Untitled Flashcard Set

Memory

Learning that persists over time; it is information that has been acquired and stored and can be retrieved.

Alzheimer's disease

A disorder that starts with difficulty remembering new information and progresses to an inability to perform everyday tasks.

Recall

Retrieving information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but that was learned at an earlier time.

Recognition

Identifying items previously learned; typically tested by multiple-choice questions.

Relearning

Learning something more quickly when it is learned a second or later time.

Sensory memory

A brief storage of sensory information that feeds into our active working memory.

Short-term memory capacity

The theory proposed by George Miller suggesting we can store about 7 pieces of information in our short-term memory.

Long-term memory

The seemingly limitless capacity for storing information over extended periods of time.

Working memory

An active form of short-term memory where we process and manipulate information.

Effortful processing

Encoding that requires intentional effort and attention, typically involving rehearsal.

Automatic processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information such as space, time, and frequency.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units to aid memory recall.

Mnemonics

Memory aids that use vivid imagery and organizational devices to enhance recall.

Distributed practice

A study technique where practice is spaced over time, resulting in better long-term retention.

Serial position effect

The tendency to recall the last (recency effect) and first (primacy effect) items best in a list.

Misinformation effect

When a person's recall of episodic memories becomes less accurate due to post-event information.

Source amnesia

When someone recalls information but cannot remember the source of that information.

Tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon

The sensation of knowing that the information is stored in memory but being unable to retrieve it.

Flashbulb memory

A vivid, detailed memory of an emotionally significant event.

Amygdala

A brain region involved in emotion processing that influences memory formation.

Long-term potentiation (LTP)

An enduring increase in synaptic strength after high-frequency stimulation of a chemical synapse.

State-dependent memory

The improved recall of specific events when in the same context as when the memory was formed.