Memory and Learning

This set of flashcards covers key concepts related to memory, types of memory, and factors affecting learning and recall.

Hippocampus

A brain structure critical for memory consolidation and the formation of new long-term explicit memories.

Short-term Memory

A temporary storage system that holds a limited amount of information for a brief period of time.

Long-term Memory

A storage system that holds information potentially permanently; includes explicit and implicit memories.

Episodic Memory

A type of explicit long-term memory that involves the recollection of specific events or experiences.

Semantic Memory

A type of explicit long-term memory that involves the recollection of facts and general knowledge.

Implicit Memory

A type of long-term memory that does not require conscious thought and includes skills and conditioned responses.

Amnesia

A condition involving memory loss; can be retrograde (loss of past memories) or anterograde (inability to form new memories).

Forgetting

The inability to retrieve information from memory, potentially caused by encoding failure, retrieval failure, or decay.

Recognition vs Recall

Recognition tasks provide retrieval cues, while recall requires reconstructing the memory without cues.

Mirror-Tracing Task

An experimental task used to study motor learning and memory, often associated with Henry Molaison's performance.

Memory Illusions

False memories or distorted recollections that can occur due to suggestibility and other cognitive processes.

Levels of Processing

The concept that deeper levels of analysis (elaborative rehearsal) lead to better memory retention than shallow processing.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to remember the first (primacy) and last (recency) items in a list better than the middle items.