PSY210 Chapter 8

Memory

Memory

The set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods of time.

Encoding

The input of information into the memory system.

Storage

The retention of encoded information and creation of a permanent record.

Retrieval

Getting information out of memory storage and back into conscious awareness.

Automatic Processing

Encoding of informational details like time, space, frequency, and meaning without conscious awareness.

Effortful Processing

Encoding of information that takes time, effort, and attention.

Semantic Encoding

The encoding of words and their meaning.

Visual Encoding

The encoding of images and mental pictures.

Acoustic Encoding

The encoding of sounds, words, and music in particular.

Self-Reference Effect

The tendency for an individual to have better memory for information that relates to oneself.

Atkinson-Shiffrin Model

Memory model stating information passes through sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

Very brief storage of sensory events like sights, sounds, and tastes lasting up to a couple of seconds.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Temporary storage system that processes incoming sensory memory, lasting about 15 to 30 seconds.

Rehearsal

The conscious repetition of information to be remembered to move it into long-term memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

Thinking about the meaning of new information and linking it to existing knowledge.

Magic Number 7 Plus or Minus 2

George Miller's finding on the capacity of short-term memory (retaining between 5 and 9 items).

Working Memory Capacity (Cowan)

Contemporary research finding that working memory capacity is 4 plus or minus 1.

Proactive Interference

When old information hinders the recall of newly learned information.

Retroactive Interference

When information learned more recently hinders the recall of older information.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The continuous, essentially limitless storage of information.

Semantic Network

A structure consisting of concepts arranged hierarchically where related concepts are linked.

Spreading Activation

The process where activating one part of a semantic network also activates linked concepts to a lesser degree.

Explicit Memory

Memories we consciously try to remember, recall, and report (also called declarative memory).

Episodic Memory

Type of declarative memory about events we have personally experienced (autobiographical memory).

Semantic Memory

Type of declarative memory about words, concepts, and language-based knowledge and facts.

Implicit Memory

Long-term memories that are not part of our consciousness but are demonstrated in task performance.

Procedural Memory

Implicit memory that stores information about how to do skilled actions like brushing teeth or driving.

Implicit Priming

When exposure to a stimulus affects the response to a later stimulus.

Implicit Emotional Conditioning

The type of memory involved in classically conditioned emotional responses.

Hyperthymesia

Highly superior autobiographical memory allowing recall of specific life events in extreme detail.

Recall

Accessing information from long-term memory without cues.

Recognition

Identifying previously learned information after encountering it again, usually via a cue or multiple choice.

Relearning

Learning information that was previously learned, often taking less time the second time around.

Engram

The physical trace of memory in the brain.

Equipotentiality Hypothesis

Karl Lashley's hypothesis that if part of one brain area involved in memory is damaged, another part can take over.

Amygdala

Brain structure involved in regulating emotions like fear, fear memories, and memory consolidation.

Hippocampus

Brain area associated with declarative, episodic, and recognition memory, as well as memory consolidation.

Cerebellum

Brain structure that plays a role in processing procedural memories and motor learning.

Prefrontal Cortex

Brain region involved in remembering semantic tasks and encoding/retrieval processes.

Arousal Theory

Theory that strong emotional experiences trigger the release of neurotransmitters and hormones that strengthen memory.

Flashbulb Memory

An exceptionally clear recollection of an important or unusual event.

Memory Reconstruction

The process of putting together components of a memory when remembered, creating opportunities for errors.

Amnesia

The loss of long-term memory that occurs as a result of disease, physical trauma, or psychological trauma.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to remember new information following brain trauma, while older memories remain intact.

Retrograde Amnesia

Loss of memory for events that occurred prior to physical or psychological trauma.

Suggestibility

The effects of misinformation from external sources that leads to the creation of false memories.

Misinformation Effect Paradigm

Holding that after exposure to additional and possibly inaccurate information, a person may misremember the original event.

False Memory Syndrome

The recall of false autobiographical memories of events that did not happen.

Encoding Failure

Memory loss happening because information was never successfully stored in the first place.

Transience

Memory error where accessibility of a memory decreases over time (storage decay).

Absentmindedness

Memory errors caused by lapses in attention or focus being somewhere else.

Blocking

Memory error (tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon) where temporarily stored information cannot be accessed.

Misattribution

Memory distortion error in which the source of information is confused.

Bias

Distortion error where feelings and worldview distort memory of past events (includes egocentric and hindsight bias).

Persistence

Memory intrusion error involving the involuntary recall of unwanted, often unpleasant memories.

Chunking

Organizing information into manageable bits or chunks to enhance memory.

Mnemonic Device

Memory aids (such as acronyms and acrostics) that help organize information for encoding.