Memory: Encoding, Storage, Retrieval

Study Notes

Sensory Memory is a super short memory of what was just seen or heard, like seeing a bright light flash and briefly recalling the image
Short-term Memory holds a small amount of info briefly before it's stored or forgotten, like remembering a Wi-Fi password a waiter just told you but forgetting it shortly after
Long-term Memory is a limitless storage for memories that can last a lifetime, like remembering childhood teachers
Working Memory is a type of short-term memory that helps you actively process information, like solving a math problem in your head

Explicit Memory involves memories of facts and events
Semantic Memory is memory for facts and general knowledge, like naming US presidents
Episodic Memory is memory for personal experiences, such as remembering a family vacation
Implicit Memory involves unconscious memories, such as skills and habits like riding a bike without thinking about balance

Automatic Processing involves remembering things without trying, like song lyrics
Effortful Processing involves learning something by focusing and practicing
Rehearsal is repeating information to remember it, like repeating someone's name when you first meet them
Memory Consolidation strengthens a memory so it sticks
Parallel Processing involves handling multiple pieces of information at once, such as watching a movie while eating popcorn

Chunking involves breaking information into smaller groups to remember it better, like splitting a phone number into groups
Mnemonics are tricks to help you remember things, like PEMDAS for math
Spacing Effect: Studying over time helps you remember better than cramming, such as studying 30 minutes a day instead of cramming
Testing Effect involves quizzing yourself to learn better, like writing down three words a teacher said earlier to test recall

Hippocampus helps store explicit memories
Damage to the hippocampus can cause difficulty in forming new memories
Memory Consolidation is strengthening a memory so it sticks
Sleeping after studying helps solidify what you learned
Flashbulb Memory is a vivid memory of an important or emotional event, such as remembering exactly where you were when you heard big news
Long-term Potentiation (LTP): Brain strengthening connections between neurons help with learning
Practicing a new language helps reinforce neural connections

Recall involves remembering something without hints, like answering a fill-in-the-blank question
Recognition involves identifying something you've seen before, like answering a multiple-choice test
Relearning involves learning something again, faster than before, like reviewing a language after years
Retrieval Cue is a hint that helps you remember something, like smelling a perfume that reminds you of a specific person
Priming is an unconscious trigger that helps you remember something, like seeing the word "yellow" and thinking of bananas
Encoding Specificity Principle says it's easier to remember something in the same setting you learned it, like recalling information better in the classroom where you studied it
Mood-Congruent Memory: Your mood affects which memories come to mind, like feeling happy and suddenly recalling fun childhood memories
Serial Position Effect means you remember the first and last things in a list best, such as recalling the first and last items from a grocery list more easily than the middle ones

Memory Trace refers to the physical changes in the brain when you form a memory
Studying strengthens neural pathways related to learning
Proactive Interference: Old info makes it hard to remember new info, for example learning a new phone number but accidentally recalling the old one
Retroactive Interference: New info makes it hard to remember old info, for example learning a new language and struggling to recall words from your first language
Repression involves pushing painful memories out of awareness, like forgetting a traumatic childhood event
Reconsolidation: When memories are recalled, they can change before being stored again
A memory of an event changes slightly each time it's recalled
Misinformation Effect: False details get mixed into memories
After hearing misleading information, a witness recalls an event incorrectly
Source Amnesia involves forgetting where you learned something
Remembering a fact but not knowing whether you read it in a book or heard it on TV
Déjà Vu is the feeling like you've experienced something before
Walking into a new place and feeling like you've been there before