Memory

Retrospective memory

Memory for past events, activities, and learning experiences, as shown by explicit and implicit memories. It is the recalling of information that has been previously learned (episodic, semantic, implicit).

Priming

Memory of the alphabet or the multiplication table is the result of a great deal of repetition that makes associations automatic, referred to as priming. Priming makes it possible for people to carry out a mental task with less neural activity. Years of priming helps people make complete words out of word fragments.

Working memory

Same as short term memory

Episodic memory

A kind of explicit memory. Also referred to as autobiographical memory. Memories of events experienced by a person or that take place in the person's presence. Memories of things that happen to us or take place in our presence. Ex: memories of what you ate for breakfast or of what your professor said in class this afternoon. It is common for us to build inaccurate memories that have a bit of this and a bit of that. These memories might reflect autobiographical experience, such as things we hear about from family members, stuff we read about or see on social media, and things that other people suggest might have happened to us. These memories are fiction, but we believe that they are truly autobiographical.

Icon

A mental representation of a visual stimulus that is held briefly in sensory memory.

Echo

A mental representation of an auditory stimulus (sound) that is held briefly in sensory memory.

Sensory register

A system of memory that holds information briefly, but long enough so that it can be processed further. There may be a sensory register for every sense.

Schema

A way of mentally representing the world, such as a belief or an expectation, that can influence perception of persons, objects, and situations. Our memories are distorted by our biases and needs, by the way we conceptualize our worlds.

Explicit memory

Also referred to as declarative memory. Memory that clearly and distinctly expresses (explicates) specific information. Things that are explicit are clear or clearly stated or explained. These memories state or reveal (declare) specific information. This information may be autobiographical or refer to general knowledge. Two kinds: episodic and semantic.

Implicit memory

Also referred to as nondeclarative memory. Memory that is suggested (implied) but not plainly expressed, as illustrated in the things that people do but do not state clearly. Memory of how to perform a task. It is the act itself; it is doing something. Involve skills, both cognitive and physical; reveal habits; involve the effects of conditioning. Ex: you have learned and now remember how to speak at least one language, how to ride a bicycle, how to swim, how to type, how to turn on the lights, how to drive a car, getting to class by habit without paying attention to landmarks or directions. Can persist even when we have not used them for many years. We don't have to conscious attention to remember them. Reveals the effects of experience when we are not specifically trying to recall information.

Memory trace

An assumed change in the nervous system that reflects the impression made by a stimulus. Memory traces are said to be "held" in sensory registers. If something was flashed on a screen for a fraction of a second, the memory trace (visual impression) of the stimulus would also last for only a fraction of a second afterward.

Semantic memory

General knowledge. Semantics concerns meanings. Ex: you can remember that the United States has 50 states without visiting them and adding them up. You remember that Shakespeare authored hamlet, although you weren't looking over his shoulder as he wrote it. More likely to say"I know about" in reference to semantic memories.

Prospective memory

Memory to perform an act in the future, as at a certain time or when a certain event occurs. Remembering to do things in the future. Ex: remembering to brush your teeth before bed, pay your bills, make the list of things to do so that you won't forget what to do. Most of us have had failures of prospective memory when we have the feeling that we were supposed to do something, but we can't remember what. Tends to fail when we are preoccupied, distracted, or feeling the stress of time pressure. Habitual tasks such as getting to class on time are easier to remember than occasional tasks such as meeting someone for coffee at an arbitrary time. Motivation also plays a role. You are more likely to remember the coffee date if the person you are meeting is extremely attractive. Event-based tasks are triggered by events, such as remembering to take one's medicine at breakfast or to brush one's teeth after eating. Time-based tasks are performed at a certain time or after a certain amount of time has elapsed between occurrences, such as tuning in to a favorite news program at 7:30 or taking a pill every 4 hours. There is an age-related decline in both retrospective and prospective memory. The decline in older adults often appears to be related to the speed of cognitive processing rather than "loss" of memory. Older adults appear about equally aware of specific cues or reminders as young adults, however it takes them longer to respond to the cues or reminders. Moods and attitudes have an effect on prospective memory. Negative emotional states such as depression also impair prospective memory.

Echoic memory

The sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of auditory stimuli. Memory traces of echoes can last several seconds. Acoustic codes aid in the retention of information that has been presented visually. If echoes are to be retained, we must pay attention to them. By selectively attending to certain stimuli, we sort them out from the background noise.

Iconic memory

The sensory register that briefly holds mental representations of visual stimuli (icons). It is one kind of sensory memory. Iconic memories are accurate photographic memories. Those who see and mental present visual stimuli do have "photographic memories", however these memories are brief. Holds icons for up to a second. As a consequence, the flow of visual information seems smooth and continuous. Ex: the impression that the words you are reading flow across the page rather than jump across in spurts.

Long term memory

The third stage of information processing. The type or stage of memory capable of relatively permanent storage. Contains names, dates, places, things that happened to you in the past. Freud believed that nearly all of our perceptions and ideas are stored permanently, but we might be able to retrieve all of them- this has not been proven. Long-term memory is a biochemical "hard drive" with no known limits on the terabytes of information it can store. Long-term memories may endure for a lifetime. Now and then, it may seem that we have forgotten or "lost" a long-term memory because we cannot find the proper cues to help us retrieve them. However, certain situations or occurrences may make you recall or remember a memory. The more often chunks of information are rehearsed, the more likely they are to be transferred to long-term memory. Purposefully relating new information to things that are already well known is the most effective method to make information more meaningful. The storehouse of long-term memory is usually well organized. We tend to gather information into certain sections of the storehouse. Such categorization of stimuli is a basic cognitive function. It allows us to make predictions about specific instances and to store information efficiently. We tend to organize information according to a hierarchical structure- arrangement of chunks of information into groups according to common or distinct features. As we work our way up the hierarchy, we find more encompassing or superordinate groups to which the items below them belong. When items are correctly organized in long-term memory, you are more likely to recall accurate information about them. Ex: remembering whether whales breathe underwater: reconstruct information about whales from knowledge about mammals, the group to which whales are subordinate. since they are mammals, they are warm-blooded, nurse their young, are more intelligent than fish. incorrectly classifying whales as fish could construct the incorrect answer that they do breathe underwater. Memory is organized according to a remarkably complex filing system that has a certain internal logic. Placing a piece of information into the wrong file may cause you to "lose" the information in the sense of not being able to find the best cues to retrieve it.

Short-term memory

The type or stage of memory that can hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of the stimulus decays; also called working memory. Ex: when you are given a phone number by an operator and write it down or immediately dial the number, when you are told the name of someone at a party and then use that name immediately when addressing that person. Image tends to face significantly after 10-12 seconds if it is not repeated or rehearsed. It is possible to focus on maintaining a visual image in short-term memory, but it is more common to encode visual or auditory stimuli. One way of retaining information in short-term memory is to rehearse it. The more times we rehearse information, the more likely we are to remember it. We have the capacity to rehearse information and thereby keep it in short-term memory indefinitely. Once information is in our short-term memories we can work on it and manipulate it, but it isn't necessarily saved. If we don't do something to save it, it can be gone forever. We can try to reconstruct it, but it may never be the same.

Sensory memory

Visual sensations seem continuous or streamlike because of sensory memory. The type or stage of memory first encountered by a stimulus. Sensory memory holds impressions briefly, but long enough so that series of perceptions are psychologically continuous.