Memory: Encoding, Retrieval, and Memory Tests – Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the lecture notes on memory encoding, retrieval, explicit/implicit memory, tests, and related concepts.

Encoding

The process of transforming information into a memory trace; includes the encoding phase and can be intentional or incidental.

Intentional encoding

When a person actively tries to commit information to memory.

Incidental encoding

Encoding that occurs as a byproduct of performing a task, often without conscious intent to memorize.

Retention

The interval between encoding and retrieval during which information is retained.

Retrieval

Accessing information that has been stored in memory; the retrieval phase in memory experiments and tests.

Consolidation

The process by which memories become stable and integrated, often enhanced by sleep.

Sleep and consolidation

The role of sleep in strengthening and stabilizing memories between encoding and retrieval.

Repetition (encoding manipulation)

Increasing memory by exposing the stimulus multiple times; part of the learning curve.

Encoding time

The duration of exposure to a stimulus; longer encoding time can improve memory formation.

Elaboration

Attaching meaning, relationships, or visualization to information to enhance encoding.

Three phases of memory experiments

Encoding, Retention, and Retrieval—the typical sequence in memory studies.

Encoding phase

The stage at which information is initially processed and stored into memory.

Explicit memory

Declarative memory; memories we can consciously recall and report.

Implicit memory

Nondeclarative memory; memory expressed through performance without conscious recollection.

Episodic memory

Explicit memory for personally experienced events, including time and place.

Semantic memory

Explicit memory for general world knowledge and facts.

Direct (explicit) tests

Memory tests where responses explicitly refer to past experiences (e.g., recall, cued recall, recognition, source/destination memory).

Indirect (implicit) tests

Memory tests where the task does not explicitly require recalling past events but is influenced by prior experiences (e.g., priming tasks).

Free recall

Retrieving as many items as possible in any order from memory.

Clustering

The tendency to group related items together during recall, reflecting memory organization.

Cued recall

Recall aided by a cue or hint to facilitate retrieval.

Recognition

Judging whether a stimulus was previously encountered (old) or not (new).

Hit

Correctly recognizing a previously seen item as old.

False alarm

Incorrectly recognizing a new item as having been seen before.

Miss

Failing to recognize a previously seen item; a negative false negative in recognition.

Correct rejection

Correctly identifying a new item as not old.

Corrected recognition

A biased-correct measure of recognition, typically (hit rate − false alarm rate) to control for response bias.

Source memory

Memory for the origin of information, such as where or how a memory was acquired.

Destination memory

Memory for to whom you told or conveyed information.

Source monitoring

Process of judging the origin of a memory by evaluating qualitative features (perceptual, contextual, cognitive details).

Perceptual priming

Priming where prior exposure improves identification of perceptually similar stimuli; often objective and automatic.

Priming

Facilitation of processing due to prior exposure to a stimulus, often occurring without conscious awareness.

Word fragment completion

Indirect memory test where participants complete word stems; performance is influenced by prior exposure.

Perceptual identification task

Indirect test in which briefly presented items are identified; used to measure perceptual priming.

Familiarity

A vague sense of having encountered something before, without recalling details.

Recollection

Retrieval of details about a past event; more effortful and detailed than familiarity.

Ebbinghaus

Pioneer memory researcher who introduced the concept of savings to measure memory.

Savings (Ebbinghaus)

Memory improvement measured as (initial learning time − relearning time) / initial learning time × 100.

Associative recognition

Recognition that requires remembering relationships between items (e.g., pairs) rather than individual items.

Source monitoring framework (Johnson, 1993)

Theory that people infer memory source by evaluating qualitative features such as perceptual/contextual details.