Topic 2: Memory

• Input


  sensory information received from our environment
• encoding


  turning sensory information into a form that can be used and stored by the brain
• storage


  the retention of information in our memory system
• retrieval


  the recall of stored memories
• output

  the information we recall/ behavioural response
• rehearsal

  when we repeat information over and over again to make it stick
• decay

  when memory fades due to the mere passage of time
• displacement

  when the short-term memory becomes 'full' and new information pushes out older information
• attention


  a state of consciousness in which a person can respond to a stimulus/stimuli
• amnesia

  memory loss, often through accident, disease or injury
• retrograde amnesia


  a memory condition that affects recall of memories prior to an injury to the brain
• anterograde amnesia


  a memory condition that means new long-term memories cannot be made; this is typically caused by injury to the brain
• omission


  when we leave out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details when remembering something
• transformation


  when details are changed to make them more familiar and rational
• familiarisation

  when unfamiliar details are changed to align with our own schema
• rationalisation

  when we add details into our recall to give a reason for something that may have not originally fitted with a schema
• schema

  a packet of knowledge about an event, person or place that influences how we perceive and remember
• short term memory


  has limited capacity usually on average 7 items, it has a duration of 30 seconds maximum and is mostly acoustic (from what you hear)
• long term memory


  has unlimited capacity of up to a lifetime and unlimited duration, its encoding is semantic (meaning)
• 3 types of long term memory


  • episodic - personal events, it includes memories of when the events (e.g. birthdays) occurred and of the people, objects, places, etc.
  • semantic - general knowledge of the world, this includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean
  • procedural - a store for our knowledge of how we do things. This includes memories of learned skills such as walking, cycling etc.