semantic memory is called a script.
    • Through practice, you learn these scripts and encode them into semantic memory.
    • Semantic and episodic memory are closely related; memory for facts can be enhanced with episodic memories associated with the fact, and vice versa.
  • Levels of Processing

    • There are three levels of processing for verbal data: structural, phonetic, and semantic.
    • These levels progress from the most shallow (structural) to the deepest (semantic).
    • To return to the example of trying to remember the name of a restaurant: if the name of the restaurant has no semantic meaning to you (for instance, if it's a word in another language, like "Vermicelli"), you might still be able to remember the name if you have processed it phonetically and can think, "It started with a V sound and it rhymed with belly."
    • Semantic processing is when we apply meaning to words and compare/relate it to words with similar meanings.
    • One example of taking advantage of deeper semantic processing to improve retention is using the method of loci.
  • Other Steps

    • There are four main types of encoding that can occur within the brain - visual, elaborative, acoustic and semantic.
    • Semantic encoding is the use of sensory input that has certain meaning or context to encode and create memories.
    • Some strategies used in semantic encoding include chunking and mnemonics.
  • Introduction to Language

    • Semantics, most generally, is about the meaning of sentences.
    • Someone who studies semantics is interested in words and what real-world object or concept those words denote, or point to.
    • These include phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
  • Introduction to Memory Encoding

    • The four primary types of encoding are visual, acoustic, elaborative, and semantic.
    • Semantic encoding involves the use of sensory input that has a specific meaning or can be applied to a context.
    • Chunking and mnemonics (discussed below) aid in semantic encoding; sometimes, deep processing and optimal retrieval occurs.
  • Introduction to Memory Storage

    • In contrast to short-term memory, long-term memory is the ability to hold semantic information for a prolonged period of time.
    • Another type of memory storage, the semantic matrix, is used to explain the semantic effect associated with memory recall.
  • Unconscious Perception

    • One of the classic examples is word recognition, thanks to some of the earliest experiments on priming in the early 1970s: the work of David Meyer and Roger Schvaneveldt showed that people decided that a string of letters was a word when the letters followed an associatively or semantically related word.
  • Strategies for Improving Memory Quality and Duration

    • Overlearning is a very powerful mnemonic for both procedural and semantic memories.
  • Physical Development in Late Adulthood

    • Semantic memory is the memory of understanding things, of the meaning of things and events, and other concept-based knowledge.
Subjects
  • Accounting
  • Algebra
  • Art History
  • Biology
  • Business
  • Calculus
  • Chemistry
  • Communications
  • Economics
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Microbiology
  • Physics
  • Physiology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • U.S. History
  • World History
  • Writing

Except where noted, content and user contributions on this site are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 with attribution required.