Memory
58 flashcards covering Memory for the MCAT Chem / Phys / Psych / Soc section.
Memory is the brain's process for encoding, storing, and retrieving information, allowing us to learn from experiences and navigate daily life. It involves different types, such as short-term memory for holding information temporarily and long-term memory for retaining it over time. This ability is crucial for cognitive functions like problem-solving and decision-making, and understanding it helps explain how we form habits, recall facts, and even deal with forgetting.
On the MCAT, memory questions typically appear in the Psychological, Social, and Biological Foundations section, testing your knowledge of memory processes, theories like encoding specificity, and factors influencing recall, such as stress or interference. Common traps include confusing sensory memory with working memory or overlooking how emotions affect retention, so focus on integrating psychological concepts with biological mechanisms. A solid grasp of real-world applications, like in learning and behavior, will help you tackle these multiple-choice questions effectively.
Practice active recall to boost your own memory skills.
Terms (58)
- 01
Sensory Memory
Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory that holds sensory information from the environment for a brief period, allowing for initial processing before it fades.
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Iconic Memory
Iconic memory specifically retains visual information for about half a second to a second, enabling the perception of a complete image even after the stimulus is gone.
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Echoic Memory
Echoic memory holds auditory information for a few seconds, allowing the brain to process sounds that have just occurred.
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Short-term Memory
Short-term memory temporarily stores a limited amount of information, typically 7 plus or minus 2 items, for up to 30 seconds without rehearsal.
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Working Memory
Working memory actively holds and manipulates information for cognitive tasks, such as problem-solving, and is crucial for maintaining focus on immediate goals.
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Long-term Memory
Long-term memory stores information for extended periods, from minutes to a lifetime, and is divided into explicit and implicit types based on accessibility.
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Encoding
Encoding is the process of transforming sensory input into a form that can be stored in memory, often involving attention and association with existing knowledge.
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Storage
Storage refers to the maintenance of encoded information in the brain over time, involving neural changes that preserve memories for later retrieval.
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Retrieval
Retrieval is the process of accessing and bringing stored information back into consciousness, which can be influenced by cues and context.
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Serial Position Effect
The serial position effect describes how people remember items at the beginning and end of a list better than those in the middle due to primacy and recency.
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Primacy Effect
The primacy effect occurs when initial items in a sequence are more easily remembered because they receive more rehearsal and are transferred to long-term memory.
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Recency Effect
The recency effect is the tendency to recall the most recently presented items in a list due to their presence in short-term memory.
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Chunking
Chunking is a strategy that improves short-term memory by grouping individual pieces of information into larger, meaningful units.
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Maintenance Rehearsal
Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating information to keep it in short-term memory without adding deeper meaning, though it doesn't aid long-term retention.
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Elaborative Rehearsal
Elaborative rehearsal links new information to existing knowledge, enhancing encoding and transfer to long-term memory through meaningful associations.
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Levels of Processing Theory
Levels of processing theory posits that deeper, semantic processing of information leads to better memory retention than shallow, sensory processing.
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Semantic Memory
Semantic memory is a type of long-term memory that stores general knowledge and facts about the world, independent of personal experiences.
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Episodic Memory
Episodic memory involves recalling specific events and personal experiences from one's past, including the context and emotions associated with them.
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Procedural Memory
Procedural memory is responsible for knowing how to perform skills and tasks, such as riding a bike, and is often implicit and long-lasting.
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Explicit Memory
Explicit memory requires conscious recollection of facts and events, typically involving the hippocampus, and includes semantic and episodic types.
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Implicit Memory
Implicit memory influences behavior without conscious awareness, such as skills learned through repetition, and does not rely on deliberate recall.
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State-dependent Memory
State-dependent memory is the phenomenon where information learned in a particular physical or emotional state is more easily recalled in a similar state.
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Context-dependent Memory
Context-dependent memory refers to improved recall of information when the environmental context at retrieval matches the context during learning.
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Retroactive Interference
Retroactive interference occurs when newly learned information disrupts the recall of older memories, making it harder to remember earlier material.
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Proactive Interference
Proactive interference happens when older memories interfere with the ability to learn or recall new information.
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Decay Theory
Decay theory suggests that memories fade over time due to the natural disintegration of neural connections if they are not accessed or rehearsed.
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Interference Theory
Interference theory explains forgetting as a result of competition between similar memories, either proactive or retroactive, rather than mere passage of time.
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Tip-of-the-Tongue Phenomenon
The tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon is a temporary inability to recall a word or name, despite feeling that it is on the verge of being remembered.
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Amnesia
Amnesia is a condition characterized by severe memory loss, which can be caused by brain injury, disease, or psychological factors, affecting new or old memories.
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Retrograde Amnesia
Retrograde amnesia involves the loss of memories formed before an injury or event, while typically sparing the ability to form new memories.
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Anterograde Amnesia
Anterograde amnesia is the inability to form new memories after an event, such as a head injury, while past memories remain intact.
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Hippocampus and Memory
The hippocampus is a brain structure essential for forming and consolidating new explicit memories, particularly episodic ones, though it does not store them long-term.
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Long-term Potentiation
Long-term potentiation is a process where repeated neural stimulation strengthens synaptic connections, believed to be a biological basis for learning and memory.
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Forgetting Curve
The forgetting curve illustrates how information is lost over time if not reviewed, showing rapid initial decline followed by a slower rate of forgetting.
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Reconstructive Memory
Reconstructive memory involves piecing together stored information and inferences to recall events, which can lead to distortions or inaccuracies.
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Source Monitoring
Source monitoring is the ability to accurately remember the origin of a memory, such as whether information came from a dream or reality.
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False Memories
False memories are recollections of events that never occurred, often created through suggestion or misinformation during encoding or retrieval.
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Memory Consolidation
Memory consolidation is the process by which short-term memories are stabilized and transferred to long-term storage, often during sleep.
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Sleep and Memory
Sleep plays a key role in memory consolidation, with different stages promoting the strengthening and integration of newly learned information.
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Stress and Memory
Stress can enhance or impair memory depending on timing and intensity; moderate stress during learning may aid recall, while extreme stress can disrupt it.
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Emotional Memory
Emotional memory involves the enhanced retention of events tied to strong emotions, due to the amygdala's role in associating feelings with experiences.
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Flashbulb Memory
Flashbulb memory is a vivid, detailed recollection of the circumstances surrounding a surprising and emotionally arousing event, though not always accurate.
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Method of Loci
The method of loci is a mnemonic technique that involves associating items to be remembered with specific locations in a familiar mental space to aid recall.
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Mnemonics
Mnemonics are memory aids that use patterns, acronyms, or associations to make information easier to remember, especially for lists or sequences.
- 45
Spacing Effect
The spacing effect is the phenomenon where information is better retained when study sessions are spread out over time rather than crammed together.
- 46
Testing Effect
The testing effect demonstrates that actively retrieving information through tests enhances long-term memory more than passive review.
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Overlearning
Overlearning involves continuing to study material beyond the point of mastery, which can strengthen memory and improve retention over time.
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Transfer-appropriate Processing
Transfer-appropriate processing suggests that memory performance is best when the way information is encoded matches the way it is retrieved.
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Schema
A schema is a mental framework that organizes and interprets incoming information based on existing knowledge, influencing how memories are formed and recalled.
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Scripts
Scripts are schemas that outline the typical sequence of events in a familiar situation, helping to fill in gaps in memory for routine activities.
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Autobiographical Memory
Autobiographical memory encompasses personal life events and facts about oneself, blending episodic and semantic elements to form a life narrative.
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Prospective Memory
Prospective memory is the ability to remember to perform intended actions in the future, such as keeping an appointment, and relies on cues and planning.
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Retroactive Facilitation
Retroactive facilitation occurs when new learning enhances the recall of previously learned information, though it's less common than interference.
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Eyewitness Testimony Reliability
Eyewitness testimony reliability refers to how accurate memories of witnessed events can be, often affected by factors like stress, leading questions, and time.
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Multi-store Model of Memory
The multi-store model describes memory as a series of stages—sensory, short-term, and long-term—with information flowing through them based on processing.
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Baddeley's Model of Working Memory
Baddeley's model divides working memory into components like the central executive, phonological loop, and visuospatial sketchpad for handling different types of information.
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Phonological Loop
The phonological loop is a component of working memory that deals with verbal and auditory information, allowing for rehearsal and temporary storage of sounds.
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Visuospatial Sketchpad
The visuospatial sketchpad is part of working memory that temporarily holds and manipulates visual and spatial information, such as images and locations.