Chapter 7: Memory

Memory

The retention of information or experience over time; includes encoding, storage, retrieval.

Encoding

Process of taking in information and forming a code.

Attention

Selective (focus), divided (multitasking), sustained (vigilance).

Levels of processing

Shallow (physical features), intermediate (category labels), deep (meaning and symbolism). Deep processing = better memory.

Elaboration

Making connections to existing knowledge; self-referencing and vivid imagery help recall.

Imagery

Dual-code hypothesis: pictures are remembered better than words because they use both visual and verbal codes.

Atkinson-Shiffrin model

Memory flows: sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory.

Sensory memory

Very brief storage of exact sensory info; includes iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory).

Short-term memory

Holds info for

Chunking

Grouping information into meaningful units to expand STM capacity.

Rehearsal

Conscious repetition to extend STM duration.

Working memory

Mental workspace that temporarily holds and manipulates info for reasoning and problem solving (Baddeley model).

Long-term memory

Relatively permanent, unlimited storage.

Explicit memory (declarative)

Conscious recollection of facts and events; includes episodic and semantic.

Episodic memory

Memory for personal experiences and events.

Semantic memory

Knowledge about the world (facts, concepts).

Implicit memory (nondeclarative)

Unconscious memory; includes procedural, priming, conditioning.

Procedural memory

Memory for skills and tasks (e.g., riding a bike).

Priming

Activation of stored info by prior exposure to related cues.

Schemas

Preexisting frameworks that help organize knowledge.

Scripts

Schemas for specific events (e.g., “restaurant script”).

Neural basis of memory

Hippocampus (explicit memory), amygdala (emotional), cerebellum (procedural), frontal lobes (organization).

Long-term potentiation

Strengthening of neural connections through repeated activation.

Serial position effect

Better recall for items at beginning (primacy) and end (recency) of a list.

Recall

Retrieving info without cues.

Recognition

Identifying learned info from options.

Encoding specificity principle

Memory is better when context and cues at retrieval match those during learning.

Context-dependent memory

Improved recall when learning and testing occur in same environment.

False memories

Failure to distinguish real external events from imagined internal events.

Autobiographical memory

Memory for one’s life story; includes lifetime periods, general events, event-specific info.

Reminiscence bump

Adults recall more memories from adolescence and early adulthood.

Flashbulb memory

Vivid memory of emotional events; vividness ≠ accuracy.

Repressed memories

Controversial idea of motivated forgetting of trauma; may be distorted.

Eyewitness testimony

Vulnerable to distortion, bias, and suggestion.

Forgetting curve (Ebbinghaus)

Rapid forgetting initially, then levels off.

Encoding failure

Info never enters long-term memory.

Interference theory

Forgetting caused by overlap of memories; proactive vs retroactive.

Decay theory

Memory fades due to passage of time.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

Effortful retrieval where some info is recalled but not all.

Prospective memory

Remembering to perform an intended action in the future (content and timing).

Anterograde amnesia

Inability to form new memories after onset of condition.

Retrograde amnesia

Inability to retrieve past memories before onset.