AP Psych Memory Flashcards
(16 cards)
information processing
encoding: get information into brain
storage: retain information over time
retrieval: get information back out for usage
memory
persistence of learning over time through storage and retrieval of information
working memory
understanding of short term memory that focuses on conscious, active processing of visuo-spatial and auditory information
- holds information we are aware of or thinking about at any given moment
- can hold 5 to 10 items (magic number: 7)
- information can be held if rehearsed in 1.5 to 2 seconds, gaining duration of 2 - 30 seconds
encode
- automatic processing: unconscious processing of information (time, space, well-learned material)
+ parallel processing: processing many aspects of a problem simultaneously - effortful processing: processing that requires conscious effort and attention
+ rehearsal: conscious repetition
maintenance: repeating over and over
elaborative: associating with meaning or stored information
+ spacing effect: distributed learning yields better results
+ serial position effect: tendency to remember something better if it is in a certain place in a sequence
primacy: first item
recency: last item
levels of processing
- visual encoding: processing images
+ imagery: mental pictures
+ mnemonics: memory aids (i.e. PEMDAS)
+ method of loci: associating target information with locations - acoustic encoding: processing sounds, especially those of words
- semantic encoding: processing meanings, especially those of words
chunking
organizing items into familiar and manageable units
hierarchies
groups of concepts divided into narrower subdivisions
sensory memory
memory composed of information from the senses
- iconic memory: momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli
- echoic memory: momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli
storage
- LTP (long term potentation): increase in a synapse’s firin potential after brief, rapid stimulation
- flashbulb memory: clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event
- amnesia: loss of memory
explicit memory
declarative memory
memory of facts and experiences consciously known and learned which can be readily expressed and intentionally recalled
- processed by hippocampus
- includes:
+ facts, general knowledge (semantic)
+ personally experienced events (episodic)
implicit memory
nondeclarative
memory independent of conscious recollection which cannot be readily expressed and owner may not be aware of having
- processed by other brain parts, mostly cerebellum
- includes:
+ motor and cognitive skills (procedural)
+ classically conditioned emotional responses to stimuli (emotional)
retrieval
- recall: retrieve information not in conscious awareness
- recognition: measure of memory in which the person needs only identify items previously learned
- relearning: measure of memory that sesses the amount of time saved when learning the material for the second time
- retrieval cues: anchor points/triggers you can use to access information later
- deja vu: when cues from the current situation triggers an earlier experience
sins of memory
- forgetting:
+ absent-mindedness: failed encoding from inattention to details
+ transience: decay
+ blocking: inaccessibility to stored information - distortion:
+ misattribution: confusing sources
+ suggestibility: lingering effects of misinformation
+ bias: belief-colored recollection - intrusion:
+ persistence: unwanted memories
interference
trouble retaining two difference sources of information
- proactive: when old memories interfere with encoding new ones
- retroactive: when new memories interfere with retrieving old ones
- state dependent memory & mood congruent memory
- repression: defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts from the consciousness
misinformation effect
incorporating misleading information into one’s memory
source misattribution
attributing wrong sources
