AP Psychology Unit 7A: Memory

Misinformation Effect

The misinformation effect was discovered by Elizabeth Loftus. This effect states that people incorporate misleading information into one's memory of an event. For example, after a recent fight at school, rumor goes around saying that one person "clearly" won, however, in reality they had an equal fight.

Hippocampus

The hippocampus is a neural center that is located in the limbic system. It helps process explicit memories for storage. A way to remember the hippocampus is by associating it with processing the explicit memories.

Information Processing Theory

The information processing theory is the thought that humans process the information that they receive rather than just respond to a particular stimuli. A way to remember this is by looking at the words "information processing." Humans process their information.

Acoustic Encoding

Acoustic encoding refers to when someone encodes sound. Hearing the sound of words is especially what defines acoustic encoding. A way to remember this is by thinking of an acoustic guitar. You will hear the acoustic guitar sounds.

Automatic Processing

Automatic processing refers to when an action is repeated for a certain amount of time, the body begins doing it without the thought of doing it. Or, in other words, the unconscious encoding of incidental information. For example, people that knit, are used to the action of doing so, so their hands begin to "automatically" do the knitting without a lot of thought. Another example is space, time, etc.

CREB

CREB, or cAMP response element binding, is a protein that is a transcription factor. A way to remember this is by associating it with a protein.

Cerebellum

Cerebellum means "small brain." The cerebellum is in charge of balance, judgement of time, controlling our emotions, hearing sounds and feeling textures. It is found near the brainstem and spinal cord. A way to remember this is by thinking of when a soccer player makes a free kick. The cerebellum helps the player keep balance and make the free kick.

Chunking

Chunking is when people tend to organize items into familiar/manageable units. This often occurs automatically. A way to remember this is by looking at the word "chunk." People chunk or organize familiar items together

Confederates

Confederates are actors that pretend to be in an experiment, although in reality they aren't getting observed and/or measured. A way to remember this is by associating confederates with actors that aren't in the experiment.

Context Effects

Context effects is the idea that the environment has the power to influence one's perception of a specific stimulus. A way to remember this is by associating context effects with environmental influence on perception.

Debriefing

Debriefing is an explanation of the study to the participates after the experiment is over.This usually includes the purpose of the experiment, etc. For example, after an experiment the researcher tells the participates that the main purpose was see them work under high pressure.

Decay

Decay is the thought that the longer an individual has not accessed an experience, the higher the chance the memory of the experience will begin to fade. A way to remember this is by thinking of the word "decay" which is a decrease over time.

Echoic Memory

Echoic memory refers to a momentary sensory memory of an auditory stimuli. A way to remember this is by looking at the word "echoic" and thinking of echo. An echo is a sound and echoic memory is the memory of a sound.

Effortful Processing

Effortful processing is the need for attention or conscious effort to be present when attempting to learn/encode something. A way to remember this is by thinking of the need for "effort" to be present for effortful processing to occur.

Elizabeth Loftus

Elizabeth Loftus was born in 1944. She is an American psychologist that discovered the misinformation effect. The misinformation effect is when people incorporate misleading information into one's memory of an event. For example, if people say that a fight physical fight started but instead it was to people verbally fighting.

Encoding Failure

Encoding failure is when pieces of memories, experience, and information doesn't get processed into long term memory. Age can effect this. A way to remember this is by looking at the words "encoding failure" and thinking that the encoding has failed.

Encoding

Encoding refers to the processing of information into the memory system located in the brain. An example of encoding is extracting the meaning of something.

False Memory

False memory is when someone remembers an experience/memory that never actually occurred in the past. A way to remember this is by looking at the word "false" and thinking that the memory is false, or not true.

Iconic Memory

Iconic memory is a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli. An example of iconic memory is a picture memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Imagery

Imagery refers to mental pictures. Imagery is a powerful aid to effort processing, more so when combined with semantic encoding. A way to remember this is by looking at the word "imagery" and thinking of an image, or picture.

Long Term Memory

Long term memory is referred to as the permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Examples of things that are part of your long term memory include knowledge, skills, and certain experiences.

Long Term Potentiation

Long term potentiation, or LTP, is an increase in a synapse's firing potential after a brief stimulation. This is believed to be a neural basis in memory and learning. A way to remember this is to associate LTP with an increase in a synapse's firing potential.

Malleable Memory

Malleable memory is also connected to Elizabeth Loftus. Malleable memory is when people fill in the gaps of experiences that they don't remember. For example, the recent fight at school was explained by a spectator saying that one of the fighters did some karate moves when he actually didn't.

Memory Consolidation

Memory consolidation is the the process in which short term memory is converted into long term memory. A way to remember this is by looking at consolidation. You memory is getting "stronger" by converting it to long term memory.

Memory Hierarchies

Memory hierarchies refer to memories of a computer. They are the smallest and most expensive. A way to remember this is by associating memory hierarchy with computer memory.

Mnemonics

Mnemonics are ways to help remember things. They are techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices. An example of a mnemonic is My Very Excited Mother Just Served Us Peas. This mnemonic helps people remember the planets in order.

Mood Congruent Memory

Mood congruent memory states that humans also store the mood that they had with memory. For example, when Kevin proposed to his girlfriend he felt very excited. 30 years later, he remembers his excitement.

Motivated Forgetting

Motivated forgetting in Freud's eyes was that sometimes there are memories that are too painful to be dealt with. So, the brain represses the memory and sends it the unconscious mind. A way to remember this is by associating motivated forgetting and suppressing painful memories.

Parallel Processing

Parallel processing refers to processing multiple things of an issue at the same. This is the brain's natural mode of information processing. Another way of saying this is multitasking. An example of this is how our brain. It uses this process for vision, problem solving, etc.

Priming

Priming is the activation of certain associations, this predisposes one's perception, memory, and/or response. For example, you see the news and they talk about a missing boy. You unconsciously be primed to think that the boy could have gotten kidnapped.

Rehearsal

Rehearsal is the conscious repetition of information to either maintain it in our consciousness or to encode it for storage. An example of rehearsal is an experiment done by Ebbinghaus. He put syllables on a sheet of paper and tried to memorize them. At the start of day 2, he realized it took a shorter time to memorize the list, because he rehearsed it and it was encoded into his brain.

Retrieval Cues

Retrieval cues are points in which you can use to access the target information when you want to get it later. A way to remember this is by thinking of points to access target information.

Retrieval Failure

Retrieval failure, or forgetting, is when the brain cannot retrieve any information, experiences, or feelings of an event that occurred in the past. For instance, a friend brings a conversation that occurred a year ago, and you don't remember anything about it. Your brain failed to retrieve the information.

Retrieving and Forgetting

Retrieving is the process of getting information out of memory storage. An example of this is when you dial in a phone number that you have memorized. Forgetting is when previously stored information in the brain is lost and needs to be relearned.

Rosy Retrospection

Rosy Retrospection refers to refers to the tendency of how humans remember the positives from past events more than the negatives of past events. A way to remember this is by associating rosy retrospection with remembering the positives.

Semantic Encoding

Semantic encoding refers to the encoding the meaning of something. This also includes the meaning of words. A way to remember this is by associating semantic with the meaning of something.

Sensory Memory

Sensory memory is the very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system. A way to remember this is by looking at "sensory memory" and thinking that it refers to the memory of sensory information.

Short Term Memory

Short term memory is when activated memory holds specific items/pieces of memory for a brief period of time. An example of this is typing in the seven digits of a phone number before it gets stored back into the brain or just forgotten.

State Dependent Memory

State dependent memory is the thought that the retrieval of memory is best when someone is in the same state of consciousness when the memory was first produced. A way of remembering this is by looking at "state dependent." It matters which state that your in to get the best results of the retrieval of memory.

Storing

Storing refers to the retaining of encoded information over a period of time. An example of storing is keeping your locker combination in your head for 5 years.

Serial Position Effect

The serial position effect refers to how humans having a tendency to best remember the first and last items on a list. A way tore member this is by looking at the word "position" and remembering that the first and last items are the ones remembered the most.

Spacing Effect

The spacing effect refers to the tendency of distributed study to have better effects than massed study. For example, there is a huge exam for a class. Student A studies each day for a week for this exam and gets an A. Student B studies the morning of the test and gets a D. Student A, according to the spacing effect should get a higher grade because he/she studied for a period of time rather than all at once.

Memory

There are two different types of memories, iconic and echoic. Iconic memory is a momentary sensory memory of a visual stimuli. Echoic memory is a momentary sensory memory of an auditory stimuli. Remember that iconic is a momentary sensory memory while echoic is a momentary auditory.

Visual Encoding

Visual encoding is when someone encodes picture images. A way to remember this is by loo the word "visual" in visual encoding and realize that visual refers to a picture.