A P P S Y C H U N I T 3

10/20/25

Encoding

Taking in info

Sensory memory

Initial memory of storage- short term

Iconic memory

Form of sensory that has to do with sight

Echoic memory

3-4 seconds of auditory memory (sensory memory)

Short-term memory

15-30 seconds of 7-9 items

Working memory

Type of short-term where info is manipulated

Long-term memory

Info stored indefinitely

Central executive

Helps you focus, organize info, and coordinate what you are thinking, taking notes

Phonological loop

Repeating info to hold it in your short-term for longer

Visuospatial sketchpad

Component of working memory that helps us navigate visual and spatial info, directions

Long-term potentiation

Long-lasting signal increase in signal transmission, if you don’t use it, you lose it 

Effortful Processing

Required active work to store info into long-term memory, ex: flash cards

Automatic Processing 

Unconscious encoding about space, time, frequency, ex: steering wheel 

Levels of processing model 

Depth of which info is thought about affects how it is remembered 

Shallow processing 

Minimum effort ex: apply has 5 letters 

Structural

Bols letters in a paragraph

Phonemic

Auditory

Depending encoding

How we are going to use something

Chunking

Organizing info into managable chunks

Categories

Grouping ex: grocery list with protein, grains, ect.

Hierarchies

Grouping based on level of importance 

Mnemonics

Taking what we want to remember and connecting it with a vivid image 

Method of loci

Associating items with physical locations 

Cramming

Intensely studying for a short amount of time without breaks

Spacing effect

Cramming 5 minutes a day for two weeks

Maintenance rehearsal

Phonological loop

Elaborate rehearsal

Adding meaning by connecting it to existing knowledge

Stimuli that help us bring previous info to mind

External and internal cues

Recall

Type of memory retrieval that doesn’t need a cue 

Recognition

Type of memory retrieval that uses cues

Context dependent memory

When you remember better in the same enviornment you gained it 

State dependent memory 

retrieval is most effective when someone is in the same level of consciousness they were in when they gained it 

Mood congruent memory

The tendency to recall info based on someone’s mood (congruent) 

primary effect 

Easier to remember first items 

Recency effect

Most recently presented items are easier to remember

Serial position effect

Tendency to remember items at the begging and end

Testing effect

Long-term memory is enhanced when tested often

General intelligence 

Good at all areas 

Multiple intelligence

Great at specific types of intelligence

Intelligence quotient

Numerical measure of an individuals intelligence 

Standardization

Consistent tests 

Achievement tests

Testing knowledge skills in a specific area

Aptitude tests

Measures a persons potential for learning skills

Validity

Very accurate 

Construct validity

What it is trying to measure, ex : what was in class

Predictive validity

Measures if test scores can predict future performance

Test retest

Retesting the same group with the same test

Split half

Divides test in half and takes the average

Flynn effect

Trend that IQ increases over generations

Stereotype threat

Underperforming when at risk of com-firming negative stereotypes

Stereotype lift 

Individuals from stereotypically advantage, perform better

Explicit memories 

Conscious recall of facts and experiences, ex : Covid-19

Semantic memory

Type of explicit memory that recalls general facts about the world, ex : U.S is a country

Episodic memory

Explicit memory that involves personal experiences and specific event, ex : first counseling appointment 

Autobiographical memory 

Type of memory that encompasses events and experiences from one’s own life ex : first day of school 

Implicit memory

Type of thinking that doesn’t require conscious thoughts, crucial for everyday tasks 

Procedural memory

Type of implicit that recalls how to perform tasks

Prospective memory

Remembering to perform a planned action at some future time

Massed practice, cramming

Intensely studying for a short amount of time without a break

Spacing effect

Learning is more effective over a period of time

Maintenance rehersal

Repeatedly reviewing info over and over again, phonological loop

Elaborative rehearsal 

Adding meaning or connecting info to an existing knowledge