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AP Psychology Chapter 9 Review – Memory
The Phenomenon of Memory
Memory – any indication that learning has persisted over time. It is our ability to store and retrieve information.
Flashbulb memory – a unique and highly emotional moment may give rise to a clear, strong, and persistent memory
Atkinson-Schiffrin (1968) three-stage model of memory – includes a) sensory memory, b) short-term memory, and c)
long-term memory:
 Sensory memory – the immediate, very brief recording of sensory information in the memory system
 Short-term memory – activated memory that holds a few items briefly before the information is stored or forgotten
 Long-term memory – the relatively permanent and limitless storehouse of the memory system; includes knowledge,
skills, and experiences
Problem with the model:
1. Some information skips the first two stages and enters long-term memory automatically.
2. Since we cannot focus all the sensory information in the environment, we select information (through attention)
that is important to us.
3. The nature of short-term memory is more complex.
Working memory – a new 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; proposed by Alan Baddeley
Encoding – getting information into our brain; the processing of information into the memory system—for example, by
extracting meaning
 Automatic processing – unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of
well-learned information, such as word meanings
 Some information (route to your school) is automatically processed.
 However, new or unusual information (friend’s new cell-phone number) requires attention and effort.
 Effortful processing – encoding that requires attention and conscious effort
 Rehearsal – the conscious repetition of information, either to maintain it in consciousness or to encode it for
storage
Memory Effects
 Next-in-line effect – When you are so anxious about being next that you cannot remember what the person just before
you in line says, but you can recall what other people around you say.
 Spacing effect – We retain information better when we rehearse over time.
 Serial position effect – When your recall is better for first and last items on a list, but poor for middle items.
What We Encode
 Visual encoding – the encoding of picture images
 Acoustic encoding – the encoding of sound, especially the sound of words
 Semantic encoding – the encoding of meaning, including the meaning of words
Imagery – mental pictures; a powerful aid to effortful processing, especially when combines with sematic encoding
Mnemonics – memory aids, especially those techniques that use vivid imagery and organizational devices
 Method of loci – associating each place with a visual representation of the to-be-remembered topic
 Link method (peg-word system) – involves forming a mental image of items to be remembered in a way that links
them together
Organizing Information for Encoding - Break down complex information into broad concepts and further subdivide them
into categories and subcategories
 Chunking – organizing items into a familiar, manageable unit
 Acronyms – encoding the first letters of to-be-remembered words as sentences or as words
 Hierarchy – complex information broken down into broad concepts and further subdivided into categories and
subcategories
Storage – retain the information
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
 Echoic memory – a momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can
still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds
Working memory – the new name for short-term memory, has a limited capacity (7±2) and a short duration (20 seconds)
Long-term memory – unlimited capacity store
Long-term potentiation (LTP) – refers to synaptic enhancement after learning (Lynch, 2002). An increase in
neurotransmitter release or receptors on the receiving neuron indicates strengthening of synapses.
Stress Hormones and Memory
- Heightened emotions (stress-related or otherwise) make for stronger memories. Continued stress may disrupt memory.
Explicit memory (declarative memory) – refers to facts and experiences that one can consciously know and declare
Implicit memory (procedural memory) – involves learning an action while the individual does not know or declare what
she knows
Amnesia – the loss of memory
Hippocampus – a neural center that is located in the limbic system and helps process explicit memories from storage
Cerebellum – a neural center in the hindbrain that processes implicit memories
Retrieval – getting information out of the memory store
Recognition – identify an item amongst other choices
Recall – retrieve information using effort
Relearning – shows how much time (or effort) is saved when learning material for the second time
Retrieval cues – anchor points you can use to access the target information when you want to retrieve it later. The more
retrieval cues you have, the better your chances of finding a route to the suspended memory.
 Priming – the activation, often unconsciously, of particular associations in memory. For example, seeing or hearing the
word rabbit primes associations with hare instead of hair.
Déja vu – the eerie sense that “I’ve experienced this before.” Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger
retrieval of an earlier experience.
Forgetting – an inability to retrieve information due to poor encoding, storage, or retrieval
Encoding failure - we cannot remember what we do not encode
Storage decay – poor durability of stored memories leads to their decay. Ebbinghaus showed this with his forgetting curve
Retrieval failure – although the information is retained in the memory store, it cannot be accessed
Interference – learning some new information may disrupt retrieval of other information
 Proactive (forward-acting) interference – the disruptive effect of prior learning on the recall of new information
 Retroactive (backward-acting) interference – the disruptive effect of new learning on the recall of old information
Motivated forgetting – people unknowingly revise their memories
 Repression – a defense mechanism that banishes anxiety-arousing thoughts, feelings, and memories from
consciousness
Misinformation effect – Incorporating misleading information into one's memory of an event. Eyewitnesses reconstruct
their memories when questioned about the event.
Source amnesia – attributing an event to the wrong source that we experienced, heard, read, or imagined (misattribution).
False Memories
 Repressed or Constructed? Some adults actually do forget childhood episodes of abuse.
 False memory syndrome – a condition in which a person’s identity and relationships center around a false but strongly
believed memory of a traumatic experience, which is sometimes induced by well-meaning therapists.