AP Psych

Memory

The mental capacity or faculty of retaining and recalling information.

Recall

The act of retrieving information that has been learned and stored in memory.

Recognition

The ability to identify previously encountered information.

Relearning

The process of learning information that was previously learned and forgotten.

Encoding

The process of transforming information into a format that can be stored in memory.

Storage

The maintenance of encoded information over time.

Retrieval

The process of accessing stored information when needed.

Parallel processing

The ability of the brain to simultaneously process multiple pieces of information.

Sensory memory

The initial, brief storage of sensory information.

Short-term memory

A limited capacity memory system that can hold information for a short period.

Long-term memory

A relatively permanent and unlimited storage of information.

Working memory

A cognitive system that temporarily holds and manipulates information.

Explicit memory

Memories of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare.

Effortful processing

The encoding of information through conscious and deliberate effort.

Automatic processing

The unconscious encoding of information without effort.

Implicit memory

Retention of learned skills or classically conditioned associations without conscious recollection.

Iconic memory

A fleeting sensory memory for visual stimuli.

Echoic memory

A fleeting sensory memory for auditory stimuli.

Chunking

The process of organizing information into manageable units or chunks.

Mnemonics (nih-MON-iks)

Memory aids that use vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Spacing effect

The phenomenon where information is more easily recalled if exposure is spaced over time.

Testing effect

Improved memory retention when information is actively retrieved from memory through testing.

Shallow processing

A superficial level of processing that focuses on the surface features.

Deep processing

A more meaningful level of processing that involves the semantic meaning of the information.

Semantic memory

A type of explicit memory involving the facts and general knowledge about the world.

Episodic memory

A type of explicit memory that involves the recollection of specific events, situations, and experiences.

Hippocampus

A brain structure involved in the formation of new memories and spatial navigation.

Memory consolidation

The process by which short-term memories are transformed into long-term memories.

Flashbulb memory

A vividly detailed memory of an emotionally significant event.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

A long-lasting enhancement in signal transmission between two neurons that results from their repeated stimulation.

Priming

The activation of particular associations in memory, often unconsciously.

Encoding specificity principle

The idea that the value of retrieval cues depends on how well they match the memory's encoding context.

Mood-congruent memory

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

Serial position effect

The tendency to remember the first and last items in a list better than the middle items.

Anterograde amnesia

A condition in which an individual is unable to form new memories after a traumatic event or onset of the condition.

Retrograde amnesia

A condition in which an individual is unable to recall memories that were formed before the onset of amnesia.

Proactive interference

A phenomenon in which older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories.

Retroactive interference

A phenomenon in which new information causes forgetting of previously learned information.

Repression

A defense mechanism that involves unconsciously blocking out painful or traumatic memories.

Reconsolidation

a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again.

Misinformation effect

occurs when misleading information has corrupted one’s memory of an event

Source amnesia

A condition where an individual cannot remember the source of a memory but retains the memory itself.

Déjà vu

The feeling of having experienced a situation before, often linked to memory retrieval errors.

repress

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