Memory glossary
Active processing – is where the person transforms or manipulates the material
that is to be remembered
Anxiety – state of emotional arousal where there is a feeling or experience of
apprehension and uncertainty
Articulatory process – part of phenological loop that repeats sounds or words to
keep them in working memory until they are needed
Capacity – the amount of information that an be held in memory
Central executive – part of working memory that coordinates other components
Chunking – method of increasing short-term memory by grouping information
into larger units
Coding – changing the format of information for use in memory
Cognitive interview – interview technique devised to improve the accuracy of
witness recall
Context-dependent failure – forgetting which occurs because the external cues
at recall are different to those at the time of learning
Cue-dependent forgetting – failure to recall information due to an absence of
cues or “tigers”
Duration – the length of time information remains in memory
Episodic buffer – part of working memory which is temporary store integrating
information from the other components
Episodic memory – type of long-term memory for information about specific
experiences and events in our lives
Eyewitness testimony - an account given by people of an event they have
witnessed
Forgetting – failure to retrieve memories
Inner scribe – stores information about physical relationship of items (part of
the visuo-spatial sketchpad)
Interference theory – memory can be disrupted not only by previous learning
but also by what is learned in the future
Leading question – question phrased in such a way that it prompts a particular
kind of answer
Long-term memory – permanent store holding unlimited amounts of
information for long periods
Active processing – is where the person transforms or manipulates the material
that is to be remembered
Anxiety – state of emotional arousal where there is a feeling or experience of
apprehension and uncertainty
Articulatory process – part of phenological loop that repeats sounds or words to
keep them in working memory until they are needed
Capacity – the amount of information that an be held in memory
Central executive – part of working memory that coordinates other components
Chunking – method of increasing short-term memory by grouping information
into larger units
Coding – changing the format of information for use in memory
Cognitive interview – interview technique devised to improve the accuracy of
witness recall
Context-dependent failure – forgetting which occurs because the external cues
at recall are different to those at the time of learning
Cue-dependent forgetting – failure to recall information due to an absence of
cues or “tigers”
Duration – the length of time information remains in memory
Episodic buffer – part of working memory which is temporary store integrating
information from the other components
Episodic memory – type of long-term memory for information about specific
experiences and events in our lives
Eyewitness testimony - an account given by people of an event they have
witnessed
Forgetting – failure to retrieve memories
Inner scribe – stores information about physical relationship of items (part of
the visuo-spatial sketchpad)
Interference theory – memory can be disrupted not only by previous learning
but also by what is learned in the future
Leading question – question phrased in such a way that it prompts a particular
kind of answer
Long-term memory – permanent store holding unlimited amounts of
information for long periods
