Types of MemorySensory memory: Holds info from senses very briefly (less than a second); very limited capacity.
Short-term memory: Holds info for ~20–30 seconds; can store ~7 ± 2 items.
Working memory: Actively processes & manipulates info; more than just short-term storage.
Long-term memory: Huge capacity; can last a lifetime.
Declarative (explicit) memory: Facts & events you can consciously recall.
Episodic: Personal events (e.g., your 10th birthday).
Semantic: Facts & knowledge (e.g., capital of France).
Autobiographical: Memory of your own life history.
Implicit memory: Automatic memories not consciously recalled.
Procedural memory: Skills & habits (e.g., riding a bike).
Memory ProcessesEncoding: Transforming info into memory.
Automatic encoding: Info enters memory without effort.
Effortful encoding: Requires attention & conscious effort.
Rehearsal: Repeating info to keep it in memory.
Distributed rehearsal: Spacing practice over time → better retention.
Testing effect: Practicing retrieval improves memory more than rereading.
Primacy & recency effects:
Primacy: Remember first items best.
Recency: Remember last items best (only if tested immediately).
Other encoding strategies:
Sleep improves memory consolidation.
Mnemonics: Memory aids (e.g., acronyms).
Chunking: Grouping items into larger units.
Semantic encoding: Focusing on meaning.
Self-reference effect: Linking info to yourself improves memory.
Where memories are stored:
According to Karl Lashley: distributed throughout the cortex.
RetrievalRecall: Pulling info from memory without cues.
Recognition: Identifying info you've seen before.
Relearning: Learning info faster a second time.
Priming: Exposure to one stimulus influences response to another.
State-dependent retrieval: Memory is better if your internal state matches learning.
Context-dependent retrieval: Memory is better if physical context matches learning.
ForgettingEncoding failure: Info never properly encoded → forgotten.
Storage decay: Memory fades over time (Ebbinghaus → forgetting curve).
Retrieval failure: Info stored but inaccessible.
Interference:
Proactive interference: Old info blocks new info.
Retroactive interference: New info blocks old info.
Amnesia: Loss of memory.
Anterograde amnesia: Cannot form new memories.
Retrograde amnesia: Cannot recall old memories.
Memory InaccuraciesMisinformation effect: Memories altered by misleading info (Loftus car accident study).
Imagination effect: Imagining events makes you think they happened (Loftus Lost-in-the-Mall study).
Source misattribution: Remember info but forget where it came from (e.g., thinking a friend told you something when it was on TV).