AP Psych 2.3-2.7

What is memory

The process of encoding, storing, and retrieving information.

explicit memory

• When we try to actively remember info like names, dates, or a specific event and is divided into two types: semantic and episodic. 

• conscious , intentional recall of facts and personal experiences. 

semantic memory

• General knowledge

• Knowing what something is without having to recall the specific moment you learned them. 

episodic memory 

• Personal events 

• Recalling specific personal experiences such as a memorable vacation or the first day of school. 

implicit memory

• Performing tasks without having to think about the steps on how to do it. 

• Ex. riding a bike, typing, etc. 

procedural memory

• Long-term memory for how to perform tasks.

• Type of implicit memory that relies on skills and habits rather than conscious recall of facts or events. 

• Ex. riding a bike, swimming, playing a musical instrument, tying your shoes, etc.

prospective 

• Remembering to do something that was planned. 

• Ex. taking medications at night, giving a message to a friend later, remembering to pay bills, etc. 

1. Long-term potentiation:

• a pathway in the brain getting better and easier to use, the more it traveled.

• The more you learn something, the more this neural pathway is activated, which strengthens the connection.

• This physical change in the brain is what makes a memory "long-term" instead of just a short-term feeling.

working memory

• A function that allows us to temporarily hold and manipulate information for a short period of time. 

• Ex. remembering a phone number while searching for a pen, following instructions in a recipe, solving math problems in our head, etc. 

central executive functions

• The brain’s “management system” coordinates cognitive processes like attention, planning, and problem-solving.

• Acts as boss of working memory

• Integrates info (Combines information from different sources to make sense of new situations)

phonological loop

• A part of the working memory that stores verbal and auditory information. 

• Ex. remembering a phone number, following a spoken instruction, etc. 

visuospatial sketchpad 

• Component of the working memory that holds and manipulates visual and spatial information. 

• Allows to create mental images, navigate through an environment, or visualize objects to perform tasks like giving directions or solving a puzzle. 

• Ex. When you are drawing a picture from memory or mentally rotating a shape to see how it looks from a different angle, you are using the visuospatial sketchpad.

long-term memory

• The mind’s capacity to store information, experiences, and skills for a long period of time. (from days to a lifetime)

short-term memory 

• Temporary storage system that holds a small amount of information for a brief period 

• Typically around 15-30 seconds. 

sensory information

• Brief storage system that holds sensory information such as sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch for a very short period of time before it is transferred to short-term memory or lost. 

iconic memory

• Type of short-term sensory memory in which one can recall visual images for just a few milliseconds after the physical image has disappeared. 

echoic memory

• Type of sensory memory that stores auditory information for about 2-3 seconds after the sound has stopped. 

• Allows us to process and understand spoken language. 

automatic processing

• Cognitive processes that occur without conscious awareness or effort. 

• Ex. driving on a well-known route, reading familiar words, brushing teeth, making coffee, etc. 

effortful processing 

• Process of encoding and storing info in the memory. 

• Actively paying attention, rehearsing 

• Ex. studying for an exam, learning a new language, driving a manual car.

structural processing 

• where a person focuses on the physical characteristics or appearance of a stimulus, rather than its meaning. 

• Ex. recognizing letters, repetitive reviewing (going over notes and focusing how the words look like on the page rather than their meaning)

phonemic processing 

• the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate the individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. 

• Ex. identifying individual sounds, blending sounds, manipulating sounds, rhyming, etc. 

semantic processing 

• Understanding information by connecting it to its meaning 

• Ex. understanding a joke, recognizing a piano, following a recipe, etc. 

mnemonic devices 

• memory aids that use simple, often creative, associations to help you remember complex information. 

• Ex. acronyms, chunking, rhymes, songs, etc.

method of loci 

• a memory technique where you associate items you need to remember with specific locations in a familiar mental space, like your house. 

• AKA “memory palace”

chunking 

• a memory technique where the brain groups separate pieces of information into single, larger units or "chunks" to make them easier to remember.

• Ex. phone numbers( into three chunks with 3 digits in each), etc. 

spacing effect

• Instead of cramming, reviewing things in intervals. 

• Leads to better memory retention than cramming all at once the night before.

massed practice 

Learning strat where practice sessions are concentrated in a single, long session with little to no rest in between.

distributed practice 

• where study sessions are spread out over time. 

self-referent encoding

• Learning new information by connecting to myself and my personal experiences to make it easier to remember. 

serial-position effect

• A psychological phenomenon where people are better at recalling items at the beginning or end of a list, while the middle items are more likely to be forgotten. 

recency effect

Better at recalling things at the end of the list because they are fresh in the short-term memory.

primacy effect 

• Better at recalling items at the start of the list because you have more time to process and transfer them to the long-term memory. 

maintainence rehearsal

• repeatedly saying or thinking about a piece of information to keep it active in your short-term memory. 

• Ex. saying a phone number long enough to dial it. 

elaborative rehearsal

• Instead of simply repeating something, you actively think about its meaning and link it to what you already know. 

autobiographical memory

• the personal recollection of specific events from one's life. 

amnesia 

• Partial or total loss of memory 

retrograde amnesia 

• the inability to recall past events and information learned before a specific point, such as a brain injury or illness. 

antereograde amnesia

• the inability to form new memories after the point of injury or onset. 

1. Alzheimer's disease:

a decline in cognitive abilities that interferes with daily life, often beginning with difficulty learning new information and progressing to an inability to perform basic tasks.

inantile amnesia

• the inability of adults to remember episodic memories from their early childhood, typically before the age of 3 to 4 years.

recall

• the ability to retrieve information from memory without cues.

recognition 

• Identify something familiar when you encounter it again. 

retrieval cues

• Hints or signals to help trigger the recall of info 

context-dependent memory 

• you're more likely to remember something if you are in the same physical setting, or even have the same internal state, where you first learned it.

• Ex. you might study for a test in the library and perform better when you take the test in the same library.

state-dependent memory

• Memory retrieval is enhanced when a person is in the same mood they were when the memory was formed. 

• Ex. you might be better able to recall information if you are happy while taking a test, just as you were when you studied. 

mood-congruent memory

• tendency to recall memories that match your current emotional state. 

• Ex. if you are happy, you are more likely to remember other happy memories, and if you are sad, you are more likely to remember negative or sad memories.

testing effect

• phenomenon where taking a test on previously learned material significantly improves long-term recall compared to just re-reading it. 

meta-cognition 

• "thinking about thinking"—the awareness of and control over one's own thought processes, such as planning, monitoring, and evaluating how you learn or solve problems

• Ex. using knowledge of your own strengths and weaknesses to strategize your learning, like knowing which AP Psychology units you find difficult and creating a plan to study those topics more effectively. 

forgetting curve 

• memory retention decreases rapidly after learning, with the most significant drop happening shortly after. 

• Ex. forgetting details from a lecture within a few days or forgetting the name of someone you just met unless you make an effort to retain the information, such as by reviewing or using active recall. 

encoding failure

• when the brain doesn't properly process and store information in long-term memory, resulting in forgetting because the memory was never successfully created. 

• Ex. daydreaming during a lecture and then not remembering things.

storage decay

• the weakening or fading of memories over time due to lack of use.

• Ex. studying for a test and then after the test, you forget the info because you didn't keep on reviewing it. 

retrieval cue 

• inability to recall information from long-term memory even though it is stored there.

• Ex. tip of the tongue phenomenon. 

motivated forgetting

• a defense mechanism where a person forgets unpleasant or traumatic events because their mind is motivated to avoid them.

interference

• type of forgetting caused by memories competing with one another. 

• Types are proactive and retroactive. 

proactive inteference 

• old information makes it harder to recall new information. 

• Ex. You get a new password, but you keep accidentally typing your old one because the old password interferes with your ability to remember the new one.

retroactive reference

• new information makes it harder to recall old information. 

• Ex. You learn French, and the new vocabulary makes it difficult to retrieve Spanish words you had learned previously.

constructive memory

• idea that our memories are not perfect recordings, but are instead actively built or "constructed" when we remember an event, using our prior knowledge, beliefs, and even new information. 

• Ex. After a car crash, you discuss the event with friends. You remember that a red car was involved, but your friend remembers it was a blue car. You then remember the car as being blue because the new information was integrated into your memory.

reconsolidation

• where a retrieved memory becomes unstable and is then restabilized, allowing it to be updated or modified with new information. 

• Ex. creating false memories, updating a memory. 

imagination inflation

• repeatedly imagining an event that did not happen increases a person's confidence and belief that the event actually occurred. 

misinformation effect

• a memory distortion where a person's memory of an event becomes inaccurate due to misleading information introduced after the event

source amnesia

• inability to recall the source of a memory, where the memory itself is retained but the context of how it was acquired is forgotten.