AP Psychology: Unit 7 Topic 3

Theories of Forgetting and Memory Error

déjà vu

cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with your current mood

state dependent memory

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

Ebbinghaus forgetting curve

the initial drop off is rapid, but then levels off after time

proactive interference

old information blocking new

retroactive interference

new information blocking old

repression

the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

misinformation effect

the tendency for information introduced after an event to alter or interfere with a person’s memory of what happened

source amnesia

the inability to remember where, when, or how you acquired a memory

Elizabeth Loftus

pioneered the misinformation effect

tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

an inadequate retrieval; you can almost remember it

imagination inflation

a memory distortion where vividly imagining an event that never happened makes you more confident that it actually occurred

retrieval cues

words or other pieces of information that can help us retrieve information that is stored in our memories

context dependent memory

remembering when you are in the same environmental space

encoding failure

lack of attention or focus when encoding new information

infantile amnesia

the inability to remember things before age 3