Me
Leo vividly remembers what he was wearing and what the conversation was about when he met his favorite WWE wrestler. Even years later, he can recall the emotions he felt and the details of that moment.
What is flashbulb memory
Luis hasn't used the quadratic formula since sophomore year, he can't fully remember the steps.
What is decay of memory
Luis learned the information before, but hasn’t used or reviewed it in a long time. Over time, the memory faded, so he can’t fully remember the steps
After studying for a psych test, Ivan goes to sleep and is able to remember the material better the next day. Which memory process best explains why he is able to have improved memory on his vocab test?
What is memory consolidation
Sleep helps stabilize and strengthen memories. During sleep, the brain consolidates information from short-term memory into long-term memory. This makes the material easier to recall the next day.
Jason silently repeats his school ID before typing it into the keypad for lunch. He then forget it after lunch. This is
What is maintenance rehearsal
Jason is repeating the information just long enough to use it immediately. The memory is temporary and not stored in long-term memory, so he forgets it after lunch
While gossiping with a friend, they ask, “How do you know that?” You remember the information, but can’t recall where you heard it from.
What is source amnesia
You remember the fact, but forget the source. It's memory without knowing the origin
After a traumatic head injury, Zach remembers his time growing up, past vacations, but can't remember meeting new people or his recent activities.
What is anterograde amnesia
Can’t make NEW memories
On Monday, Sarah memorizes Spanish vocabulary words for a quiz. On Tuesday, she studies French vocabulary that is very similar to the Spanish words. When she takes the Spanish quiz, the French words keep coming to mind and make it difficult for her to remember the Spanish words. What is causing this?
What is retroactive interference
New information (French words) interferes with old information (Spanish words). Learning French after Spanish makes recalling Spanish harder
When meeting someone named Mr. Musk, you think of Elon Musk and picture the new person in a funny scene with Elon. By connecting the new name to something you already know, you remember it more easily.
What is elaborative rehearsal
You’re creating associations and meaningful connections to move it into long-term memory.
Duncan can't recall his first day of kindergarten even though his parents say he cried a lot on the first day. This is what type of forgetting?
What is childhood or infantile amnesia
Duncan cannot remember events from early childhood. This is normal because early memories are not well stored due to immature brain development and limited language skills.
After listening to a long list of vocab words, Maya easily remembers the last few words, but struggles to recall words from the beginning or middle of the list.
What is recency effect
Better recall of items at the end of a list
After driving the same route for years, you move to a new neighborhood and learn a different route. However, you keep automatically taking the old route, even though you know a new one, because the old memory interferes with learning the new route. This is called
What is proactive interference
Old information (the original driving route) interferes with learning or using new information (the new route)
After a car crash, Max remembers everything happened after the crash, but can't recall his wedding or birth of his child. He is suffering from
What is retrograde amnesia
Max cannot recall past memories from before the accident (wedding, birth of child). He can form new memories after the crash. This is classic retrograde amnesia - loss of old memories due to brain injury
Prince is feeling really sad after a breakup. Before going to sleep, he only remembers the negative moments of the relationship, even though there were happy times too. His current sadness makes him more likely to recall memories that match sentiment.
What is this memory called?
What is mood-congruent memory
Mood-congruent memory = current mood influences the type of memories we recall
Sad mood = recall sad memories; happy mood = recall happy memories
Joe studies for a math test in a quiet classroom. On test day, the exam is given in the same classroom. Since the environment matches where Joe studied, he remembers everything easily.
What is context-dependent memory
Joe remembers the information better because the environment during recall matches the environment during encoding (same classroom). The matching context acts as a retrieval cue, making the memory easier to access.
After being involved in a car accident, Emma insists she is fine and has no memory of the accident at all. She does not remember the crash, the weather, or being taken to the hospital, and she is genuinely confused when others mention it. Although she can’t explain why, she becomes anxious when cars suddenly stop or when the topic comes up.
Emma is not choosing to forget—the memory is unconsciously blocked because it is too emotionally distressing.
What is repression
Memory loss is unconscious. The forgotten material is emotionally painful. The memory still affects behavior (anxiety reactions). Not caused by brain injury
Students at BHS talked about the speaker at the assembly. Most remembered he wore a red shirt, but one student said he was wearing a blue shirt. After hearing this, several students began to believe the speaker’s shirt was actually blue. What do you call this?
What is misinformation effect
Memory was altered by misleading post-event information. Shows how memories can be distorted by what others say.
When Darrin wrote a list of errands for her sister, she could easily remember “milk” at the beginning and “ice cream” at the end, but forgot the items in the middle.
What is serial position effect
Primacy = beginning of list
Recency = end of list
Middle items = most likely forgotten