psych test 1

recall

Retrieving the information from your memory

fill in the blank test without a word bank

recognition

Identifying the target memory from possible choices

multiple choice tests

hippocampus

the part of the brain that creates and helps organize memories

cerebellum

coordinates muscle movements and is where procedural memories are stored

Encoding

Taking the information into the memory system

Storage

The retention or holding onto encoded information over time

Retrieval

The process of getting information out of memory storage

Accessing the information

Deep Processing

making an effort to make information meaningful so it can be easier to access

Phonemic Processing 

only paying attention to the sounds or pronunciations

Sensory memory

1. The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system 

Short Term memory

holds about 7 items for about 20 seconds before it is stored or forgotten 

 Long Term Memory

the brain system that stores information over extended periods, ranging from a few minutes to an entire lifetime

Episodic memory

Memories for personal events in a specific time and place (your birthday party)

Semantic memory

Memory for general facts and concepts not linked to a specific time (trivia)

Procedural memory

Motor skills and habits

(skipping, typing, jumping, walking)

Prospective memory

Memory for something you will do in the future

Working Memory

•  a temporary workspace that allows your brain to hold onto information in order to use it in the moment  

Iconic memory

•  a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli

Anterograde Amnesia

 An inability to form new memories

• Forgetting everything AFTER an accident

Echoic memory

• a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli

Phonological Loop

• actively holds and manipulates verbal and auditory information

Chunking

Organizing items into smaller, more manageable units

Method of Loci

when learning new information, associate it with a familiar location or place; such as your house or a store or school

Picturing which aisle each item on your grocery list is located and then 

    imaging the order in which you will get them

Testing Effect

•  When you test yourself on information (flashcards, quizzes, free recall, practice tests) you strengthen the memory and make future retrieval easier

 Infantile Amnesia

inability of adults to recall episodic memories from their first few years of life

• typically before ages 3 to 4 due to underdeveloped hippocampus

 Massed Practice

Cramming everything you need to know into one study session

State Dependent Memory

being in the same state of mind may help memory retrieval (being drunk, stressed,sad/INTERNAL)

Serial Position Effect

People tend to recall the first and last items in a list; and forget the middle

Proactive interference

  a NEW MEMORY IS BLOCKED

• Remembering your Middle School Locker combo and not current one.

Retrograde amnesia

 An inability to retrieve information from one’s past

• Forgetting everything BEFORE an accident

 Source Amnesia

• when you remember information but forget where you learned it

Constructive Memory

• when you access a memory it is recreated and can be influenced by new information

  • A memory is not played back, it is recreated and can be changed 

Misinformation Effect

• When new information affects a previous memory

Framing

• The way a question is asked can effect a memory

  • How fast were the cars going when the accident occurred?

  • How fast were the cars going when they smashed into each other?

Shallow Processing

trying to memorize the basic properties of information without meaning

(Pronunciation, Spelling, Basic Order leads to Shorter memory)

Structural Processing

only paying attention to the spelling or the order of the words 

RETROACTIVE INTERFERENCE

an OLD MEMORY IS BLOCKED

• Remembering the remix of a song and not the original

Context Dependent Memory

being in the same location or situation may help memory retrieval (chewing gum/EXTERNAL)

Primacy Effect

Remembering the FIRST items in a list or first experiences more clearly

Recency Effect

Remembering the LAST items in a list or the most recent experiences more clearly

Distributed Practice

Repeatedly studying information over several sessions