Chapter Nine: Memory

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memory

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the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

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flashbulb memory

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a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

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encoding

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the processing of information into the memory system - for example, by extracting meaning

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storage

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the retention of encoded information over time

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retrieval

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the process of getting information out of memory storage

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sensory memory

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

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short-term memory

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activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

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long-term memory

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the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes, knowledge, skills, and exeriences

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working memory

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a newer understanding of short-term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long-term memory

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automatic processing

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unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings

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effortful processing

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encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

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rehearsal

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the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

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spacing effect

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the tendancy for distributed study or pratice to yeild better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or pratice

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serial position effect

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our tendency to recall best the last and firt items in a list

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visual encoding

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the encoding of picture images

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acoustic encoding

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the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

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semantic encoding

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the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

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imagery

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mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, espically when combined with semantic encoding

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mnemonics

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memory aids, espically those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices

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chunking

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organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

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iconic memory

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a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

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echoic memory

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a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

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long-term potentiation (LTP)

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an increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory

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amnesia

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the loss of memory

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implicit memory

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retention independant of conscious recollection (also called procedural memory)

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explicit memory

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memory of facts and expierences that one can consciously know and "declare" (also called declarative memory)

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hippocampus

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a neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit momeories for storage

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recall

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a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill-in-the-blank test

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recognition

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a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items previously learned, as on a multiple-choice test

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relearning

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a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

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priming

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the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory. Ask a friend two raoid-fire questions: (a) how do you pronounce the word s-h-o-p? (b) what do you do at a green light? If they answer "stop" to the second question, you have demonstrated priming

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deja vu

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the eerie sense that "I've expierenced this before." Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

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mood-congruent memory

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the tendancy to recall expierences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood

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proactive interference

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the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information

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retroactive interference

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the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

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repression

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

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misinformation effect

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incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event

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source amnesia

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attributing to the wrong source an event we have expierenced, heard about, read about, or imagined. Source amnesia, along with the misinformation effect, is at the heart of many false memories