AP Psychology Review: Memory

memory

the cognitive processes whereby past experience is remembered

encoding

conversion of sensory information into a form that can be retained as a memory

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

retrieval

the cognitive operation of accessing information in memory

sensory memory

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

short-term memory

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

long-term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

serial position effect

our tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list

primacy effect

The tendency to show greater memory for information that comes first in a sequence.

recency effect

The tendency to show greater memory for information that comes last in a sequence.

episodic memory

memory for episodes in your own life

semantic memory

your memory for meanings and general (impersonal) facts

procedural memory

Memory of learned skills that does not require conscious recollection

explicit memory

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare

implicit memory

memories we don't deliberately remember or reflect on consciously

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

antereograde amnesia

loss of ability to form new memories

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory for events immediately preceding a trauma

recall

a meaure of memory in which the person must remember what was previously learned, such as a fill-in-the-blank test

recognition

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

retroactive interference

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

proactive interference

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

repression

(psychiatry) the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious

levels of processing

the concept that the more deeply people encode information, the better they will recall it.

mnemonic

of or relating to or involved the practice of aiding the memory

Tip of the Tongue phenomenon

experience of knowing that we know something but being unable to access it

state-dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

context-dependent memory

Theory that info learned in a particular situation or place is better remembered when in that same situation or place.

eidetic imagery

A form of memory, often called photographic memory, which consists of especially vivid visual recollections of material.

working memory

a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory