psych final memory

Memory

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare" - also called declarative memory

Episodic memory

personal recollections of specific past events

Semantic memory

general world knowledge, facts, concepts, and word meanings independent of personal experience

Episodic

a situational memory of an event

Semantic

meaning or comprehension

Implicit memory

retention independent of conscious recollection - also called procedural memory

Procedural Memory

see implicit memory; the memory that is non-conscious and is stored in the cerebellum; how to memories

Long-Term Potentiation

remembering to perform an action at a certain time

Working Memory Model

a theoretical framework that explains how the working memory system functions. It consists of three components: the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, and the central executive.

Central Executive

a component of working memory that manages the activities of the phonological loop and visuospatial sketchpad.

Phonological Loop

allows people to rehearse or practice verbal information so that it is more easily remembered at a later time.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

a component of working memory that briefly holds and manipulates information about the appearance of objects and their location in space.

Long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

Multi-Store Model

memory functioned in a linear fashion, moving from sensory memory to short-term memory to long-term memory.

Sensory memory

the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system

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

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

Automatic processing

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

Effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Phonemic Encoding

focuses on how words sound

Structural Encoding

relatively shallow processing that emphasizes the physical structure of the stimuli.

Semantic encoding

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

Mnemonic Devices

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

Method of Loci

a memory device that involves memorizing information in the location to which you will use it (eg. - memorizing your lines at the place on stage where you will perform those lines)

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Categories

an elaborative rehearsal technique where information is organized into groups based on a similarity

Hierarchies

an elaborative rehearsal technique where information is organized in ranks with regards to levels of significance

Spacing effect

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

Massed Practice

a learning procedure in which practice trials occur close together in time, either in a single lengthy session or in sessions separated by short intervals. Massed practice is often found to be less effective than distributed practice. (Think cramming an all-nighter)

Distributed Practice

a learning procedure in which learning is spaced out. This technique takes longer but will lend itself to better learning

Serial position effect

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

Primacy Effect

the tendency, when remembering information, to remember the what occurred first

Recency Effect

the tendency, when remembering information, to remember the what happened last

Sensory Memory

responsible for briefly storing information from our senses

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

Maintenance Rehearsal

a form of rehearsal that involves repetition to keep information in short term memory

Elaborative Rehearsal

a form of rehearsal that involves more cognitively complex forms of practice/organization that lends itself to better storage into Long Term Memory as it is based on meaning rather than repetition.

Autobiographical Memory

a person's memory for episodes or experiences that occurred in their own life.

Retrograde Amnesia

a form of memory loss that involves losing memories before an event. (losing the past)

Anterograde Amnesia

a form of memory loss that involves the inability to form new long term memories. (explicit memories are only in the now, and only exist as long as the person's attention is focused on the task). See Oliver Sacks, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, "The Lost Mariner" which is about Jimmy G.

Alzheimer's Disease

a disease that involves the loss of memory based on the loss of acetylcholine.

Infantile Amnesia

the inability of adults to recollect early episodic memories. This occurs primarily because the structures of the brain associated with episodic memory are not fully formed until 3.5-4 years of age.

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

Retrieval Cues

stimuli that help people retrieve memories. (think priming)

Context-Dependent Memory

a theory that suggests that information is optimally remembered when it is recalled in the same place in which it was initially learned

Mood-congruent memory

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

State-Dependent Memory

a state that the retrieval of recently obtained information may be higher if the subject exists in a similar physiological situation (emotional/chemical) as when the information was encoded.

Testing Effect

the finding that taking a test on previously studied material leads to better retention than does restudying that material for an equivalent amount of time.

Metacognition

a deeper level of thinking that includes your ability to think about your thinking.

Forgetting Curve

the tendency to lose/forget information each day unless it is re-learned.

Encoding Failure

this occurs when information is not transferred from Short Term/working memory into long term memory.

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

Inadequate Retrieval

the inability to recall information from long-term memory even though it is stored there. It occurs when the retrieval cues are insufficient or absent, making it difficult to access the desired information.

Repression

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

Misinformation effect

incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

Source amnesia

attributing to the wrong source an event that we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (Also called source misattribution.) Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories

Constructive Memory

we use a variety of information (perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, etc.) to fill in gaps, and that the accuracy of our memory may be altered. Distortions of memory through various means can also alter our recollection of events.

Memory Consolidation

the process by which the brain turns short-term memories into long-term memories, this occurs more frequently at night, while we sleep

Imagination Inflation

when a person's subjective confidence that an event has occurred increases after imagining it.