AP Psychology - Module 5, Lesson 1

Memory Models, Memory Encoding, Encoding Practices, Atkinson-Shiffrin Three-Stage Model, Retrieving, and Forgetting

Memory

Learning over time of information.

Encoding

Getting information within our memory.

Storage

Keeping information within our memory.

Retrieval

Getting information out of memory storage.

Automatic Processing

Information is encoded unconsciously.

Effortful Processing

Information takes conscious effort to encode.

Next-in-Line Effect

It is more unlikely that we will remember information presented to us right before we perform.

Rehearsal

Conscious repetition.

Spacing Effect

Memory retention is better when studying is spaced over time, rather than all at once.

Serial-Position Effect

People tend to remember the first and last bit of information presented to them.

Visual Encoding

Using images to encode.

Acoustic Encoding

Using sound to encode.

Semantic Encoding

Using meaning to encode.

Imagery

Mental pictures.

Mnemonics/Mnemonic Device

Memory device that uses imagery or organizational information to encode.

Chunking

Memorizing information by putting it into manageable and meaningful groups.

Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory

A rare condition where a person is able to remember specific details of their life even after many years have passed.

Retention

Storage and maintenance of memory.

Meta-Cognition

Being aware of your own thought processes.

Sensory Memory

Very short memory of sensory information, lasts seconds.

Iconic Memory

Visual sensory memory.

Echoic Memory

Auditory sensory memory.

Haptic Memory

Touch sensory memory.

Long-Term Memory

Memory that is processed and stored for later retrieval.

Flashbulb Memory

A very clear memory tied to an emotional event.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Associated with learning and memory from an increase of neural firing.

Implicit (Nondeclarative) Memory

Memory of learned skills that is unconsciously processed (tie shoes) and involves the cerebellum and basal ganglia.

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

Memory of facts and life experiences that is consciously processed (wedding day) and involves the hippocampus.

Hippocampus

Located in the limbic system, responsible for processing explicit memory for storage.

Episodic Memory

Explicit memory of one's life experiences like "episodes" of your life.

Semantic Memory

Explicit memory of facts and knowledge like information learned in school.

Prospective Memory

A type of memory responsible for allowing one to remember to compute future tasks such as sending an email, turning in a project, brushing teeth, etc.

Procedural Memory

Long-term memory for specific tasks and skills.

Working Memory Model

Nickname for short-term memory, lasts as long as you are rehearsing.

Primary Memory System

Another name for short-term memory.

Central Executive

Part of working memory that manages the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

Phonological Loop

Part of working memory that holds auditory information for short periods.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

Briefly holds the appearance and location of items.

Short-Term Memory

Reproduction, recognition, and recall of a small amount of information after a period of about 10 to 30 seconds.

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating something over and over to keep it short-term memory.

Recall

The ability to retrieve memories; to remember.

Recognition

Sense of familiarity when someone encounters a person or event.

Multi-Store Model of Memory

Describes memory as a process with 3 steps; sensory memory, short-term memory, and long term-memory.

Shallow Encoding

Memory processing based on surface features of an item.

Deep Encoding

Memory processing based on its significance.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic device where items are remembered by converting them into mental images and placing them in a specific place.

Memory Consolidation

Process where permanent memory is formed.

Distributed Practice

Learning process where practice for specific tasks are spread out over time.

Massed Practice

Learning process where practice is close together

Primacy Effect

Phenomenon where people tend to remember the items at the beginning of a list.

Recency Effect

Phenomenon where the most recent presented facts are remembered.

Context-Dependent Memory

Ability to remember something better when you are in the same environment where it was first learned.

Mood-Congruent Memory

Ability to remember something that matches your current mood.

State-Dependent Memory

Ability to remember something when in a similar physical state.

Testing Effect

Taking a test on studied material leads to better retention.

Constructive Memory

Creating or reconstructing memories by combining actual experiences with existing knowledge, expectations, or imagination.

Imagination Inflation

When someone is more likely to judge an event as having occurred when they imagine the event before actually judging it.

Retrograde Amnesia

Memory loss that happens when a person is unable to remember events before a specific event.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to learn new information.

Alzheimer's Disease

A progressive neurocognitive disease that over time erodes a person's memory, cognition, learning, judgement, and inevitably their ability to function.

Infantile Amnesia

An adult is unable to remember experiences from early childhood (before ages 3-4).

Retrieval Cues

A prompt or stimulus to aid in memory recall.

Forgetting Curve

A graph showing the amount of forgetting over time after learning has taken place.

Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon

Trying to retrieve a specific name or word but you are not able to.

Repression

Unconscious coping mechanism that represses painful memories.

Proactive Interference

Interference in new learning due to previous learning of something similar.

Retroactive Interference

When new information interferes with the ability to remember old or previously learned information.

Encoding Failure

When information does not get properly stored in the long-term.

Misinformation Effect

A person's memory of an event becomes less accurate due to misleading information.

Source Amnesia

Impaired memory for how, when, or where information was learned despite good memory of the information itself.