Memory

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 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.

semantic memory

Explicit memory of facts and general knowledge.

episodic memory

Explicit memory of personally experienced events.

hippocampus

A neural center that helps process explicit memories for storage.

memory consolidation

The neural storage of a long-term memory.

flashbulb memory

A clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

priming in memory

The activation of particular associations in memory, often unconsciously.

Encoding Specificity Principle

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

mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences consistent with one’s current good or bad mood.

Serial Position Effect

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

interleaving

A retrieval practice strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics.

anterograde amnesia

An inability to form new memories.

retrograde amnesia

An inability to remember information from one’s past.

proactive interference

The forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information.

retroactive interference

The backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information.

repression

The defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

reconsolidation

The process in which previously stored memories are potentially altered before being stored again.

misinformation effect

Occurs when memory has been corrupted by misleading information.

source amnesia

Faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined.

deja vu

The eerie sense that 'I’ve experienced this before.' Cues from the current situation may trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.