AP Psychology Memory

eye witness accounts

The most unreliable evidence in a criminal case, people that witness an event first hand.

state dependent memory

The theory that information learned in a particular state of mind (e.g., depressed, happy, somber) is more easily recalled when in that same state of mind.

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

Elizabeth Loftus

cognition and memory; studied repressed memories and false memories; showed how easily memories could be changed and falsely created by techniques such as leading questions and illustrating the inaccuracy in eyewitness testimony

displacement

defense mechanism in which unwanted feelings are directed towards a different object

mnemonic devices

devices for, memory tricks or strategies to make information easier to remember

tip of the tongue phenomenon

experience of knowing that we know something but being unable to access it

anterograde amnesia

loss of memory for events immediately following a trauma

retrograde amnesia

loss of memory for events immediately preceding a trauma, loss of memories that were stored before a traumatic event

rote

memorization by repetition

procedural memory

memory of learned skills that does not require conscious recollection.

chunking

organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

serial position effect

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

decay theory

proposes that forgetting occurs because memory traces fade with time

priming

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory

repression

the classical defense mechanism that protects you from impulses or ideas that would cause anxiety by preventing them from becoming conscious

proactive interference

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

reminiscence bump

the empirical finding that people over 40 years old have enhanced memory for events from adolescence and early adulthood, compared to other periods of their lives

déjà vu

the experience of thinking that a new situation had occurred before

confabulation

the false recollection of episodic memory, filling in gaps.

selective attention

the focusing of conscious awareness on a particular stimulus

sensory memory

the immediate, initial recording of sensory information in the memory system. 2, 1/2 seconds

infantile amnesia

the inability to remember events that occurred during one's early years (before age three)

Memory

the power of retaining and recalling past experience

retrieval

the process of getting information out of memory storage

encoding

the processing of information into the memory system

long term memory

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system

storage

the retention of encoded information over time

mood congruent memory

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

context dependent memory

theory that info learned in a particular situation or PLACE is better remembered when in that same situation or place.

automatic processing

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequence

retroactive interference

when new learning disrupts the recall of previously-learned information

semantic memory

your memory for meanings and general (impersonal) facts

relearning

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

Alzheimer's disease

a progressive and irreversible brain disorder characterized by gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and, finally, physical functioning

consolidation

A hypothetical process involving the gradual conversion of information into durable memory codes stored in long-term memory.

recall

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

episodic memory

Memory of one's personal experiences

eidetic memory

Photographic Memory

Three box information processing model

This model proposes that there are three stages that information passes through before it is stored.

flashbulb memory

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

schemas

a concept or framework that organizes and interprets information

recognition

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