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 memory | persistence of learning over time; involves encoding, storage, and retrieval of information |
| flashbulb memory | clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event |
| encoding | the processing of information into the memory system--for example, by extracting meaning |
| storage | the retention of encoded information over time |
| retrieval | the process of getting information out of memory storage |
| sensory memory | the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system |
| short-term memory (STM) | activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as 7 digits of phone number while dialing |
| long-term memory (LTM) | the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system |
| automatic processing | unconscious encoding of incidental information, often of space, time, and frequency (e.g. where you parked your car or when you got up this morning) |
| effortful processing | encoding that requires attention and conscious effort (e.g. remembering vocabulary words for Spanish class) |
| rehearsal | the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or encode it for storage |
| next-in-line effect | tendency to forget what was said by the person immediately before you during introductions or saying words |
| Hermann Ebbinghaus | early memory researcher who taught himself lists of nonsense syllables to systematically test his recall |
| spacing effect | tendency for distributed practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice |
| serial position effect | our tendency to recall best the first and last items in a list |
| primacy effects | better recall of information presented at the beginning of a list or class |
| recency effects | advantage in recall of information just recently presented (compared to information presented earlier) |
| Von Restorff effect | tendency to remember distinctive stimuli better than less distinctive stimuli; also sometimes called sematic distinctiveness |
| visual encoding | encoding of (either imagined or viewed) picture images |
| acoustic encoding | the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words |
| semantic encoding | encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words |
| imagery | mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding |
| mnemonics | memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices |
| loci | type of mnemonic that exploits the ease with which we recall layouts of familiar locations; remembering items on a list by visualizing them placed in familiar locations |
| peg-word system | mnemonic device used to recall items in a list by picking a rhyming word to match the number, then visualizing the item with that rhyme word |
| levels of processing model | model of memory storage which suggests that we better remember information that we spend more time and cognitive effort processing (e.g. deep v. shallow processing) |
| self-reference effect | phenomenon whereby we better remember information perceived to be relevant to ourselves |
| chunking | organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically |
| echoic memory | momentary sensory memory of auditory information; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled for 3 or 4 seconds |
| iconic memory | momentary sensory memory of visuals images; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second |
| George Miller | wrote the book, "The Magical Number 7 +/- 2," describing the capacity of short term memory |
| long-term potentiation (LTP) | an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation; believed to be the neural basis for learning and memory |
| amnesia | loss of memory |
| anterograde amnesia | inability to form new memories, often as a result of damage to the hippocampus or surrounding areas |
| retrograde amnesia | memory loss for events and learning that occured prior to the memory-disrupting injury |
| implicit memory | retention independent of conscious recollection; also called procedural memory |
| explicit memory | memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously known and "declare" (also called declarative memory) |
| hippocampus | a neural center located in the limbic system that helps process explicit memories for storage |
| recall | a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank question (with no word bank) |
| recognition | a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple choice test |
| relearning | a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time |
| priming | a retrieval cue; the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory |
| mood-congruent memory | the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood |
| state-dependent memory | tendency to better recall information learned during an altered state of consciousness when again in that altered state of consciousness (e.g. an alcoholic recalling the previous night's events only when drinking again) |
| proactive interference | the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information; what you learned before interferes with your ability to recall more recently learned info |
| retroactive interference | the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information; what you learned recently interferes with your ability to recall information learned before |
| repression | Freudian notion that we may unconsciously suppress memories of anxiety-arousing events or realities as a defense mechanism |
| misinformation effect | incorporating misleading or inaccurate information into one's memory of an event |
| Elizabeth Loftus | psychologist famous for her research on memory construction |
| source amnesia | attributing to the wrong source an event that we have experienced, heard about, read about, or imagined (contributes to false memories) |
| Forgetting Curve | the pattern of storage decay descibed by Ebbinghaus; retention of information drops off sharply, then stabilizes, as time passes after learning |