GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 7 NOTES
Please make sure you review the following terms/ concepts from this chapter. This includes not
just knowing the definitions, but also that you feel confident with your knowledge of the terms/
concepts and your ability to apply them critically.
Memory – The ability to take in, store, solidify and use information. Memory is not just one
process nor is there only one type of memory
Atkinson-Schifrin memory model (sensory, short-term, long-term memory) – the
Atkinson-Schifrin model follows three types of major memory categories:
o Sensory – The part of memory that holds information in its original sensory form for
a very brief period of time, usually about half a second or less.
o Short-term – The part of memory that temporarily (for 2 to 30 seconds) stores a
limited amount of information before it is either transferred to long-term storage or
forgotten.
o Long-term – The part of memory that has the capacity to store a vast amount of
information for as little as 30 seconds and as long as a lifetime.
Sensory memory (iconic, echoic) – falls under two subcategories:
o Iconic – the storage for visual memory that allows people to visualize an image after
the physical stimulus is no longer present
o Echoic – the storage for audible memory that allows people to replicate a sound after
the physical stimulus is no longer present
, GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 7 NOTES
S
hort-term or working memory – Although short term and working memory are so similar
that some psychologists use the term interchangeably, they are not identical. Working
memory makes use of the information within short-term memory. It for this reason that not
short-term memory but working memory is associated with intellectual ability and
intelligence.
Chunking – Breaking down a list of items to be remembered into a smaller set of meaningful
units.
serial position effect (primacy, recency effects) – The tendency to have better recall for items
in a list according to their position in the list. Two different effects include the following:
o Primacy effect – the tendency to preferentially recall items at the beginning of a list.
o Recency effect – the tendency to preferentially recall items at the end of a list.
Rehearsal – The process of repeatedly practicing material, so that it enters long-term memory.
implicit and explicit memories (and brain structures involved) – two types of long-term
memory that are divided into two subcategories:
o Implicit – Also known as non-declarative memory kind of memory made up of
knowledge based on previous experience, such as skills that we perform
automatically once we have mastered them; resides outside conscious awareness.
o Explicit – Knowledge that consists of the conscious recall of facts and events; also
known as declarative memory.
CHAPTER 7 NOTES
Please make sure you review the following terms/ concepts from this chapter. This includes not
just knowing the definitions, but also that you feel confident with your knowledge of the terms/
concepts and your ability to apply them critically.
Memory – The ability to take in, store, solidify and use information. Memory is not just one
process nor is there only one type of memory
Atkinson-Schifrin memory model (sensory, short-term, long-term memory) – the
Atkinson-Schifrin model follows three types of major memory categories:
o Sensory – The part of memory that holds information in its original sensory form for
a very brief period of time, usually about half a second or less.
o Short-term – The part of memory that temporarily (for 2 to 30 seconds) stores a
limited amount of information before it is either transferred to long-term storage or
forgotten.
o Long-term – The part of memory that has the capacity to store a vast amount of
information for as little as 30 seconds and as long as a lifetime.
Sensory memory (iconic, echoic) – falls under two subcategories:
o Iconic – the storage for visual memory that allows people to visualize an image after
the physical stimulus is no longer present
o Echoic – the storage for audible memory that allows people to replicate a sound after
the physical stimulus is no longer present
, GENERAL PSYCHOLOGY
CHAPTER 7 NOTES
S
hort-term or working memory – Although short term and working memory are so similar
that some psychologists use the term interchangeably, they are not identical. Working
memory makes use of the information within short-term memory. It for this reason that not
short-term memory but working memory is associated with intellectual ability and
intelligence.
Chunking – Breaking down a list of items to be remembered into a smaller set of meaningful
units.
serial position effect (primacy, recency effects) – The tendency to have better recall for items
in a list according to their position in the list. Two different effects include the following:
o Primacy effect – the tendency to preferentially recall items at the beginning of a list.
o Recency effect – the tendency to preferentially recall items at the end of a list.
Rehearsal – The process of repeatedly practicing material, so that it enters long-term memory.
implicit and explicit memories (and brain structures involved) – two types of long-term
memory that are divided into two subcategories:
o Implicit – Also known as non-declarative memory kind of memory made up of
knowledge based on previous experience, such as skills that we perform
automatically once we have mastered them; resides outside conscious awareness.
o Explicit – Knowledge that consists of the conscious recall of facts and events; also
known as declarative memory.
