Psych Unit 2: Memory

explicit memory

memory a person can consciously consider and retrieve, ex episodic and semantic

episodic memory

memory for events that we ourselves have experienced

semantic memory

memory compromised of facts, figures, and general world knowledge

implicit memory

memory beyond conscious consideration

procedural memory

memory that consists of skills and habits, stored outside cortex, less likely to be lost to injury

prospective memory

remembering that one has to do something in the future

retrospective memory

remembering the past

long-term potentiation

involves both presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, leaves traces of of memory connections

short term memory holds info from ____ to _____

a few, 30 seconds

short-term memory can hold about ____ items

seven

working memory

short-term memory model where our brains are actively manipulating sensory data for immediate use or encoding into long-term storage

iconic information

visual information

echoic information

auditory information

visual persistence

phenomenon where the speed of an object causes the sensory information to run together

chunking

George Miller’s way of grouping items of information into units

primacy effect

remembering the first items

recency effect

remembering the last items

serial position effect

the overall effect of primacy and regency effects

semantically encoded

encoded in the form of word meanings (can be visually or acoustically)

effortful processing

making a conscious effort to retain info, include elaborative and maintenance rehearsal

automatic processing

processing that can occur unconsciously, like riding a bicicyle

levels of processing model

suggests that the way people enconde information influences that ability to recall it

recognition memory

superficial level or remembering, strategy behind multiple choice tests

recall memory

deeper level processing, strategy for short answer tests

mnemonic device

can help by compressing info into a format that’s easier to recall, ex ROYGBIV

dual-coding hypothesis

indicates that it is easier to remember words with associated images

method of loci

imagining moving through a familiar place and leaving a visual representation of a topic to be remembered

self-reference effect

easier to remember things that are personally relevant

spacing effect

describes how the time between study sessions can increase retention

distributed practice

info is studied over time with intervals in between, better recall than massed practice

massed practice

when material is encoded all at once

testing effect

testing ourselves on material leads to better recall

metacognition

being aware or one’s own thinking processes

maintenance rehearsal

simple repetition to keep an item in short-term memory

elaborative rehearsal

organization and understanding of info in order to transfer to long-term memory

context-dependent memory

info is more likely to be recalled if the attempt to retrieve it occurs in a situation similar to the situation in which it was encoded

state-dependent memory

applies to states of mind, info memorized when under the influence of a drug is easy to access when on drugs

mood-congruent memory

the ease in recalling memories when a person is in the same emotional mood

encoded

stored and able to be recalled later

decay

items that are forgotten by passage of time

interference

items that are forgotten by being displaced by new info

retroactive interference

new info pushes old info out of STM

proactive interference

old info makes it more difficult to learn new info

tip of the tongue phenomenon

try to recall something, but is not easily available for conscious awareness

memory reconstruction

when we fit together pieces of an event that seem likely

source confusion

a likely cause of memory reconstruction

framing

repeated suggestions and misleading questions can create false memories

misinformation effect

how memories of an event may be distorted when consistent but false info is introduced after an event

anterograde amnesia

a person cannot form new memories but may retain old ones

retrograde amnesia

a person cannot remember old memories but retain new ones

Alzheimer’s disease

a form of dementia that progresses into other neurocognitive impairments