Psych 2000- Chapter 8 Memory Terms

Memory

The persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information.

Encoding

The process of changing incoming sensory stimuli into a form usable by the brain and sending it to memory storage.

Storage

The maintenance and preservation of encoded information in the brain over time.

Retrieval

The cognitive process of bringing stored information out of memory storage into conscious awareness.

Automatic Processing

The unconscious encoding of incidental information and well-learned tasks without deliberate effort or awareness.

Effortful Processing

Cognitive encoding that requires deliberate attention, active mental focus, and conscious effort.

Semantic Encoding

Processing information based on its conceptual meaning and relations, producing the strongest memory retention.

Visual Encoding

The mental encoding and memory representation of images and visual characteristics.

Acoustic Encoding

The mental encoding and processing of sounds, words, and auditory qualities.

Self-Reference Effect

The tendency to have superior memory retention for information that is made personally relevant to oneself.

Stage Model of Memory

Atkinson and Shiffrin's (1968) theory proposing that memory passes through three distinct stages: Sensory, Short-Term, and Long-Term.

Sensory Memory

The initial, brief storage of raw sensory information lasting from fractions of a second to a few seconds.

Iconic Memory

The fast-decaying sensory memory subsystem dedicated to visual stimuli.

Echoic Memory

The sensory memory subsystem dedicated to auditory stimuli, retaining sound traces for several seconds.

Short-Term Memory

The conscious memory holding stage for information an individual is actively aware of and thinking about.

Miller’s Magic 7 ± 2

The capacity limit of short-term memory, holding approximately 5 to 9 items for roughly 20 to 30 seconds without rehearsal.

Working Memory

Active cognitive processes used to temporarily hold, organize, and mentally manipulate information during tasks.

Rehearsal

Conscious, deliberate mental repetition of information to maintain it in active short-term memory or transfer it to LTM.

Long-Term Memory

The continuing, permanent or semi-permanent storage of information outside of immediate conscious awareness.

Explicit (Declarative) Memory

Memories that can be consciously recalled, intentionally retrieved, and verbally articulated.

Episodic Memory

A subtype of explicit memory consisting of personal experiences, autobiographical events, and life episodes.

Semantic Memory

A subtype of explicit memory consisting of general world knowledge, facts, concepts, and ideas.

Implicit (Nondeclarative) Memory

Unconscious and unintentional retention where previous experiences aid performance without conscious awareness.

Procedural Memory

A subtype of implicit memory governing motor skills, physical habits, and the execution of specific tasks.

Priming

Implicit memory phenomenon where prior exposure to a stimulus subconsciously enhances the recognition of related items.

Emotional Conditioning

Learned emotional associations and conditioned responses (such as fears or phobias) triggered by specific stimuli.

Recall

Memory retrieval where previously learned information is reproduced without external cues or prompts.

Recognition

Memory retrieval where previously learned information is identified from a set of provided options.

Relearning

A measure of memory retention calculated by the time or effort saved when learning previously mastered material a second time.

Engram

The theoretical biological or physical trace of a memory located within a specific region of the brain.

Equipotentiality Hypothesis

Karl Lashley’s finding that if one part of a brain area involved in memory is damaged, another part of that region can compensate.

Amygdala

Brain structure that processes emotion and fear; stress hormones stimulate it to encode emotionally charged memories deeply.

Flashbulb Memory

An unusually vivid, enduring, and detailed memory of an emotionally significant or catastrophic event.

Hippocampus

Brain structure in the temporal lobe responsible for processing and encoding new explicit (declarative) memories.

Memory Consolidation

The process, heavily active during sleep, in which explicit memories move from the hippocampus to the cerebral cortex for storage.

Cerebellum

Brain structure responsible for storing implicit, procedural memories and classically conditioned motor responses.

Prefrontal Cortex

Brain region involved in semantic memory processing, working memory manipulation, and retrieval strategies.

Neurotransmitters in Memory

Essential chemical messengers involved in neural plasticity and memory formation (epinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, glutamate, acetylcholine).

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Physical damage resulting from sudden head impact, leading cause of neurological disorders in individuals aged 15–25.

Amnesia

Severe loss of memory caused by brain injury, trauma, stroke, surgery, or neurological disease.

Anterograde Amnesia

The inability to form new long-term memories for events occurring after brain injury or trauma.

Retrograde Amnesia

The loss of memories for events and experiences that occurred prior to the onset of brain trauma.

Memory Construction

The initial cognitive formation and encoding of new memories.

Memory Reconstruction

The process of retrieving old memories, during which details are rebuilt and gaps may be filled with distorted or false facts.

Eyewitness Misidentification

Faulty eyewitness recollection; the leading cause of wrongful convictions overturned by post-conviction DNA testing.

Misinformation Effect Paradigm

Elizabeth Loftus's finding that exposure to misleading post-event information alters and distorts an individual’s memory of an event.

Encoding Failure

Forgetting that occurs because information was not sufficiently attended to or processed deeply enough to reach long-term memory.

Storage Decay (Decay Theory)

The gradual fading and degradation of physical memory traces over time when information is not retrieved or rehearsed.

Proactive Interference

When previously stored older memories disrupt and interfere with the retrieval of newly learned information.

Retroactive Interference

When newly learned information disrupts and causes forgetting of previously acquired older memories.

Suppression

A conscious, deliberate effort to avoid thinking about and recalling an unpleasant or disturbing memory.

Repression

An unconscious psychoanalytic defense mechanism where traumatic or distressing memories are completely blocked from conscious awareness.

Transience

The decreasing accessibility of memory over time due to decay; one of Daniel Schacter's 7 sins of memory.

Absentmindedness

Memory lapses and forgetting caused by breaks in attention during the encoding stage.

Blocking

Temporary retrieval failure where stored information cannot be accessed (e.g., Tip-of-the-Tongue phenomenon).

Misattribution (Source Amnesia)

Correctly remembering information but attributing it to the incorrect source, time, or context.

Bias

The unconscious distortion of past memories to align with an individual’s current beliefs, feelings, or attitudes.

Persistence

The distressing, involuntary recurrence of unwanted memories that an individual cannot forget.

Chunking

Organizing individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units to expand short-term memory capacity.

Elaborative Rehearsal

A study technique involving thinking about the meaning of new information and connecting it to existing memories.

Mnemonic Devices

Cognitive memory aids and techniques that employ vivid imagery or organizational structures to improve recall.

Method of Loci

A mnemonic strategy where items are mentally associated with specific physical locations along a familiar imagined path.

Acronym

A mnemonic memory word formed from the first letter of each word to be recalled (e.g., HOMES for the Great Lakes).

Acrostic

A mnemonic phrase or sentence where the first letter of each word represents a target concept (e.g., "Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally").

Spacing Effect (Distributed Practice)

The proven learning advantage where study sessions spread over time produce far superior retention compared to massed practice.

Massed Practice

Attempting to learn all material in a single cram session, which produces fast forgetting and superficial learning.

Forgetting Curve

Ebbinghaus's model showing that information is lost rapidly after learning unless reinforced with spaced repetition.

Neurogenesis

The creation of new neurons in the hippocampus, stimulated by regular aerobic exercise to support learning and memory.