7.1 How Memory Operates
Retention of information over time
Memory
Brief storage of perceptual information before it is passed to short-term memory
Sensory memory
Process of keeping information in memory
Storage
Gradual strengthening of the connections among neurons from repetitive stimulation
Long-term potentiation (LTP)
Creation of inaccurate or false memories through the suggestion of others
False memory
What are the two dimensions that each type of memory varies?
Span and duration
Memory system that retains information for limited durations
Short-term memory
Process of getting information into our memory banks
Encoding
Long-term potentiation enhances the release of which neurotransmitter?
Glutamate
Emotional memory that is extraordinarily vivid and detailed
Flashbulb memories
What is the magic number, according to George Miller
7 +/- 2
System of memory into which all the information is placed to be kept more or less permanently
Long-term memory
Reactivation or reconstruction of experiences from our memory stores
Retrieval
Inability to encode new memories from our experiences
Anterograde amnesia
Creation of fictitious memories by providing misleading information about an event after it takes place
Misinformation effect
Memory retrieval problem that occurs when older information prevents or interferes with the retrieval of newer information
Proactive interference
Visual sensory memory
Iconic memory
Organized knowledge structure or mental model that we've stored in memory
Schema
Anterograde amnesia is the primary memory difficulty for this disease
Alzheimer's disease
Imaging an event inflates confidence in the likelihood that it occurred
Imagination inflation
Tendency to remember information at the beginning of a list especially well
Primacy effect
Our knowledge about the facts of the world
Semantic memory
Psychologists assess people's memory in three major ways, what are they? (hint: the 3 R's)
Recall, recognition, and relearning
Which part of the brain plays an important role in remembering the emotional content of the memory?
Amygdala
Lack of clarity about the origin of a memory
Source monitoring confusion