AP Psychology Unit 2 Week 5 Vocab

Week 5 vocabulary words from Unit 2 (Cognition) of the Myers' Psychology for the AP Course (Fourth Edition) textbook.

Memory

The persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test. One of the retention measures.

Recognition

A measure of memory in which the person identifies items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test. One of the retention measures.

Relearning

A measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material again. One of the retention measures.

Encode

The process of getting information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning. Part of the information-processing model of memory.

Store

The process of retaining encoded information over time. Part of the information-processing model of memory.

Retrieve

The process of getting information out of memory storage. Part of the information-processing model of memory.

Parallel processing

Processing multiple aspects of a stimulus or problem simultaneously. What our mind does.

Sensory memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. Part of the three-stage multi-store model.

Short-term memory

Briefly activated memory of a few items (such as digits of a phone number while calling) that is later stored or forgotten. Part of the three-stage multi-store model.

Long-term memory

The relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences. Part of the three-stage multi-store model.

Working memory

A newer understanding of short-term memory; conscious, active processing of both (1) incoming sensory information, and (2) information retrieved from long-term memory.

Central executive

A memory component that coordinates the activities of the phonological loop and the visuospatial sketchpad.

Phonological loop

A memory component that briefly holds auditory information.

Visuospatial sketchpad

A memory component that briefly holds information about objects’ appearance and location in space.

Neurogensis

The formation of new neurons.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; a neural basis for learning and memory.

Explicit (declarative) memories

Retention of facts and experiences that we can consciously know and “declare".”

Effortful processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of familiar or well-learned information, such as sounds, smells, and word meanings.

Implicit (nondeclarative) memories

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations independent of conscious recollection.

Procedural memory

Part of implicit memories. Used for automatic skills, such as how to ride a bike.

Conditioned associations

Part of implicit memories. A type of learning in which an organism comes to associate stimuli and anticipate events.

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.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Mnemonics

Memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Hierarchies

Processing information using a few broad categories divided and subdivided into narrower concepts and facts. Helps us retrieve information more efficiently.

Spacing effect

The tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice. One of psychology’s most reliable findings, extending to motor skills as well.

Massed practice

Cramming. Can produce speedy short-term learning and an inflated feeling of confidence, but also leads people to forget quickly.

Distributed practice

Studying or review over an extended period of time later on. Improves retention and reduces need to panic-cram the day before.

Testing effect

Enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information. Also referred to as a retrieval practice effect or test-enhanced learning.

Shallow processing

Encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words.

Structural encoding

A type of shallow processing. Beginner level, where encoding happens to with a word’s letters.

Phonemic encoding

A type of shallow processing. Intermediate level, where encoding happens to with a word’s sounds.

Deep processing

Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

Semantic encoding

A type of deep processing. Advanced level, where encoding happens to with a word’s meaning.

Self-reference effect

Tendency to remember self-relevant information. Especially strong in individualist Western cultures.

Semantic memory

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems.

Episodic memory

Explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems.

Hippocampus

A neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit (conscious memories)—of facts and events—for storage.

Memory consolidation

The neural storage of a long-term memory.

Basal ganglia

Deep brain structures involved in motor movement, facilitate formation of our procedural memories for skills; when receiving input from the cortex, they don’t send information back to the cortex for conscious awareness of procedural learning.

Infantile amnesia

Our conscious memory of our first 3 years is largely blank because (1) we index much of our explicit memory with a command of language that young children do not possess, and (2) the hippocampus is one of the last brain structures to mature, and as it does, more information gets retained.

Amygdala

Two limbic system emotion-processing clusters. Can be provoked by stress hormones to initiate a memory trace, boosting the brain’s memory-forming areas.

Memory trace

A lasting physical change as the memory forms, tagging a moment for future reference and allowing highly emotional events to be seared into the brain.

Flashbulb memories

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event. Vivid, but not always accurate.

Retrospective memory

Memories of our past.

Prospective memory

Memories of our intended future actions. We need to spend more time thinking about our future than our past.

Priming

The activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one’s perception, memory, or response.

Encoding specificity principle

The idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it.

State-dependent memory

What we learn in one state may be more easily recalled when we are again in that state.

Mood congruent

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.

Serial position effect

Our tendency to recall best the last items in a list initially (a recency effect) and the first items in a list after a delay (a primacy effect).

Interleaving

A retrieval practice strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics, boosting learning.