Chap 8 psych - memory

Memory

the set of processes used to encode, store, and retrieve information over different periods of time

Encoding

the input of information into the memory system

Automatic processing

encoding of informational details like time, space, frequency, and the meaning of words

Ex: if someone ask what you ate for lunch you can easily recall it

Effortful processing

encoding of information that takes effort and attention

Semantic encoding

input of words and their meaning

Visual encoding

input of images

Acoustic encoding

input of sounds

storage

the creation of a permanent record of information

Sensory Memory

storage of brief sensory events, such as sights, sounds, and taste (basically your brain olds onto that for a split seconds - forget abut it)

Short term memory (STM)

holds about seven bits of information before it is forgotten or stored, as well as information that has been retrieved and is being used

rehearsal

repetition of information to be remembered

Magical number seven, plus or minus two

the average human working memory can hold about five to nine items at one time

Long-term Memory (LMT)

continuous storage of information

retrieval

act of getting information out of long-term memory storage and back into conscious awareness

recall

accessing information without cues

recognition

identifying previously learned information after encountering it again, usually in response to a cue

relearning

learning information that was previously learned

engram

physical trace of memory

equipotentiality hypothesis

some parts of the brain can take over for damaged parts in forming and storing memories

Amnesia

loss of long-term memory that occurs as the result of disease, physical trauma or psychological trauma

reconstruction

process of bringing up old memories that might be distorted by new information

Chunking

organizing information into manageable bits or chunks

elaborative rehearsal

thinking about the meaning of new information and its relation to knowledge already stored in your memory

maintenance rehearsal

retrieval cue

Elizabeth Loftus

developed the misinformation effect paradigm, that after exposure to additional and possibly inaccurate information, a person may misremember the original event

flashbulb memory

exceptionally clear recollection of an important event

encoding failure

memory loss happens before the actual memory process begins, we can’t remember something if we never stored it in our memory in the first place

Alzheimer’s disease

type of dementia, initially studied by Solomon Carter Fuller genetic basis, plaques in the brain are to cell death which causes a person to forget to do basic function of living.