Psychology in Everyday Life Chapter 7 (Myers/DeWall)

Memory

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

Encoding

the process of getting information into the memory system

Storage

the process of retaining encoded information over time

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

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 before the information is stored or forgotten

Long-Term Memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system, includes knowledge, skills and experiences

Working Memory

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

Explicit Memory

memory of facts and personal events you can consciously retrieve (aka declarative memory)

Effortful Processing

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Implicit Memory

retaining learned skills, or classically conditioned associations, without conscious awareness (aka non declarative memory)

Automatic Processing

unconscious encoding of everyday information, such as space, time and frequency, and of well learned information such as words or meanings

Chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Mnemonics

memory aids, especially techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Spacing Effort

the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice

Testing Effect

enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading information.

Hippocampus

a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

Flashbulb Memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Long-Term Potentiation

an increase in a synapse's firing potential, believed to be neural basis for learning and memory

Recall

memory demonstrated by retrieving information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

Recognition

memory demonstrated by identifying items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test

Relearning

memory demonstrated by time saved when learning material a second time

Retrieval Cue

any stimulus (event, feeling or place) linked to a specific memory

Priming

the activation often unconsciously of particular associations in memory

Mood-Congruent Memory

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with your current good or bad mood

Serial Position Effect

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

Amnesia

literally "without memory" a loss of memory, often due to brain trauma, injury or disease

Memory Trace

lasting physical changes in the brain as a memory forms

Proactive Interference

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

Retroactive Interference

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

Repression

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness the thoughts, feelings, and memories that arouse anxiety

Misinformation Effect

when a memory has been corrupted by misleading information

Source Amnesia

faulty memory for how, when or where information was learned or imagined

Deja Vu

that eerie sense that "I've experienced this before" ; cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience