Memory Vocabulary Flashcards (Video Notes)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key memory concepts from Pages 1–5.

Central Executive

the 'manager' of working memory that directs attention and decides what information to focus on or combine.

Phonological Loop

the part of working memory that temporarily stores and rehearses sounds or words.

Retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory.

Levels of Processing Model

the idea that deeper, more meaningful processing leads to better memory retention.

Visuospatial Sketchpad

the part of working memory that temporarily stores and manipulates images, shapes, and spatial layouts.

Structural Processing

a shallow form of processing that focuses only on physical features, such as how a word looks.

Multi-store model

the currently accepted model of memory; broken into sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory Memory

the brief initial storage of sensory information; lasts less than a few seconds.

Phonemic Processing

a middle level of processing that focuses on how something sounds, such as rhyming words.

Semantic Processing

a deep form of processing that focuses on meaning, such as connecting new information to what you already know.

Explicit Memory (Declarative)

memories we can consciously recall and declare.

Episodic Memory

stories of our lives and experiences that we can recall and tell to someone else.

Semantic Memory

impersonal knowledge such as colors, states, and other basic facts learned over time.

Implicit Memory

memories retained without conscious effort that can be retrieved without awareness.

Iconic Memory

fleeting visual images in sensory memory.

Echoic Memory

auditory memories that are processed with a brief delay.

Short-term Memory (STM)

small amounts of information held and processed for up to about 30 seconds.

Procedural Memory

memory for how to do things, like riding a bike or tying shoes.

Long-term Memory

memories carried over from STM that can be stored indefinitely based on importance.

Prospective Memory

remembering to carry out a planned action in the future.

Long-term Potentiation

a lasting strengthening of synapses that increases memory recall.

Automatic Processing

processing that occurs without conscious awareness.

Effortful Processing

processing that requires attention and conscious effort.

Working Memory Model

theory that explains how short-term memory handles information by splitting it into specialized parts that work together.

Encoding

getting information into memory.

Working Memory

a short-term system that holds and manipulates information needed for problem solving and directions.

Storage

keeping information in memory.

Mnemonic devices

memory tricks or aids used to improve recall.

Method of loci

a mnemonic that links information to familiar places in your mind.

Massed practice

cramming; learning all at once in a single extended session.

Chunking

grouping bits of related information to increase recall.

Distributed practice

spreading study sessions over time to improve long-term memory.

Recall

the direct retrieval of facts or information.

Categorization

grouping information into related sets or classes to aid memory.

Serial position effect

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

Primacy effect

the tendency to remember the beginning items in a list.

Recency effect

the tendency to remember the later items in a list.

Hierarchy

organizing information in levels from broad to specific, so details fit under bigger ideas.

Spacing effect

the finding that spacing study sessions over time leads to better long-term memory than cramming.

Consolidation

the process of strengthening new memories and storing them in long-term memory, often during sleep.

Source amnesia

remembering information but forgetting where it came from.

Repression

pushing painful memories out of awareness.

Proactive interference

old learning interferes with the ability to learn new information.

Retroactive interference

new learning interferes with recalling old information.

Misinformation effect

memory distortion due to exposure to incorrect information after an event.

Encoding failure

when a memory was never formed in the first place.

Constructive memory

memories shaped by beliefs and expectations, which can lead to errors.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

the feeling that a memory is available but not quite retrievable.

Imagination inflation

imagining an event repeatedly can make you believe it happened.