2.3-24: Memory and Encoding

memory

persistence of learning over time through encoding, storage, and retrieval

digits an avg person can recall

7-9

number of faces and avg person can recognize

2500

recall

retrieving information not currently in conscious awareness but was learned at an earlier time (ex. fill in the blank questions)

recognition

identifying previously learned material (ex. multiple choice(

relearning

learning something more quickly when you learn it at a later time

additional rehearsal of information

overlearning

encoding

process of getting information into the memory system

storage

process of retaining encoded information over time

retrieval

process of getting information out of memory storage

parallel processing

processing multiple aspects of a singular stimulus or problem simultaneously (top-down processing)

sensory memory

immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

short-term memory

briefly activated memory of a few items that is later stored or forgotten

longterm-memory

relatively permanent and limitless archive of the memory system

working memory

incoming sensory information (conscious), information retrieved from long-term (active), reason for remembering

maintenance memory

rehearsal of information over time to prolong memory storage

elaborative memory

rehearsing information in ways that promote meaning

central executive

coordinates selective attention on a stimulus, without this focused attention, information typically fades

phonological loop

briefly holds auditory information

visuospatial sketchpad

briefly holds information about object’s appearance and location in space

neurogenesis

formation of new neurons

long-term potentiation

increase in a nerve cell’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation

happens when electroconvulsive therapy or someone is knocked-out

new memories of recent events have not had time to process and are not part of your memory

explicit memory

• declarative

• retention of facts and experiences that we can know

implicit memory

• nondeclarative

• retention of lean skills or classically conditioned association

• independent of conscious recollection

effortful processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, frequency or familiar information (like sounds, smells, word meanings)

2 types of implicit memories

procedural, conditioned associations

things needed to gain effortful processing and explicit memories

practice, experience, and effort

iconic memory

momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli, photographic/picture-image lasting no more than a a few tenths of a second

echoic memory

momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli, lasts about 3-4 seconds

chunking

organizing info into familiar, manageable units, often automatic

mnemonics

techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

peg word system

word association to remember

hierarchies used in memory

broad categories that are divided and subdivided into narrower concepts/facts

spacing effect

distributed study/practice yields better long-term retention

massed practice (cramming)

short-term learning and overconfidence

testing effect

enhanced memory after retrieving information

shallow processing

encoding on a basic level, based on structure or appearance of words

deep processing

encoding semantically, based on meaning of words, yields better retention

structural processing

a words’s letters, type of shallow processing

phonemic

a word’s sounds, type of shallow processing