Memory Types, Processes, and Influences in Psychology

Chunking

Organizing information into meaningful groups.

Sensory/short-term memory

Limited resource for holding information temporarily.

Encoding

The initial experience of receiving information.

Declarative memory

Memory for facts and events that can be consciously recalled.

Intentional/conscious memory

Memory system where you deliberately try to remember something.

Automatic memory

Memory that happens without conscious effort.

Maintenance rehearsal

Simple repetition that keeps information in short-term memory.

Elaborative rehearsal

Connecting new information to information you already know.

Long-term memory

Memory that can store information for extended periods.

Attention

A limited resource that can affect memory.

Automaticity

The ability to perform tasks without conscious thought.

Serial position effect

Better memory for items at the beginning and end of a list.

Primacy effect

Better recall for the first items in a list.

Recency effect

Better recall for the last items in a list.

Encoding specificity principle

Memory is easier to retrieve when cues/context are similar to when it was encoded.

False memory effect

Distorted or fabricated recollection of an event.

Shallow processing

Focuses on superficial features of information.

Deep processing

Focuses on the meaning and connections of information.

Consolidation

Neural changes that stabilize a memory over time.

Dopamine

Neurotransmitter associated with motivation and reward.

Norepinephrine

Neurotransmitter involved in alertness and attention.

GABA

Calming and inhibitory neurotransmitter.

Glutamate

A major excitatory neurotransmitter.

Fluid intelligence

The ability to solve new problems and deal with new information.

Procedural memory

Memory of how to perform tasks or skills.

Stereotype threat

Anxiety or reduced performance caused by awareness of a negative stereotype.