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Long-Term Memory (LTM)
The system that stores information over long durations, including facts, experiences, and skills.
Encoding
The process of converting information into a form that can be stored in memory.
Retrieval
The process of accessing stored information when needed.
Consolidation
The process of stabilizing memories after learning, often occurring during sleep.
Forgetting
The inability to retrieve information, which may result from decay, interference, or retrieval failure.
Explicit (Declarative) Memory
Conscious memory of facts and experiences.
Episodic Memory
Personal experiences and events (e.g., remembering your last birthday).
Semantic Memory
General world knowledge (e.g., knowing that Paris is the capital of France).
Implicit (Non-Declarative) Memory
Unconscious memory of skills and conditioned behaviors.
Procedural Memory
Motor skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike, typing).
Priming
Exposure to one stimulus influences response to another (e.g., seeing 'nurse' makes recognizing 'doctor' faster).
Classical Conditioning
Learning associations between stimuli (e.g., Pavlov's dogs salivating to a bell).
Encoding Specificity
Memory is best retrieved in the same context it was encoded.
State-Dependent Memory
Recall is better when a person's internal state matches the state during encoding (e.g., studying while happy makes recall easier when happy).
Spacing Effect
Distributing study sessions over time improves retention compared to cramming.
Testing Effect
Actively recalling information (e.g., self-quizzing) improves long-term retention more than passive review.
Ebbinghaus Forgetting Curve
Most forgetting happens rapidly after learning, then levels off.
Interference
Competing memories block retrieval.
Proactive Interference
Old information disrupts new learning (e.g., calling your new dog by your old dog's name).
Retroactive Interference
New information disrupts recall of old information (e.g., learning a new language makes recalling an old one harder).
Flashbulb Memories
Highly vivid but often inaccurate memories of emotional events (e.g., 9/11).
False Memories
Memories can be distorted by misinformation or suggestion (e.g., Loftus & Palmer's car accident study).
Roediger & Karpicke (2006)
Showed that testing yourself improves long-term memory retention more than re-reading.
Jenkins & Dallenbach (1924)
Found that sleep reduces interference, improving memory retention.
Loftus & Palmer (1974)
Demonstrated that wording of questions can alter memory recall (e.g., 'smashed' vs. 'hit' affecting estimated car speed).
Phoneme
The smallest unit of sound that changes meaning (e.g., /p/ vs. /b/ in 'pat' vs. 'bat').
Morpheme
The smallest unit of meaning (e.g., 'dog' is one morpheme, 'dogs' has two: 'dog' + '-s').
Syntax
The set of rules governing sentence structure and word order.
Semantics
The meaning of words and sentences.
Pragmatics
How language is used in context, including social rules and implied meanings.
Lexical Ambiguity
When a word has multiple meanings (e.g., 'bat' can mean an animal or a baseball bat).
Syntactic Ambiguity
When sentence structure causes multiple interpretations (e.g., 'The old man the boat.').
McGurk Effect
A phenomenon where visual and auditory speech cues interact (e.g., seeing 'ga' but hearing 'ba' makes you perceive 'da').
Phonemic Restoration Effect
When missing sounds in speech are filled in by the brain based on context.
Code-Switching
Alternating between languages or dialects depending on context.
Constant Inhibition
The process by which bilingual individuals suppress one language while speaking another.
Maxim of Quantity
Provide just enough information—no more, no less.
Maxim of Quality
Be truthful.
Maxim of Relevance
Stay on topic.
Maxim of Manner
Be clear and avoid ambiguity.
Berko (1958) - Wug Test
Showed that children can apply grammatical rules to novel words (e.g., 'wug' → 'wugs').
Collins & Quillian (1969)
Demonstrated hierarchical organization in semantic memory (e.g., 'A canary is a bird' is verified faster than 'A canary is an animal').
Classical View
Categories have strict definitions with necessary and sufficient conditions (e.g., 'Bachelor = unmarried adult male').
Prototype Theory
Categories are represented by an 'ideal example' (e.g., robins are more prototypical birds than penguins).
Exemplar Theory
Categories are based on specific examples from experience (e.g., recognizing a new dog because it looks like your friend's dog).
Theory-Based Categorization
Some categories rely on deep knowledge rather than appearance (e.g., a 'fake diamond' looks like a diamond but isn't real).
Superordinate Level
General category (e.g., 'furniture').
Basic Level
Everyday categories (e.g., 'chair').
Subordinate Level
Detailed categories (e.g., 'office chair').
Typicality Effect
Some category members are 'better' examples than others (e.g., a robin is a better example of 'bird' than a penguin).
Collins & Quillian (1969) Semantic Network Model
Concepts are stored in a hierarchy, and verifying category relationships takes longer when more levels are involved.
Semantic Dementia
Patients with brain damage lose conceptual knowledge, supporting the idea that concepts are deeply interconnected in memory.
