Memory Systems: Sensory Memory, Short-Term Memory, and Information Processing (copy)

Memory

The capacity to retain information over time.

Survival

Memory is fundamentally essential for human survival, as it is critical for learning.

Categorization

The process that allows organisms to identify and group stimuli, requiring stored information in memory.

System Plurality

The concept that memory is comprised of multiple distinct systems, each with unique properties.

Sensory Memory

The initial memory system that includes Iconic (visual) and Echoic (auditory) memory.

Short-Term Memory

A temporary store where information is maintained actively for brief durations, often synonymous with Working Memory.

Long-Term Memory

The type of memory that allows retention of information over extended periods.

Coding

The format of information that enters and is stored within a memory system, often analyzed by modality.

Duration

The length of time information remains active within a memory system before decay or interference.

Capacity

The total amount of information that a memory system can hold simultaneously.

Iconic Sensory Memory

The visual subtype of sensory memory, coding strictly visual information.

Echoic Sensory Memory

The auditory subtype of sensory memory, coding strictly auditory information.

Partial Report Technique

An experimental method showing participants can recall more information when cued after a visual stimulus disappears.

Attention

The mechanism that controls the transition of information from sensory memory to short-term memory.

Short-Term Memory Coding Characteristics

Short-term memory encodes visual, auditory, and semantic information simultaneously.

Rehearsal

The process of repeating information to maintain it in short-term memory.

Chunking

The organization of individual items in memory into meaningful units, expanding short-term memory capacity.

Serial Position Effect

The phenomenon where items at the start and end of a list are recalled better than those in the middle.

Primacy Effect

Better recall of items from the beginning of a list due to increased sub-vocal rehearsal.

Recency Effect

Better recall of items from the end of a list, as they remain present in active memory.