Comprehensive Memory Types and Processing Strategies in Psychology

Effortful Processing

encoding that requires attention + conscious effort

Automatic Processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, or frequency of well-learned information, such as sounds, smells, and word meaning.

Implicit Memory

storage of learned skills or of unconscious feelings/behaviors

Structural Processing

shallowest level of information encoding where a person focuses on the physical characteristics of a stimulus, such as visual appearance of words

Phonemic Processing

processing using sounds

Semantic Processing

processing by understanding the word's meaning

Deep Processing

processing based on the meaning of words and connecting it

Episodic Memory

long-term memory of personally experienced events, one of the conscious memory systems

Memory Consolidation

neural storage of short-term memories making them stable, long-term memories

Infantile Amnesia

no memory of our first 4 years

Priming

one stimulus influences a response to a subsequent stimulus, without conscious guidance or intention (déjà vu)

Encoding Specificity Principle

idea that cues and context specific to a particular memory will be most effective in recall

Mood Congruent Memory

tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good/bad mood

Serial Position Effect

tendency to recall best the last items in a list initially and the first items in a list after a delay.

Alzheimer's Disease

difficulty remembering new info, leading to an inability to do everyday tasks, progressing

Recall

measure of memory in which the person must retrieve info learned earlier. ex: Fill in the blank test

Recognition

measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned. ex: multiple-choice test

Encoding

process of getting info into the memory system, ex: info in brain

Storage

process of retaining encoded info over time, ex: How to ride a bike

Retrieval

process of getting information out of memory storage

Sensory Memory

brief, involuntary memory that holds raw sensory information from the world around us

Short-Term Memory

briefly activated memory of a few items that is later stored or forgotten, ex: digits of a phone number

Long-Term Memory

the relatively permanent/limitless archive of the memory system, including knowledge/skills/experiences ex: basketball

Working Memory

conscious, active processing of both incoming sensory info + info received from long-term memory

Central Executive

memory component that coordinates activities of the hearing + visual aspects

Phonological Loop

memory component that holds auditory information

Visuospatial Sketchpad

memory component that holds appearance/location info

Long-Term Potentiation

Increase in a nerve cell's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation

Explicit Memory

retention of facts/experiences we consciously know and declare

Retroactive Interference

new information learned makes it harder to recall older, previously learned information

Procedural Memory

skills that allow you to perform tasks automatically without conscious thought

Iconic Memory

brief sensory memory of visual stimuli

Echoic Memory

brief sensory memory of auditory stimuli

Chunking

organizing items into familiar units, automatic

Mnemonics

memory aid tricks

Method of Loci

adding vivid new details to memories

Spacing Effect

tendency to yield better long-term retention achieved through massed study/practice

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

Shallow Processing

encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

Anterograde Amnesia

an inability to form new memories

Retrograde Amnesia

inability to remember info from one's past

Proactive Interference

old, previously learned information interferes with the ability to learn or recall new information

Repression

basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, memories from consciousness

Misinformation Effect

occurs when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

Source Amnesia

faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined at the heart of many false memories

Semantic Memory

a type of long-term memory that stores general knowledge, facts, concepts, and meanings about the world