Memory and Learning Flashcards
Learning
The acquisition of new knowledge or skills through education or experience
Encoding
The process the brain uses to transfer new sensory information into memory
Automatic processing
Refers to information that is processed into memory without any effort
Type of encoding
Ex: You move to a neighborhood and walk around, exploring streets and landmarks around. Without any effort, you can remember those streets and landmarks next time you go out.
Controlled processing
Refers to a more effortful process of creating memories
Type of encoding
Ex: studying for a test like the MCAT (requires a lot of time, effort, and focus)
Visual encoding
Visualize new information to be stored in memory
Weakest form of encoding
Acoustic encoding
Concentrate and memorize the way something sounds
Semantic encoding
Put new information into the context of information we already have committed to memory
Strongest form of encoding
Self-reference effect
The human tendency to most readily recall information that pertains directly to our lives and our selves
Maintenance rehearsal
Repeating a phrase over and over again until you’ve memorized it
Chunking
When a person groups information into separate chunks
Ex: memorize the digits of a phone number in groups of three
Dual coding hypothesis
It is easier to memorize words that are paired with a specific image than to memorize either an individual word or image
Depth of processing
The deeper the processing of a memory, the more likely we are to remember it
Ex: it’s easier to remember the general plot of a movie than specific, individual lines
Method of loci
In which a person associates an item to be memorized at points along a memorized route
Ex: when trying to memorize organs of the digestive system in order, you might envision cartoon representations of those organs in different parts of your house, in the order that you walk through it
Sensory memory
The initial recording of encoded sensory information, and is therefore the most fleeting form of memory storage
Typically lasts no more than one second
Iconic memory
Responsible for visual information and lasting only a few tenths of a second
Type of sensory memory
Echoic memory
Responsible for auditory information and lasting for 3 to 4 seconds
Type of sensory memory
Short-term memory
Like sensory memories, but lasting closer to 30 seconds without repetition
Can handle only about 7 pieces of information at once
Working memory
The element of short-term memory that allows us to consciously process and manipulate a few pieces of information
Ex: mental math
Implicit memory (nondeclarative)
Acquired skills and conditioned responses to circumstances and stimuli
The cerebellum plays a primary role in encoding implicit memories
Procedural memory
Accounts for motor skills and specific physical actions
Part of implicit memory
Explicit memory (declarative)
Memories that we must consciously recall with effort and focus
The hippocampus plays a primary role in encoding explicit memories
Episodic memory
Memory that accounts for our experiences
Part of explicit memory
Semantic memory
Memory which accounts for facts and concepts that we know
Part of explicit memory
Retrieval
The process the brain uses to find information stored in long-term memory
