Memory: Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval

Flashcards capturing key concepts related to memory, including encoding, storage, retrieval, and related theories.

Encoding

The process of changing information so that it can be stored, which can be visual, acoustic, or semantic.

Storage

Holding information in memory, which can be in short term or long term.

Hippocampus

A brain structure that plays a vital role in organizing and storing memories.

Retrieval

Accessing information from memory, which can occur via recognition, cued recall, or free recall.

Multi-Store Model of Memory

The model suggesting that memory consists of separate stores where information passes sequentially.

Sensory Register

The initial memory store that has a large capacity but a short duration, with coding dependent on the stimuli.

Short Term Memory (STM)

A memory store that holds approximately 7±2 items for 18-30 seconds, primarily using acoustic coding.

Maintenance Rehearsal

A technique used to keep information fresh in short term memory.

Elaborative Rehearsal

A technique to transfer information into long term memory through deeper processing.

Decay

The process by which information is forgotten from a memory store.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to recall the first and last items in a list better than those in the middle.

Episodic Memory

Memories for specific events in one's life, including time and place.

Semantic Memory

Memories for shared knowledge and facts that are not time-stamped.

Procedural Memory

Memories for skills and actions, which are often difficult to verbalize.

Reconstructive Memory

The active process of storing and recalling information, often leading to inaccuracies.

Schemas

Cognitive structures that help organize and interpret information, influencing memory reconstruction.

Effort After Meaning

The process of making sense of unfamiliar information by transforming it into familiar terms.

Interference Theory

The theory that suggests one piece of information can suppress the ability to remember another.

Proactive Interference

When old information interferes with the recall of new information.

Retroactive Interference

When new information interferes with the recall of old information.

Contextual Cues

Triggers encoded with information that aid in retrieval during recall.

False Memories

Memories for events that did not occur but feel true, often influenced by suggestion.