Memory Vocab

Question	Answer
Processing	the operations we perform on sensory information in the brain
Input	for human memory, this refers to the sensory information we receive from our environment
Storage	the retention of information in our memory
Encoding	turning sensory information into a form that can be used and stored by the brain
Acoustic encoding	the process of storing sounds in our memory system
Visual encoding	the process of storing something that is seen in our memory system
Semantic encoding	the process of storing the meaning of information in our memory system
Output	for memory, this refers to the information we recall or our behavioural response
Retrieval	the recall of stored memories
Short-term memory	our initial memory store - temporary and limited
Long-term memory	a memory store that holds potentially limitless amounts of information for up to a lifetime
Duration	the length of time information can be stored in our memory
Capacity	the amount of information that can be stored in our memory
Rehearse	when we repeat information over and over to make it stick
Displacement	when the short-term memory becomes 'full' and new information pushes out older info
Interference	when new information overwrites older information
Amnesia	memory loss, often through accident, disease or injury
Anterograde amnesia	new long-term memories cannot be made
Retrograde amnesia	memories prior to brain injury cannot be recalled
Active reconstruction	the idea that memory is not an exact copy of what we experienced, but an interpretation or reconstruction of events that are influenced by our schema when we remember them again
Schema (memory)	a packet of knowledge about an event, person or place that influences how we perceive and remember
Omission	leaving out unfamiliar, irrelevant or unpleasant details when remembering something
Transformation	when details are changed to make them more familiar and rational
Familiarisation	when unfamiliar details are changed to align with our own schema
Rationalisation	when we add details into our recall to give a reason for something that may not have originally fit with a schema
Cognitive interview	a police interview designed to ensure a witness to a crime does not actively reconstruct their memory
Ecological validity	the extent to which the findings still explain the behaviour in different situations
Subjective	based on personal opinions or feelings
Sensory register	our immediate memory of sensory information
Attention	focus on certain sensory information
Trigram	a set of three letters that make a meaningless string of letters
Iconic memory	the sensory register for visual information
Echoic memory	the sensory register for auditory information
Modality free	not linked to a specific type of sensory information
Primary	the tendency to recall words at the beginning of a list when asked to remember it
Recency	the tendency to recall words at the end of a list when asked to remember it
Serial reproduction	a technique where participants retell something to another participant to form a chain; this is how folk stories are passed through time and culture
Repeated reproduction	a technique where participants are asked to recall something again and again
Reliable	when the outcomes of a study are consistent
Statistical analysis	mathematical calculations to see if findings could be due to chance
Standardised procedue	where the procedure of a study is the same across all conditions
Extraneous variables	variables that could affect the results of a study
Mundane realism	a realistic, everyday task
Reductionism	the theory of explaining something according to its basic constituent parts
Reductionist	the practice of reductionism
Holism	the theory of explaining something as a whole
Holistic	the practice of holism

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	Created by Caitlyn Salter about 4 years ago