Psych 2.3 - 2.7

Iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli lasting a few tenths of a second.

Hierarchical organization

Creating an outline to remember textbook material best illustrates this concept.

Long-term memory capacity

The human capacity for storing this type of memory is essentially limitless.

Sensory memory

This type of memory has the shortest duration.

Ebbinghaus forgetting curve

Shows that the most rapid memory loss occurs shortly after learning.

Flashbulb memory

Accurate recall long after an earthquake illustrates this type of memory.

Semantic processing

Recalling 'ship' as 'boat' and 'professor' as 'teacher' illustrates this concept.

Loftus & Palmer findings

Indicate that eyewitness memories portrayed the event as more serious than it actually was.

Network for explicit memories

Includes the frontal lobes and hippocampus.

Hippocampus damage

Interferes with forming new vacation memories.

Cerebellum and basal ganglia

These structures process implicit memories.

Working memory

Short-term memory as active processing is known as this.

Imagined childhood events research

Shows that people can easily form false memories.

Automatic processing

Unconsciously encoding daily event sequences illustrates this concept.

Chunking

This method increases short-term memory capacity.

Effortful processing

Requires conscious attention.

Short-term memory bits capacity

Holds about 7 bits of information.

Two-track mind

Shown by the difference between implicit and explicit memory.

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories is called this.

Encoding

Getting information into memory is known as this process.

Repression

Forgetting a painful teacher illustrates this concept (Freud).

Déjà vu

Feeling you've done something before after a brief glance.

Recall tests

Fill-in-the-blank tests measure this type of memory.

Serial position effect

Best recall of items occurs for the first and last items.

Retroactive interference

New biology study interfering with earlier chemistry learning exemplifies this.

Context-dependent memory

Memorizing lines on set to remember better shows this concept.

Retroactive interference (passwords)

New password makes you forget the old one.

Long-term potentiation

Refers to increased neural firing after rapid stimulation (basis of learning/memory).

Recognition

Eyewitness identifying a criminal uses this measure of memory.

Basic measures of memory retention

Recall, recognition, and relearning are the three basic measures.