Memory Terms

• memory


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

  
• 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, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system.

  
• short-term memory


  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.

  
• long-term memory


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

  
• working memory


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

  
• automatic processing


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

  
• effortful processing


  encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

  
• rehearsal


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

  
• spacing effect


  the tendency for distributed study or practice to yield better long-term retention than is achieved through massed study or practice.

  
• serial position effect


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

  
• visual encoding


  the encoding of picture images.

  
• acoustic encoding


  the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words.

  
• semantic encoding


  the 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.

  
• chunking


  organizing items into familiar, manageable units in STM because space is limited to 7 bits. This increasing the efficiency of STM.

  
• iconic memory


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

  
• echoic memory


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

  
• long-term potentiation (LTP)


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

  
• flashbulb memory


  a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event.

  
• amnesia


  the loss of memory.

  
• implicit memory


  retention independent of conscious recollection. (Also called non-declarative or procedural memory.)

  
• explicit memory


  memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and "declare." (Also called declarative memory.)

  
• hippocampus


  a neural center that is located in the limbic system; 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 test.

  
• recognition


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

  
• relearning


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

  
• priming


  the activation, often unconsciously, of certain associations, thus predisposing one's perception, memory, or response.

  
• mood-congruent memory


  the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's current good or bad mood.

  
• proactive interference


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

  
• retroactive interference


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

  
• repression


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

  
• misinformation effect


  incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event.

  
• source amnesia


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

  
• Consolidation


  The process of the brain forming a LTM
• episodic memory


  Explicit memories that have a time and a place.
• procedural memory


  Implicit memories (retrieved unconsciously) which involved motor skills; for example; riding a bike, typing, and tying a shoe.