Memory - AP Psychology

Information only remains in our short-term memory for about 30 seconds. At the end of this time, this information is either forgotten or transferred to long-term memory.

Short-term memories are stored differently than long-term memories. Short-term memories generally include quick observations, and are only stored for 10-30 seconds. Short-term memories must be processed and stored as long-term memory in order to be accessible for any longer period of time.

Influential cognitive psychologist, George Miller, conducted a series of experiments in which it seemed that there is a "magical number seven," meaning that we can usually hold about seven items in our short-term memory at once. This has been supported by many studies, but also disputed among cognitive psychologists.

Explicit memory refers to memories that can be consciously recalled. Semantic memory is memory about facts, like that Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. The other types of memory listed are types of implicit memory, which cannot be explicitly recalled.

Iconic and echoic memory are two forms of sensory memory, which momentarily stores information from our senses before it is encoded in short-term memory. Iconic memory is the storage of what we see, while echoic memory is the storage of what we hear. Both of these functions can be improved with selective attention.

Mood-congruent memory is when we feel a certain emotion, and then are able to access memories during which we felt similarly. For instance, if we are feeling frustrated in an intimate relationship we are more likely to remember another event during which we felt that same way.

Mnemonic devices are memory aids that seek to improve recall of information. Chunking is a popular memory aid that involves organizing items into familiar, manageable units.

An episodic memory is a recollection of specific events, usually one's personal experiences. Remembering specific details is an example of semantic memory. Learning a skill, like tying a shoelace, is procedural memory. Mnemonic devices are a tool for remembering detailed information. Remembering words one doesn't understand through repetition is a prime example of rote memorization.

Iconic and echoic memories are both types of very short-term sensory memories. Remember that iconic memory is visual and echoic memory is auditory; you can see an icon and hear an echo.

As for the answer choice about memory consolidation, consolidation is the process through which a memory becomes stable in the brain and does not have to do with iconic or echoic memories.

By including math problems in between memorization and recall, the experimenters were trying to avoid rehearsal-- the internal repetition of items to extend short term memory.

As for the other answers, chunking is clustering smaller items into larger groups to aid in memory, blocking is the failure to remember something even though it's in the memory, reconsolidation is changes in the memory that can occur when a memory is recalled, and flashbulb memories are vivid memories of shocking events.

Riding a bike is a type of procedural memory, the memory of a participating in a physical or cognitive process. Procedural memories are implicit (implied) rather than explicit (conscious).

Episodic memory is the memory for events in one's life (your 10th grade birthday party), and semantic memory is the memory for facts and knowledge (the first US president).

Priming is not a type of memory at all, but rather a method of affecting implicit memories in which exposure to one stimulus affects subsequent exposure to another stimulus. An example of priming might be that exposing someone to the word "rocket scientist" before taking a science test might make them get a higher score.

Retroactive interference is when newly learned information causes people to forget old information.

Effortful processing occurs when something necessitates our conscious effort and attention to commit something to memory. This most often occurs with complex ideas or tasks and things that do not automatically catch our attention or may not immediately interest us.

Contrary to popular belief, big "cramming sessions" are not effective ways to remember material. Rather, the spacing effect phenomena demonstrates that studying things in small chunks with measured periods of time in between fosters better memory encoding.

Mood-congruent memory is the tendency to recall memories that are congruent with your current emotional state, often leading to temporarily biased views of the past. For instance, if we are mad at someone, we are more likely to remember negative memories associated with them as opposed to the potentially large amount of positive ones. This has a tendency to reinforce and perpetuate our current emotional states.

The context-dependent theory of memory posits that certain memories are more accessible in the physical place in which they were experienced. That is, they may be harder to access in areas where the memory was not experienced. This is a classic example of going back to a place and having a "rush of memories" coming back to you.

Elizabeth Loftus revealed that many memories could be planted or fabricated by using subtle ways to make people believe they remembered a particular event, such as suggesting, questioning, or making a person doubt themselves by claiming they may have repressed the memory of it.

Anterograde amnesia is memory loss for events that transpired following immediately after trauma. Retrograde amnesia refers to memory loss for events that preceded the traumatic event.

Much evidence has been uncovered for psychologists to suggest there being three ways to learning: recall, recognition, and relearning. These three forms of learning feedback into the persisted learning that makes up memory and together make up a way to measure retention (a process known as storage).

Recall is simply the retrieval of information that is not currently in your conscious awareness but was learned at a previous time. This is tested through a fill-in the blank tests, where the individual is challenged to recall information based on context.