Imagery: mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing,
especially when combined with semantic encoding.
Mnemonics: memory aids, especially those techniques that use
vivid imagery and organizational devices.
Chunking: organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often
occurs automatically.
STORAGE: RETAINING INFO
Sensory Memory
Iconic Memory: a momentary
sensory memory of visual stimuli; a photographic or picture-image memory
lasting no more than a few tenths of a second (this phenomenon was
studied by Sperling).
Echoic Memory: a momentary sensory
memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words
can still be recalled with 3 or 4 seconds.
Short-term Memory: temporary memory storage. Most people can hold about 7, plus
or minus 2, bit of information in STM. Depending on the type of
info, it won't remain in STM much longer than about 10-30 seconds.
Long-term Memory: relatively permanent and limitless
memory storehouse. Both serotonin and stress hormones
have been found to be important in the formation of memories.
Long-term Potentiation (LTP): an
increase in a synapse's firing potential after brief, rapid stimulation.
Believed to be a neural basis for learning and memory.
1. Implicit Memory (non-declarative): recall of information
that does not require conscious effort.
a) Procedural Memory: Memory
for skills (cognitive and motor), such as riding a bicycle or saying the
alphabet. These skills become almost automatic with time.
b) Dispositional Memory: all
of the behaviors |
learned through classical and operant conditioning.
**Implicit memories are processed by the cerebellum.
2. Explicit Memory (declarative): memory of facts and
experiences that one can consciously know and "declare".
a) Episodic Memory: Memory
of personal experiences; it is like your memory "diary".
b) Semantic Memory: Memory of
facts and general knowledge; it is like your memory "encyclopedia".
**Explicit memories are processed by the hippocampus.
RETRIEVAL:
GETTING INFO OUT
Recall: a measure of memory in which the person must retrieve
information learned earlier (e.g., fill-in-the-blank test)
Recognition: a measure of memory in which the person need only
identify items previously learned (e.g., multiple-choice test.
Relearning: a memory measure that assesses the amount of time
saved when learning material for a second time.
Priming: the activation, often unconsciously, of particular
associations in memory.
Context Effects: memory is better for information that is retrieved
in the same (or similar) context in which it was learned (e.g., words
memorized underwater are best recalled underwater).
Mood-congruent Memory:
the tendency to recall experiences that are consistent with one's
current good or bad mood.
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