Memory: Encoding, Storage, Retrieval (Key Concepts)

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering core memory concepts from the lecture notes.

Encoding

Converting sensory input into a form the brain can store.

Storage

Maintaining encoded information over time.

Retrieval

Accessing stored information when needed.

Sensory memory

Brief store of raw sensory input (visual, auditory, tactile); lasts about 0.2–4 seconds; very large capacity.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Current thoughts/working information; about 18–30 seconds without rehearsal; capacity about 7 ± 2 items.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

Permanent knowledge and experiences; potentially lifelong; unlimited capacity.

Attention

Focusing on information to move it into STM.

Chunking

Grouping items into meaningful units to increase STM capacity.

Maintenance rehearsal

Repeating information to keep it in STM.

Elaboration rehearsal

Linking new information to existing knowledge for deeper encoding.

Primacy effect

Better recall for early items (often linked to encoding into LTM).

Recency effect

Better recall for recent items (often preserved in STM).

Procedural memory

Memory for skills and habits (e.g., riding a bike).

Declarative memory

Memories that can be stated; facts and events.

Semantic memory

General world knowledge and facts.

Episodic memory

Personal experiences and events.

Hippocampus

Brain region essential for forming new declarative memories.

Amygdala

Brain region involved in emotional memory processing.

Cerebellum

Brain region important for procedural memories and motor skills.

HM case

Hippocampus removed; could form procedural memories but not new declarative memories.

Recall

Producing information without cues.

Recognition

Identifying information from given options.

Re-learning

Learning something again; typically faster than the initial learning.

State-dependent retrieval

Better recall when in the same mood/physiological state as encoding.

Context-dependent retrieval

Better recall in the same environment as encoding.

Semantic networks

Memories are organized as interconnected nodes linked by meaning.

Ebbinghaus forgetting curve

Forgetting occurs rapidly at first and then levels off.

Bartlett schema theory

Memories are reconstructed to fit existing beliefs and schemas.

False memories

Distortions from misleading information, suggestion, or imagination.

Encoding failure

Information was never stored properly.

Retrieval failure

Stored, but retrieval cues are missing.

Proactive interference

Old information interferes with new learning.

Retroactive interference

New information interferes with old memories.

Consolidation theory

Memory needs time and sleep to stabilise.

Levels of processing theory

Deeper (semantic) processing yields better retention than shallow processing.