AP Psychology: Memory Vocabulary

Question 1

memory

Answer 1

the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information

Question 2

falshbulb memory

Answer 2

a clear memory of an emotionally significant moment or event

Question 3

encoding

Answer 3

the processing of information into the memory system:

extracting meaning

Question 4

storage

Answer 4

the retention of encoded information over time

Question 5

retrieval

Answer 5

the process of getting information out of memory storage

Question 6

sensory memory

Answer 6

the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system

Question 7

short term memory

Answer 7

activated memory that holds a few items briefly, such as the seven digits of a phone number while dialing, before the information is stored or forgotten

Question 8

long term memory

Answer 8

the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system. Includes knowledge, skills, and experiences.

Question 9

working memory

Answer 9

a newer understanding of short term memory that involves conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual-spatial information, and of information retrieved from long term memory

Question 10

automatic processing

Answer 10

unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well learned information, such as word meanings

Question 11

effortful processing

Answer 11

encoding that requires attention and conscious effort

Question 12

rehearsal

Answer 12

the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for storage

Question 13

spacing effect

Answer 13

the tendency for distributing study or practice to yield better long termed retention than being achieved through mass study of practice

Question 14

serial position effect

Answer 14

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

Question 15

visual encoding

Answer 15

the encoding of picture images

Question 16

acoustic encoding

Answer 16

the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words

Question 17

semantic encoding

Answer 17

the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words

Question 18

imagery

Answer 18

mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combined with semantic encoding

Question 19

mnemonics

Answer 19

memory aids, especially those techniques hat use vivid imagery and organizational devices

Question 20

chunking

Answer 20

organizing items into famililar, manageable units; often occurs automatically

Question 21

iconic memory

Answer 21

a momentary sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture image memory lasting no more than a few tenths of a second

Question 22

echoic memory

Answer 22

a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds

Question 23

long term potentiation (LTP)

Answer 23

an increase in a synapse’s firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation. Believed to be a neutral basis for learning and memory

Question 24

amnesia

Answer 24

the loss of memory

Question 25

implicit memory

Answer 25

retention independent of conscious recollection

aka procedural memory

Question 26

explicit memory

Answer 26

memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare
aka declarative memory

Question 27

hippocampus

Answer 27

a neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories for storage

Question 28

recall

Answer 28

a measure of memory in which the person mus retrieve information learned earlier, as on a fill in the blank test

Question 29

recognition

Answer 29

a measure of memory in which the person need only identify items, previously learned , as on a multiple choice test

Question 30

relearning

Answer 30

a memory measure that assesses the amount of time saved when learning material for a second time

Question 31

priming

Answer 31

the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory.
Ask a friend 2 rapid fire questions
a) how do you pronounce the word spelled by the letters S-H-O-P
b) what do you do when you come to a green light.
If your friend answers “Stop” to your second question, priming has taken place

Question 32

deja vu

Answer 32

that eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience

Question 33

mood congruent memory

Answer 33

the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one’s current good or bad mood

Question 34

proactive inference

Answer 34

the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new info

Question 35

retroactive inference

Answer 35

the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information

Question 36

repression

Answer 36

in psychoanalytic theory, the basic defense mechanism that banishes from consciousness anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories

Question 37

misinformation effect

Answer 37

incorporating misleading information into one’s memory of an event

Question 38

source amnesia

Answer 38

attributing to the wrong source of an event we have experienced, heared about, read about, or imagined about.
aka source misattribution
source amnesia , along with the misinformation effect is at the heart of many false memories