Memory

Mnemonics - memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Spacing Effect - the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention that is achieved through massed study or practice

Testing Effect - enhanced memory after retrieving, rather than simply rereading, information

Shallow Processing- encoding on a basic level, based on the structure or appearance of words

Deep Processing - encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention

Semantic Memory - explicit memory of facts and general knowledge

Episodic Memory - explicit memory of personally experienced events

Hippocampus - a neural center located in the limbic system; helps process explicit memories for storage

Memory Consolidation - the neural storage of a long-term memory

Flashbulb Memory - a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Priming - the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

Encoding Specificity Principle - the idea that cues and contexts specific to a particular memory will be most effective in helping us recall it

Mood-Congruent Memory - the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Serial Position Effect - our tendency to recall best the last items in a list initially, and the first items in a list after a delay

Interleaving - a retrieval practice strategy that involves mixing the study of different topics

Anterograde Amnesia - an inability to form new memories

Retrograde Amnesia - an inability to remember information from one’s past

Proactive Interference - the forward-acting disruptive effect of older learning on the recall of new information

Retroactive Interference - the backward-acting disruptive effect of newer learning on the recall of old information

Repression- in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Reconsolidation - a process in which previously stored memories, when retrieved, are potentially altered before being stored again

Misinformation Effect - occurs when memory has been corrupted by misleading information

Source Amnesia - faulty memory for how, when, or where information was learned or imagined

Deja Vu - that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may unconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience