AP Psych: Unit 5 Modules 31-33

Memory

the persistence of learning over time through the encoding, storage, and retrieval of information.

Recall

a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test.

Recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test.

Relearning

a measure of memory that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time.

Encoding

the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.

Storage

the retention of encoded information in the brain over time.

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage.

Parallel processing

the processing of many aspects of a problem simultaneously; the brain's natural mode of information processing for many functions, including vision; contrasts with the step-by-step (serial) processing of most computers and of conscious problem solving.

Sensory memory

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten.

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory.

Explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare".

Effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

Automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings.

Implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection.

Iconic memory

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Echoic memory

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

Mnemonics

memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Spacing effect

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

Testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information.

Shallow processing

encoding on a basic level based on the structure or appearance of words.

Deep processing

encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

George Miller

psychologist; found that short term memory has the capacity of about 7 (plus or minus 2) items; made famous the phrase: "the magical number 7, plus or minus 2" when describing human memory.

Semantic memory

a network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world.

Episodic memory

the collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place.

Hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage.

Memory consolidation

the neural storage of a long-term memory, supported by sleep.

Flashbulb memory

the memory of emotionally significant events that people often recall with more accuracy and vivid imagery than everyday events.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

Encoding specificity principle

the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it.

Mood-congruent memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.

Serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Anterograde amnesia

an inability to form new memories.

Retrograde amnesia

an inability to retrieve information from one's past.

Proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information.

Retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information.

Repression

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

Reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again.

Misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

Source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined.

Déjà vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before.; cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

Herman Ebbinghaus

German psychologist who pioneered the experimental study of memory, and is known for his discovery of the forgetting curve and the spacing effect; he was also the first person to describe the learning curve.

Elizabeth Loftus

her research on memory construction and the misinformation effect created doubts about the accuracy of eye-witness testimony.

Method of loci (memory palace)

consists of associating items you want to remember with physical locations.