Ap Psych Memory

Encoding

Getting information into the memory system by translating sensory input into a usable neural code.

Encoding failure

Failure to remember because information was never successfully processed and stored into memory in the first place.

Sensory memory

Very brief initial storage of incoming sensory information, lasting from a fraction of a second to a few seconds.

Short-term memory / working memory

Short-term memory briefly holds limited information; working memory actively processes and manipulates it.

Long-term memory

Relatively permanent and virtually limitless storage system of knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Recall

Retrieving previously learned information without being provided choices or cues, as on an essay test.

Recognition

Identifying previously learned information when presented with choices, as on a multiple-choice test.

Retrieval

The process of getting stored information back out of long-term storage into conscious awareness.

LTP (long-term potentiation)

Strengthening of synaptic connections following repeated or rapid stimulation; considered a neural basis for learning.

Effortful processing

Mental encoding that requires conscious attention, deliberate effort, and awareness.

Hierarchies

Organizational structures that divide broad concepts into narrower, subordinate categories.

Iconic memory

Brief photographic or visual sensory register lasting only a few tenths of a second.

Echoic memory

Momentary sensory register of auditory stimuli lasting about 3 to 4 seconds.

Automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental details like space, time, and frequency, as well as well-learned information.

Explicit memories

Conscious recollections of factual knowledge and personal experiences; also called declarative memory.

Implicit memories

Unconscious retention of skills, procedural tasks, and conditioned associations; also called nondeclarative memory.

Mnemonic devices

Techniques and cognitive tools that use vivid imagery, associations, or organizational patterns to aid recall.

Chunking

Organizing individual items into familiar, manageable, and meaningful units to increase capacity.

Spacing effect

The tendency for distributed practice over time to yield superior long-term retention compared to massed practice or cramming.

Semantic encoding

Processing verbal information based on its meaning, representing a form of deep processing.

Flashbulb memories

Vivid, detailed recollections of emotionally significant or shocking events, though still subject to inaccuracy over time.

Amnesia

Partial or complete loss of existing memories or the inability to form new long-term memories.

Serial position effect

The tendency to recall the first (primacy) and last (recency) items in a list better than those in the middle.

Mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current emotional state.

State-dependent memory

Improved retrieval of information when an individual is in the same physiological or psychological condition as when it was learned.

Priming

The often unconscious activation of particular associations in memory that predisposes subsequent perception, memory, or response.

Memory construction

The process of rebuilding memories during retrieval, which often alters details and introduces errors or distortions.

Repression

In psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from consciousness.

Proactive interference

The disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of newly acquired information.

Ebbinghaus curve

A graph showing that the rate of forgetting is rapid immediately after learning and then levels off over time.

Source amnesia

Remembering factual information correctly while misattributing or entirely forgetting where it was originally encountered.

Misinformation effect

The alteration or corruption of an individual's memory of an event caused by exposure to misleading post-event information.

Storage

The retention of encoded information over time within the memory system.

Relearning

Acquiring previously learned information or skills more quickly than during initial acquisition, demonstrating retained memory.

Semantic memory

A category of explicit memory that involves conscious recall of facts, concepts, and general world knowledge (e.g., knowing that Paris is in France).

Episodic memory

A category of explicit memory that involves conscious recollection of personal experiences and specific autobiographical events (e.g., remembering your last birthday).

Procedural memory

A category of implicit memory that involves unconscious recall of how to perform motor skills, actions, and habits (e.g., riding a bicycle).

Memory consolidation

The biological process by which temporary, newly acquired information is stabilized and transformed into durable long-term storage, often aided by sleep.

Primacy effect

The tendency to show enhanced recall for items presented at the beginning of a list due to greater rehearsal and transfer to long-term storage.

Recency effect

The tendency to show enhanced recall for items presented at the end of a list because they are still actively held in working memory.

Retroactive interference

The disruptive effect of newly learned information on the recall of previously acquired information.

Retrieval failure

The inability to access stored information from long-term memory, often exemplified by the tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon.

Anterograde amnesia

The inability to form new long-term memories following neurological trauma, illness, or damage, while memories from before the event remain intact.

Retrograde amnesia

The inability to retrieve memories or information acquired prior to the onset of neurological trauma, illness, or damage.

Imagination inflation

A cognitive phenomenon in which repeatedly imagining an event increases an individual's confidence that the event actually occurred.

False memory

A phenomenon in which an individual recalls an event that never occurred or remembers major details of an event inaccurately.

Testing effect

Enhanced long-term retention achieved by actively retrieving information through practice testing or self-quizzing rather than passive rereading.

Interleaving

A study strategy of mixing different topics or problem types during practice rather than focusing on a single topic in a blocked manner.

Deep processing

Encoding information semantically based on meaning and contextual connections, yielding superior retention compared to superficial analysis.

Shallow processing

Encoding information on a basic sensory level based on physical structure, appearance, or the acoustic sound of words.

Encoding specificity

The principle that retrieval is most successful when cues and environmental conditions match those present during original learning.

Context-dependent memory

Improved retrieval of information when the external environment or physical setting matches the environment in which learning occurred.

Central executive

The supervisory component of working memory that directs attention, coordinates mental activities, and manages the flow of information among subordinate systems.

Phonological loop

The working-memory component that temporarily holds and manipulates verbal and acoustic information through subvocal rehearsal.

Visuospatial sketchpad

The working-memory component that temporarily holds and manipulates visual images and spatial relationships.