AP Psych Module 31-32: Memory

What is memory?

• Learning that persists over time overtime

• Stored in the brain

• Can be recalled at anytime

Recall

Retrieving information that was not your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time.

Recognition

Identifying items previously learned.

Relearning

Learning something more quickly when learned a second time

Memory Strength

Respond speed when recalling/recognizing information

Retention

How well information is kept in memory over time

Overlearning

practicing even after you already know the material (strengthens memory & increases retention)

Encoding

get information into the brain

Storage

Retain Information

Retrieval

Later get that information back out

Parallel Processing

Processing many things at the same time

Sensory Memory

Brief memory of our senses

Short term memory

• activated memory that holds a few items briefly

• We encode it through rehearsal

• Temporary storage of information for a few seconds

Long term memory

• Permanent memory storage

• Permanent and limitless

• Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences

Working memory (New View of short term memory)

• An active scratchpad of the brain

• Makes sense of new information

• Connect new info with long-term memory

Working memory (New View of short term memory) NUMBER 2

• Uses contacts and prior knowledge to interpret meaning

• Actively holding new information while connecting it with old information, so we can make sense of it

• Without focused attention information often fades

Explicit memories

• The facts and experiences that we consciously know and declare

• Conscious memories you can describe

Effortful processing

Working hard to remember something

Automatic processing

When your brain remembers things without thinking about it

Implicit memory

Things you remember without thinking

Automatic memory

Things you remember automatically without trying

Iconic memory

A very short memory of something you just saw

Echoic memory

A very short memory of something you just heard

Working memory capacity

How many things you can hold and actively work with at one time

Chunking

Group information into bigger, meaningful units to remember

Mnemonics

Acronyms, rhymes, or images to help you recall information

Hierarchies

Organized levels of information that help memorize things easier

Testing effects

Remember information better when you test yourself

Semantic memories

Facts and general knowledge

Episodic memory

Personal experiences

Key brain area- Hippocampus

• Processes and stories, new explicit memories like a loading dock for facts and events

• Damage to the hippocampus disrupts formation and recall of explicit memories

Frontal lobes

Involved in recalling memories and working memory

Prefrontal cortex

Helps process memories when you recall them

Limbiac System

Emotions and memory

Memory consolidation

• Making new memories permanent so you can remember it later

• It may occur by practicing information, sleeping, and brain storing it in the hippocampus to long-term memory

Flashbulb memory

A very clear memory of an emotional event, like remembering where you were, when you heard big news

Synapse

Gap between neurons where they communicate

Priming

When something you see or hear unconsciously makes you more likely to remember or notice related things

Mood congruent memory

You are most likely to remember things that match your current mood

Serial position effect

Better memory for the first and last items in the list

Procedural memory

Automatic skills

Semantic encoding

Remembering the meaning of something

Episodic memory

Memory of personal events

Rehearsal

Process of repeating info to keep it in the memory

schemas

Folders your brain goes to organize knowledge

Method of loci

Technique that uses visualizations of familiar places to remember