AP Psychology: The Mechanics of Memory

Memory

Learning that has persisted over time—information that has been acquired, stored, and can be retrieved.

Information-Processing Model

A model that likens the human mind to a computer, involving encoding, storage, and retrieval.

Encoding

The process of getting information into our brain.

Storage

The retention of information in the memory system.

Retrieval

The process of getting information back out from memory storage.

Sensory Memory

The immediate, very brief recording of sensory information.

Short-Term Memory (STM)

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

The relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system.

Automatic Processing

Unconscious encoding of incidental information and well-learned information.

Effortful Processing

Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort, leading to explicit memories.

Spacing Effect

We retain information better when our rehearsal is distributed over time.

Serial Position Effect

The tendency to recall best the last and first items in a list.

Shallow Processing

Encoding based on the structure or appearance of words.

Deep Processing

Encoding semantically based on the meaning of words, yielding better retention.

Chunking

Organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

Mnemonics

Memory aids, especially those using vivid imagery and organizational devices.

Iconic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli lasting no more than a few tenths of a second.

Echoic Memory

A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli, recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

Explicit Memory (Declarative)

Memory of facts and experiences that can consciously be recalled.

Implicit Memory (Non-declarative)

Retention independent of conscious recollection.

Long-Term Potentiation (LTP)

An increase in a cell's firing potential believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.

Recall

Retrieving information not currently in conscious awareness but learned at an earlier time.

Recognition

Identifying items previously learned, generally quicker and easier than recall.

Relearning

Learning something more quickly when learned a second or later time.

Priming

The activation of particular associations in memory, often unconsciously.

PORN

Acronym for remembering types of interference: Proactive, Old blocks New; Retroactive, New blocks Old.

Anterograde Amnesia

Inability to form new memories.

Retrograde Amnesia

Inability to retrieve information from the past.