AP Psych Unit 2 (2.6 & 2.7): Retrieving Memories and Forgetting

Retrieval Cues

Any associated stimulus or piece of information that assists in the retrieval of store knowledge from memory.

Priming

Activating specific associations in memory either consciously or unconsciously - Retrieval cues prime our memories.

Recall

Being able to access the information without being cued (fill in the blank test without word bank).

Recognition

Identifying information after experiencing it again (multiple choice test).

Recollection

Recollecting/Reconstructing memories into a whole (writing answers on essay).

Context Dependent Memory

Easier recall of information while in the same “context” or environment in which it was acquired.

State Dependent Memory

People are more likely to recall memories that match their current physiological or emotional state.

Mood Congruent Memory

The tendency to recall memories that match your current mood.

Testing Effect

Practicing or being tested on things learning/remembered makes memory of those things actually improve.

George Miller - Memory Span

Demonstrated that the capacity of short-term memory is approximately seven (plus or minus two) unrelated bits of information at one time.

Retrieval Failure

Happens due to missing stimuli or cues that may help trigger the memory.

Context Effects

The influence of environmental factors on one’s perception of a stimulus.

Storage Decay

Forgetting.

Ebbinghaus’s Forgetting Curve.

Found that time is a significant factor in learning: an exponential amount of information is lost shortly after it is learned (almost 90% of info is forgotten within one week).

Encoding Failure

Occurs when a memory was never formed in the first place (without effort, many memories never form).

Proactive (Previous) Interference

Older memories interfere with the retrieval of newer memories.

Retroactive (Recent) Interference

Newer memories interfere with the retrieval of older memories.

Trace Decay Theory (By Edward Thorndike)

Memories leave a trace in the brain (physical/chemical change), which over time can biologically fade away - resulting in forgetting.

Tip-of-the-Tongue State

Inadequate retrieval which occurs when plausible but incorrect responses to a query/question come to mind quickly, the actual memory feels ready but unavailable.

Elizabeth Loftus (1944-Present)

Extensive research on memory construction, false memories, and how memory is changeable and often inaccurate.

Misinformation Effect

When we unintentionally recall past events less accurately due to new information we learned after the event.

Source Amnesia

Not knowing where information came from, but knowing the information nonetheless. (Explains Deja Vu)

Pseudo-Memories

False memories that a person believes to be true.

Memory Reconstruction/Constructive Memory

Updating our memories in light of new experiences or situations - we never remember something in the same way twice.

Imagination Inflation

Imagining an event that never happened increases confidence in the memory of the fake event.