PSY 200-Chapter 6: Memory

blocking

A failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to produce it. One of the seven sins of memory.

echoic memory

A fast-decaying type of sensory memory that stores auditory information.

iconic memory

A fast-decaying type of sensory memory that stores visual information

false recognition

A feeling of familiarity about something that hasn't been acquired before.

absentmindedness

A lapse in attention that results in memory failure. One of the seven sins of memory.

long-term potentiation (LTP)

A process whereby communication across the synapse between neurons strengthens the connection making further communication easier.

NMDA receptor

A receptor site on the hippocampus that influences the flow of information between neurons by controlling the initiation of long-term potentiation

long-term memory

A type of storage that holds information for hours, days, weeks, or years.

short-term memory

A type of storage that holds nonsensory information for more than a few seconds but less than a minute. Usually 15-20 seconds. The capacity is usually seven items.

sensory memory

A type of storage that holds sensory information for a few seconds or less.

Ebbinghaus memory study

He measured his own memory for lists of nonsense syllables at different delays after studying them (1885).

Study by Loftus (1993)

Jim asked Chris if he could recall a time that he was lost in a shopping mall at age 5. He initially recalled nothing but later came up with an entire episode.

proactive interference

Situations in which information learned earlier impairs memory for information acquired later.

retroactive interference

Situations in which information learned later impairs memory for information acquired earlier.

Henry Molaison

Suffered from anterograde amnesia after most of his hippocampus was removed to cure his epilepsy. Seemed to show that the hippocampus was vital in moving short-term memories to long-term, but was not the place where long-term memory was stored.

persistence

The intrusive recollection of events that we wish we could forget. One of the seven sins of memory. Amygdala seems to help create strong memories for emotional events.

childhood/infantile amnesia

The lack of memory for our early years.

encoding

The process by which we transform what we perceive, think, or feel into an enduring memory.

retrieval

The process of bringing to mind information that has previously been encoded and stored.

rehearsal

The process of keeping information in short-term memory by mentally repeating it.

storage

The process of maintaining information in memory over time.

visual imagery encoding

The process of storing new information by converting it into mental pictures.

consolidation

the process by which memories become stable in the brain.

reconsolidation

the process by which memories can become vulnerable to disruption when they are recalled, requiring them to become consolidated again.

elaborate encoding

the process of actively relating new information to knowledge that is already in memory

organizational encoding

the process of categorizing information according to the relationships among a series of items.

semantic memory

A branch of explicit memory. A network of associated facts and concepts that make up our general knowledge of the world.

episodic memory

A branch of explicit memory. The collection of past personal experiences that occurred at a particular time and place.

working memory

Active maintenance of information in short-term storage

memory misattribution

Assigning a recollection or an idea to the wrong source. One of the seven sins of memory.

chunking

Combining small pieces of information into larger clusters or chunks that are more easily held in short-term memory.

flashbulb memories

Detailed recollections of when and where we heard about shocking events.

(1975) Craik and Tulving Study

Participants were presented with a series of words and asked to make a semantic judgement, rhyme judgement, or visual judgement (about the appearance of the word itself). The participants who made semantic judgements were more likely to remember the word later.

source memory

Recall of when, where, and how information was acquired.

prospective memory

Remembering to do things in the future.

retrograde amnesia

The inability to retrieve information that was acquired before a particular date, usually the date of an injury or operation.

memory

The ability to store and retrieve information over time.

bias

The distorting influences of present knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experiences. One of the seven sins of memory.

suggestibility

The tendency to incorporate misleading information from external sources into personal recollections. This is the reason people should view suspects one by one instead of in a line-up. One of the seven sins of memory.

priming

a branch of implicit memory. An enhanced ability to think of a stimulus, such as a word or object, as a result of a recent exposure to the stimulus.

procedural memory

a branch of implicit memory. The gradual acquisition of skills as a result of practice, or "knowing how" to do things.

explicit memory

a branch of long-term memory. The act of consciously or intentionally retrieving past experiences.

implicit memory

a branch of long-term memory. The influence of past experiences on later behavior, even without an effort to remember.

retrieval cue

external information that helps bring stored information to mind.

transience

forgetting what occurs with the passage of time

the curve of forgetting

retention experiences a drop off measured in percent savings, that is the percentage of time needed to relearn compared with the time needed to learn it initially.

brain activity during semantic judgements

takes place in the lower left frontal lobe

brain activity during visual judgements

takes place in the occipital lobe

consistency bias

the bias to to reconstruct the past to fit the present.

encoding specificity principle

the idea that a retrieval cue can serve as an effective reminder when it helps re-create the specific way in which information was initially encoded.

anterograde amnesia

the inability to transform new information from the short-term store into the long-term store.

state-dependent retrieval

the tendency for information to be better recalled when the person is in the same state during encoding and retrieval.

change bias

the tendency to exaggerate differences between what we feel or believe now and what we felt and believed in the past.

Seven Sins of Memory

transience, absentmindedness, blocking, memory misattribution, suggestibility, bias, perisitence