1. SOSC 2
GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 5: Memory
Explicit memory – memory that clearly and distinctly
expresses (explicates) specific information.
Episodic memory – memories of events that happen to a
person or that take place in the person’s presence.
Semantic memory – general knowledge, as opposed to
episodic memory.
Implicit memory – memory that is suggested (implied) but
not plainly expressed, as illustrated in the things that people
do but do not state clearly.
Priming – the activation of specific associations in memory,
often as a result of repetition and without a conscious effort
to access the memory.
Retrospective memory – memory for past events, activities,
and learning experiences, as shown by explicit (episodic and
semantic) and implicit memories.
Prospective memory – memory to perform an act in the
future, as at a certain time or when a certain event occurs.
Encoding – modifying information so that it can be placed in
memory; the first stage of information processing.
Storage – the maintenance of information over time; the
second stage of information processing.
Maintenance rehearsal – mental repetition of information to
keep it in memory.
Elaborative rehearsal – the kind of coding in which new
information is related to information that is already known.
Retrieval – the location of stored information and its return
to consciousness; the third stage of information processing.
Memory – the processes by which information is encoded,
stored, and retrieved.
Sensory memory – the type or stage of memory first
encountered by a stimulus; holds impressions briefly, but
long enough so that series of perceptions are psychologically
continuous.
Memory trace – an assumed change in the nervous system
that reflects the impression made by a stimulus.
Icon – a mental representation of a visual stimulus that is
held briefly in sensory memory.
Iconic memory – the sensory register that briefly holds
mental representations of visual stimuli.
Eidetic imagery – the maintenance of detailed visual
memories over several minutes.
Echo – a mental representation of an auditory stimulus
(sound) that is held briefly in sensory memory.
Echoic memory – the sensory register that briefly holds
mental representations of auditory stimuli.
Short-term memory – the type or stage of memory that can
hold information for up to a minute or so after the trace of
the stimulus decays; also called working memory.
Working memory – another term for short-term memory.
Serial-position effect – the tendency to recall more
accurately the first and last items in a series.
Chunk – a stimulus or group of stimuli that are perceived as a
discrete piece of information.
Displace – in memory theory, to cause information to be lost
from short-term memory by adding new information.
Long-term memory - the type or stage of memory capable of
relatively permanent storage.
Repression – in Freud’s psychodynamic theory, the ejection
of anxiety-evoking ideas from conscious awareness.
Schema – a way of mentally representing the world, such as a
belief or an expectation, that can influence perception of
persons, objects, and situations.
Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon – the feeling that
information is stored in memory although it cannot be readily
retrieved; also called the feeling-of-knowing experience.

2. Context-dependent memory – information that is better
retrieved in the context in which it was encoded and stored,
or learned.
State-dependent memory – information that is better
retrieved in the physiological or emotional state in which it
was encoded and stored, or learned.
Nonsense syllables – meaningless sets of two consonants,
with a vowel sandwiched in between, that are used to study
memory.
Paired associates – nonsense syllables presented in pairs in
experiments that measure recall.
Method of savings – a measure of retention in which the
difference between the number of repetitions originally
required to learn a list and the number of repetitions
required to relearn the list after a certain amount of time has
elapsed is calculated.
Savings – the difference between the number of repetitions
originally required to learn a list and the number of
repetitions required to relearn the list after a certain amount
of time has elapsed.
Interference theory – the view that we may forget stored
material because other learning interferes with it.
Retroactive interference – the interference of new learning
with the ability to retrieve material learned previously.
Proactive interference – the interference by old learning with
the ability to retrieve material learned recently.
Dissociative amnesia – loss of memory of personal
information that is thought to stem from psychological
conflict or trauma.
Infantile amnesia – inability to recall events that occur prior
to the age of three or so; also termed childhood amnesia.
Hippocampus – a structure in the limbic system that plays an
important role in the formation of new memories.
Anterograde amnesia – failure to remember events that
occurred after physical trauma because of the effects of the
trauma.
Retrograde amnesia – failure to remember events that
occurred prior to physical trauma because of the effects of
the trauma.
Engram – an assumed electrical circuit in the brain that
corresponds to a memory trace.
Long-term potentiation (LTP) – enhanced efficiency in
synaptic transmission that follows brief, rapid stimulation.
Misinformation effect – the shaping of bogus or slanted
memories by providing inaccurate information as, for
example, in the form of “leading questions.”
References:
Feldman, R. S. (2010). Understanding Psychology. 9th Edition. McGraw Hill
Companies, Inc.
Morris, C.G.,et al. (2007). Psychology Concepts and Applications. Pearson
Education, Inc. New Jersey.
Rathus, S. (2014). Psychology. 3rd edition. Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd.
Philippines.
Prepared by:
Mrs. Maria Angela L. Diopol
Instructor