Chapter 7: Memory (Encoding, Storage, and Retrieval)

Autobiographical memory

Memory for events and experiences from one’s own life.

Consolidation

The process that occurs after encoding that stabilizes memory traces over time.

Cue overload principle

The idea that the more memories associated with a retrieval cue, the less effective that cue becomes in triggering recall of any one memory.

Distinctiveness

The principle that unusual or unique events are remembered better than common or uniform events.

Encoding

The initial process of perceiving and learning information.

Encoding specificity principle

The idea that a retrieval cue is effective to the extent that it overlaps with the information encoded in the original memory trace.

Engrams

The physical or neural changes in the nervous system that represent a memory; also called memory traces.

Episodic memory

Memory for personally experienced events that occur at a specific time and place.

Flashbulb memory

A vivid and detailed memory of receiving news about a highly emotional or significant event.

Memory traces

The changes in the nervous system that represent stored memories.

Misinformation effect

A memory distortion that occurs when misleading information presented after an event is incorporated into the memory of that event.

Mnemonic devices

Strategies for improving memory by using imagery, organization, or associations.

Recoding

The process of transforming information into a different form that is easier to remember.

Retrieval

The process of accessing information stored in memory.

Retroactive interference

Forgetting that occurs when new information interferes with the recall of previously learned information.

Semantic memory

Long-term memory for facts, concepts, and general knowledge.

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time.

False memories

Memories for events that never actually occurred, often created through suggestion or misinformation.

Foils

Members of a lineup other than the suspect, used in eyewitness identification procedures.

Mock witnesses

Research participants who act as witnesses in studies of memory or eyewitness testimony.

Photo spreads

Sets of photographs shown to witnesses for the purpose of identifying a perpetrator.

Schema (schemata)

Organized knowledge structures or mental frameworks formed through experience that influence encoding and retrieval.