ap psych unit 5

Flashbulb Memory

Clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Encoding

Processing of information in the memory system; get information into the brain

Storage

The retention of encoded information overtime; retaining information

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of the memory system; getting information back out

Sensory Memory

Immediate, initial recordings of sensory information in the memory system

Working Memory

Focuses more on the processing of briefly stored inforamtion

Short Term Memory

Activated memory that hold a few items for a brief period of time

Long Term Memory

Relatively permanent and limitless store house of memory of the memory system

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information such as space, time, or frequency. Includes well learned information such as that concerned with language

Effortful Processing

Requires attention and conscious effort. An example would be studying.

Rehearsal

One way to conduct effortful processing. A conscious repetition of information used to retain consciousness and encode it.

Semantic Encoding

The encoding of meanings, including words

Acoustic Encoding

Encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

Visual Encoding

The encoding of picture images

Imagery

Mental pictures that are a powerful aid to effortful processing especially when they are combined with semantic encoding

Mnemonics

A memory aid. A technique that uses imagery and organizational devices

Chunking

Organizing item into familiar, manageable units. Often occurs automatically

Hierarchies

Complex information that is broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories

Memory

Persistence of learning over time via the storage and retrieval of information; any indication that learning has persisted over time

Spacing Effect

The idea that we retain information better when when rehearsal is distributed over time

Serial Position Effect

Our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

Iconic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Echoic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

Increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory associations

Amnesia

The loss of memory

Implicit Memory

Retention of information without conscious recollection. Examples include learning to ride a bike, something you'd never forget

Explicit Memory

Memory of facts and information that one can consciously know and declare; hippocampus helps process this kind of memory for storage

Recall

The ability to retrieve information learned earlier and not in conscious awareness. Example: fill in the blank test

Recognition

Ability to identify previously learned information. Example: multiple choice test

Relearning

Amount of time saved when learning information a second time

Priming

Activation, often unconsciously of previously learned information. Example: Ask friend to say what s-h-o-p and then ask what you do at a green light. They will probably say stop OR teacher asks a question and then asks a follow up question with a hint

Deja Vu

Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger the retrieval of an earlier experience

Mood-Congruent Memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current mood

State Dependent Memory

What is learned in one state of mind can more easily be remembered in that same state of mind

Absent-Mindedness

Inattention to details produces encoding failure. Example: Mind is elsewhere when you lay down your keys, causing you to forget where you put them

Transcience

Storage decay overtime. Example: After we part ways with and old classmate, unused information fades

Blocking

Inaccessibility of stored information. Example: Seeing an old classmate, we feel the name on the tip of our tongue, but can't get the name out

Misattribution

Confusing the source of information Example: Putting the words in someone else's mouth or remembering a movies scene as actually happening

Suggestibility

The lingering effects of misinformation. Example: a leading question becomes a false memory

Bias

Belief-colored recollections. Example: a friend's current feelings toward her fiance may color her recalled initial feelings

Persistence

Unwanted memories. Example: Being haunted by images of a sexual assault

Forgetting as Interference

Learning some items may disrupt the retrieval of older information

Proactive Interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive Interference

The disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Repression

A defense mechanism that banishes anxiety arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Misinformation Effect

Incorporating misleading information into on'es memory of an event

Motivated Forgetting

People unknowingly revise history

Positive Transfer

Sometimes old information facilitates our learning of new information. Example: Learning of Latin may help our learning of French

Source Amnesia

Attributing to the wrong source of an event we have experienced, heard about, or imagined

Memories of Abuse

Unsure of whether it is repressed or constructed