AP Psych Topic 5a - Memory

Memory

Any indication that learning has persisted over time, involves the ability to store/retrieve information

Flashbulb memory

A unique, highly emotional moment; clear, strong, persistent memory; not free from errors due to its being very emotional

Encoding

The stage of memory in which sensory receptors (like the eyes) take information into your brain

Storage

The stage of memory that occurs in so that you aren't always thinking about everything-- memories are put away for later use

Retrieval

The stage of memory in which you look through your brain for information that you need to use & think about that information

Sensory memory

The initial, momentary storage of information (lasts only an instant)

Short-term memory

Memories that hold meaningful information for a short period of time (usually for less than 30 seconds)

- information will leave if not rehearsed

- more information can be stored if the information is chunked

Long-term memory

Memories that hold are stored on a relatively permanent basis

- limitless capacity

- information is filed and coded so we can retrieve it when needed

Working memory

A model of memory in which memory works as an active workspace where information is constantly retrieved and manipulated through rehearsal (as opposed to simpler ST memory)

- proposed by Alan Baddeley in 2002

Automatic processing

A type of information processing that takes basically no effort to do (ex. space, time, frequency)

Effortful processing

A type of information processing that takes effort, leading to more accessible and durable memories

Rehearsal

The conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

Spacing effect

Information is retained better when rehearsal is distributed over time

Serial position effect

One's recall is better for the first and last items of a list, but it is poor for middle items in a list

- also known as primacy/recency effect

Visual encoding

Effortful processing done on images (with the aid of imagery)

Acoustic encoding

Effortful processing done on sounds (especially sounds of words)

Semantic encoding

Effortful processing done on meaning (especially meaning of words)

Imagery

The formation of any mental pictures

Mnemonics

A technique for improving memory that involves any connection of one set of items with another set of items-- one of the sets of items helps you remember the other set of items somehow

Chunking

A technique for improving memory (under mnemonics) that involves organizing longer items into familiar manageable units

- examples include acronyms and number chunks

Iconic memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual (seeing) stimuli

Echoic memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory (hearing) stimuli

Long-term potentiation

Gradual strengthening of the connections among neurons from repetitive stimulation

Amnesia

The partial or complete loss of memory due to physical (loss of consciousness, brain damage, etc) or psychological (trauma, something due to a mental disorder) causes

Implicit memory

A memory that can impact someone's behavior

- someone is not consciously aware of these kinds of memories

Explicit memory

A memory that someone can intentionally/consciously recollect

Hippocampus

A part of the limbic system (in the brain) that processes all new memories

Recall

A measure of memory in which the person must independently retrieve information learned earlier (nothing to identify)

Recognition

A measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned

Relearning

A measure of memory that shows how much time/effort is saved when the person learns some material for the second time

Priming

The procedure of providing cues that simulate memories without the person's awareness of connection between the cue and the retrieved memory-- predisposes us to recall/interpret information in a certain way

Déjà vu

Occurs when cues from current context unconsciously trigger the retrieval of an earlier, similar experience

Mood-congruent memory

The tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with (have the same mood as) one's current mood

Proactive interference

When old information interferes with the retrieval of newer information

Retroactive interference

When new information interferes with the retrieval of older information

Repression

A defense mechanism in which someone blocks out anxiety-inducing or otherwise painful memories

Misinformation effect

The incorporation of misleading information into the memory of an event (confabulation)

Imagining events can create false memories (imagination inflation)

- caused by one's tendency to fill in the gaps of one's memory (Gestalt principle of closure)

Source amnesia

Also known as source misattribution

The attribution of an event to the wrong origin we have experienced, heard, read, or even imagined

- not related to trauma

Imagination inflation

Imagining an event increases familiarity with that event. This familiarity is then misattributed and interpreted as evidence that the event actually occurred

Context-dependent memory

A phenomenon in which the retrieval of memories is stronger when it occurs in the same environment or context in which the memories were originally formed

State-dependent memory

The phenomenon where people remember more information if their physical or mental state is the same at the time of encoding and time of recall

Infantile amnesia

The absence of recall, by adults, of personal memories that occurred before the age of 2

Highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM)

The ability to accurately recall an exceptional number of experiences and their associated dates from events occurring throughout much of one's lifetime

Episodic memory that is strongly connected to the person's life

Massed practice

A learning procedure in which practice periods for an activity are not separated by any rest periods or are separated by short rest periods only

This concept describes when studying is conducted less frequently and for longer periods of time

A good example would be cramming for an exam the night before

Distributed practice

Also known as spaced practice

A strategy of learning that makes use of smaller increments of study and practice over a longer period of time

For example, studying something during two different sessions with a break of a few days (or even hours) in between, rather than learning it all in one go (like massed practice)

To qualify as distributed practice, each learning session must focus on the same subject

Prospective memory

A form of memory that involves remembering to perform a planned action or recall a planned intention at some future point in time.

Prospective memory tasks are common in daily life and range from the relatively simple to extreme life-or-death situations

Examples include: remembering to take medicine at night before going to bed, remembering to deliver a message to a friend, and remembering to pick up flowers for a significant other on an anniversary

False Memory Syndrome

Condition in which a person's identity and relationships center around a false but strongly believed memory of traumatic experience

Can be induced by well-meaning therapists