PSY 200-Module 24 Vocab

semantic

explicit memory of facts and general knowledge; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is episodic memory)

episodic

explicit memory of personally experienced events; one of our two conscious memory systems (the other is semantic memory)

hippocampus

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

memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory

flashbulb memories

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

long-term potentiation(LTP)

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

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

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 (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items in a list