AP PSYCH: Unit 2: Encoding, Storage, & Retrieval of Memory (2.4-2.6)

Declarative/Explicit Memory

a memory system that is controlled consciously, intentionally, and flexibly.

• Three types: Working memory, episodic memory, and semantic memory

• Require effortful processing

Effortful Processing

the active processing of information that needs sustained conscious effort.

Working Memory

a short-term memory system that allows us to store and process limited amounts of information.

Episodic Memory

a long-term memory system that stores information about specific events (or episodes) related to one’s own life.

Semantic Memory

a long-term memory system that stores general knowledge.

Sensory Memory

the ability to retain information about sensory information long enough to be recognized after the original stimulus has ended.

Echoic Memory

the memory of sound; lasts about three to four seconds

Iconic Memory

the memory of visual stimuli (an image); lasts about one-quarter to one-half a second

Prospective Memory

remembering to perform an action at a certain time in the future.

Nondeclarative (Implicit) Memory

a memory system that influences our current perceptions and behavior without our knowledge, awareness, or intention.

• Types of implicit memory: Priming, (Classical) Conditioning, and Procedural Memory

• Requires Automatic Processing

Automatic Processing

which is the unconscious processing of well-learned material. A task is performed habitually without significant thought.

Procedural Memory

the memory for the process involved in completing a task after the task is well-learned and becomes automatic.

Classical Conditioning

memory for associations formed between two stimuli.

Priming

the automatic or unconscious process that can enhance the speed and accuracy of a response as a result of past experiences.

Flashbulb Memory

a vivid, enduring memory associated with a personally significant and emotional event.

Mood-Congruent Memory

is the connection between one’s mood state and the emotional context of memories recalled.

Shallow Processing

the cognitive processing of a stimulus that focuses on its superficial, perceptual characteristics rather than its meaning.

Maintenance Rehearsal

repeating items over and over to maintain them in short-term memory.

Deep Processing

the cognitive processing of a stimulus that focuses on its meaningful properties rather than its perceptual characteristics.

Elaborative Rehearsal

an encoding strategy to facilitate the formation of memory by linking new information to what one already knows.

Memory Consolidation

the process in the brain that converts short-term memories into long-term ones.

Chunking

the process by which the mind divides large pieces of information into smaller units (chunks) that are easier to retain in short-term memory.

Mnemonics

any device or technique used to assist memory, usually by forging a link or association between the new information to be remembered and information previously encoded.

Serial Position Effect

the effect of an item’s position in a list of items to be learned on how well it is remembered.

Primacy Effect

the tendency for facts, impressions, or items that are presented first to be better learned or remembered than material presented later in the sequence.

Recency Effect

occurs when the most recently presented facts, impressions, or items are learned or remembered better than material presented earlier.

Spacing Effect

studying information across time in short, interrupted study sessions leads to better long-term retention than continuous, massed sessions.

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.

Encoding Specificity Principle

recall is easier if you are attempting to recall information in contexts similar to the context in which you learned the information.

Context-Dependent Memory

specifically remembering information in the same place we encoded it.

State-Dependent Memory

how what we learn in when in a specific biological or physiological state will be easier to recall in that same state.

Retrieval Cues

are stimuli that help people retrieve memories.

• Can be external: smells, sounds, visual cues

• Can be internal: feelings, psychological states