MCAT Psychological Social Foundations Flashcards: 6b Memory Encoding Storage Retrieval

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This deck focuses on 6b Memory Encoding Storage Retrieval, giving you a quick way to review the definitions, rules, and examples that matter most for MCAT Psychological Social Foundations.

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Flashcard 1: What is the Atkinson–Shiffrin (modal) model's three memory stores?

Answer: Sensory memory, short-term memory, long-term memory. Sequential stages where information flows from sensory to permanent storage.

Flashcard 2: What is the primacy effect attributed to in memory research?

Answer: More rehearsal leads to better encoding into long-term memory. Early items get extra rehearsal time before new items arrive.

Flashcard 3: What is the Atkinson–Shiffrin (modal) model sequence of memory stores?

Answer: Sensory memory  short-term memory  long-term memory. Information flows sequentially through three distinct memory systems.

Flashcard 4: What component of working memory is responsible for attentional control and coordination?

Answer: Central executive. Directs attention and coordinates subsystem activities.

Flashcard 5: What is the central executive in Baddeley's working memory model?

Answer: Attentional control system coordinating working memory processes. Directs attention and coordinates subsystems.

Flashcard 6: What is working memory in the information-processing model?

Answer: Active, limited-capacity system for holding and manipulating info. Temporarily holds info you're consciously thinking about.

Flashcard 7: What is maintenance rehearsal?

Answer: Rote repetition to keep information active in STM. Simple repetition prevents decay but doesn't create lasting memories.

Flashcard 8: Which brain structure is most critical for forming new explicit (declarative) memories?

Answer: Hippocampus (medial temporal lobe). Consolidates new declarative memories from STM to LTM.

Flashcard 9: Which retrieval principle states that matching internal state or context improves recall?

Answer: Encoding specificity (state-dependent and context-dependent retrieval). Memory best when retrieval conditions match encoding conditions.

Flashcard 10: What is rehearsal, and which type best supports long-term retention?

Answer: Repeated processing; elaborative rehearsal best supports LTM. Meaningful processing creates stronger memory traces.

Flashcard 11: What is the visuospatial sketchpad in Baddeley and Hitch working memory model?

Answer: Subsystem that maintains visual and spatial information. Processes visual imagery and spatial relationships.

Flashcard 12: What is the definition of encoding in the context of human memory?

Answer: Converting information into a storable memory representation. First step in memory formation, transforming sensory input into neural codes.

Flashcard 13: What is long-term memory (LTM) in terms of duration and capacity?

Answer: Relatively permanent storage with large capacity. Unlimited duration and capacity unlike working memory.

Flashcard 14: What is iconic memory?

Answer: Brief visual sensory memory lasting about $0.5$ s. Allows perception of complete visual scenes despite brief exposure.

Flashcard 15: What is maintenance rehearsal?

Answer: Rote repetition to keep information in working memory. Prevents decay but doesn't transfer to long-term storage.

Flashcard 16: What is the typical capacity of working memory (digit span)?

Answer: About $7 2$ items (often 4 chunks in practice). Miller's magic number; modern research shows fewer chunks.

Flashcard 17: What is episodic memory?

Answer: Explicit memory for personally experienced events and context. Remembering your birthday party vs. knowing what birthdays are.

Flashcard 18: What is the Atkinson–Shiffrin (multi-store) model sequence for information flow in memory?

Answer: Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory. Sequential stages with attention and rehearsal as gatekeepers.

Flashcard 19: What is chunking, and what does it primarily improve in working memory?

Answer: Grouping items; increases effective capacity. Combines multiple items into meaningful units.

Flashcard 20: What is elaborative rehearsal?

Answer: Linking new information to existing knowledge and meaning. Creates meaningful associations rather than rote repetition.

Flashcard 21: What is the difference between explicit (declarative) and implicit (nondeclarative) memory?

Answer: Explicit = conscious; implicit = nonconscious (skills/priming/conditioning). Explicit requires conscious recall; implicit operates automatically.

Flashcard 22: Identify which effect explains better recall for early list items after a delay: primacy or recency.

Answer: Primacy effect. Early items enter long-term memory through rehearsal.

Flashcard 23: Which long-term memory type stores facts and general knowledge?

Answer: Semantic memory. Stores conceptual knowledge without personal context.

Flashcard 24: What is chunking as a strategy for improving working memory performance?

Answer: Grouping items into meaningful units to increase effective capacity. Combines multiple items into single units (e.g., phone numbers).

Flashcard 25: What is procedural memory?

Answer: Implicit memory for skills and habits (how to perform tasks). Procedural memory enables automatic execution of learned actions through repeated practice, stored implicitly without declarative awareness.

Flashcard 26: Identify the effect: a word is recalled better when preceded by a related word.

Answer: Semantic priming. Semantic priming activates related concepts in memory networks, reducing response times and improving recall through spreading activation.

Flashcard 27: What is the difference between storage and retrieval in memory?

Answer: Storage = keeping info; retrieval = accessing stored info. Storage maintains info; retrieval accesses what's stored.

Flashcard 28: What is iconic memory, and which sensory modality does it primarily involve?

Answer: Brief visual sensory memory. Stores visual impressions for ~0.5 seconds after stimulus disappears.

Flashcard 29: What is short-term memory (STM) and its typical duration without rehearsal?

Answer: Temporary store; about $20$–$30$ s without rehearsal. Limited capacity system holding current information briefly.

Flashcard 30: What is priming in the context of implicit memory?

Answer: Prior exposure facilitates later processing of related stimuli. Can be perceptual (visual) or conceptual (semantic).

Flashcard 31: What is long-term potentiation (LTP) in terms of synaptic change?

Answer: Persistent strengthening of synapses after repeated activation. Enhanced synaptic transmission underlies learning and memory.

Flashcard 32: What is maintenance rehearsal, and what type of memory does it mainly support?

Answer: Rote repetition; primarily supports short-term/working memory. Simple repetition without meaning; doesn't create lasting memories.

Flashcard 33: What is procedural memory, and which broad memory category does it belong to?

Answer: Skill and habit memory; implicit (nondeclarative) memory. Motor skills operate without conscious awareness.

Flashcard 34: Which brain region is most associated with working memory and executive control?

Answer: Prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex coordinates attention and manipulation of information in working memory, supporting executive functions like planning and decision-making.

Flashcard 35: What is retrieval in the context of human memory?

Answer: The process of accessing stored information. Reactivates stored memory traces to bring them to consciousness.

Flashcard 36: What is retrieval in the context of human memory?

Answer: The process of accessing stored information. Reactivates stored memory traces for conscious use.

Flashcard 37: What is the definition of storage in the context of human memory?

Answer: Retention of encoded information over time. Maintains encoded memories in neural networks across time.

Flashcard 38: Which retrieval method is described by: "produce information without options or cues"?

Answer: Recall. Free retrieval requires generating answers from memory alone.

Flashcard 39: What is the visuospatial sketchpad responsible for in working memory?

Answer: Temporary storage and manipulation of visual and spatial information. Processes mental imagery and spatial navigation tasks.

Flashcard 40: What is maintenance rehearsal in memory encoding?

Answer: Rote repetition to keep information active in working memory. Simple repetition without meaning, less effective than elaboration.

Flashcard 41: What is the difference between explicit (declarative) and implicit (nondeclarative) memory?

Answer: Explicit is conscious recall; implicit is unconscious influence on behavior. Declarative requires awareness; procedural operates automatically.

Flashcard 42: Which encoding strategy is described by organizing items into meaningful groups?

Answer: Chunking. Overcomes working memory's 7±2 item limit by grouping.

Flashcard 43: What is iconic memory, and about how long does it last?

Answer: Visual sensory memory lasting about $0.5$ s. Stores visual afterimages for split-second processing.

Flashcard 44: What is elaborative rehearsal?

Answer: Linking new information to existing knowledge for LTM encoding. Creates meaningful connections for durable memory formation.

Flashcard 45: What is long-term potentiation (LTP) as a proposed mechanism of learning and memory?

Answer: Persistent strengthening of synapses after repeated stimulation. Cellular mechanism where synaptic connections strengthen with use.

Flashcard 46: What is storage in the context of human memory?

Answer: The retention of encoded information over time. Maintains encoded memories in neural networks over time.

Flashcard 47: Which brain structure is most critical for forming new explicit memories?

Answer: Hippocampus (medial temporal lobe). The hippocampus integrates and binds information from various cortical areas, essential for declaring new explicit memories before consolidation.

Flashcard 48: What is the difference between encoding and storage in the context of memory?

Answer: Encoding creates memory traces; storage maintains them over time. Encoding forms initial representations; storage preserves them.

Flashcard 49: What is rehearsal in memory, and which type best supports long-term retention?

Answer: Repetition; elaborative rehearsal best supports long-term retention. Maintenance rehearsal keeps info active; elaborative creates lasting memories.

Flashcard 50: What is chunking in memory, and what does it primarily increase?

Answer: Grouping items into units; increases effective STM capacity. Combines multiple items into meaningful units.

Flashcard 51: Which type of memory store holds information for milliseconds to seconds with high capacity?

Answer: Sensory memory. Brief, high-capacity buffer for raw sensory input.

Flashcard 52: What is long-term potentiation (LTP) as a mechanism of memory?

Answer: Persistent strengthening of synapses after repeated activation. Cellular mechanism where synapses become more responsive.

Flashcard 53: What is the difference between explicit and implicit memory?

Answer: Explicit is conscious recall; implicit is nonconscious influence on behavior. Explicit requires deliberate recall; implicit works automatically.

Flashcard 54: What is storage in the context of human memory?

Answer: Retention of encoded information over time. Maintains encoded memories in neural networks over time.

Flashcard 55: What working-memory subsystem temporarily stores and manipulates visual and spatial information?

Answer: Visuospatial sketchpad. Processes visual imagery and spatial relationships.

Flashcard 56: Identify the retrieval principle: recall is improved when context at retrieval matches encoding.

Answer: Encoding specificity principle (context-dependent memory). Memory improves when learning and recall environments match.

Flashcard 57: What is the spacing effect (distributed practice) in long-term memory formation?

Answer: Spaced study yields better long-term retention than massed practice. The spacing effect demonstrates that distributing learning sessions over time strengthens memory consolidation through repeated retrieval and reduced interference.

Flashcard 58: Which long-term memory type stores personally experienced events with context?

Answer: Episodic memory. Includes time, place, and emotional context of experiences.

Flashcard 59: What is the phonological loop in Baddeley's working memory model?

Answer: A subsystem that temporarily stores and rehearses verbal/auditory info. Enables subvocal rehearsal and language processing.

Flashcard 60: What is the Atkinson–Shiffrin (modal) model sequence of memory stores?

Answer: Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory. Information flows through three sequential memory stages.

Flashcard 61: What is the typical duration of short-term memory without rehearsal?

Answer: About $20$ to $30$ seconds. Without active maintenance, short-term memory decays rapidly due to interference and trace degradation, limiting its role to temporary storage.

Flashcard 62: What is the key difference between sensation and perception in memory formation?

Answer: Sensation detects input; perception organizes and interprets it. Sensation is raw input; perception adds meaning and organization.

Flashcard 63: What is chunking in memory, and what does it improve most directly?

Answer: Grouping items into meaningful units; increases effective STM capacity. Overcomes the 7±2 item limit by creating larger units.

Flashcard 64: What is echoic memory?

Answer: Auditory sensory memory lasting about $3$ to $4$ seconds. Sound echoes persist briefly after stimulus ends.

Flashcard 65: What is echoic memory?

Answer: Brief auditory sensory memory lasting about $3$–$4$ s. Enables understanding of continuous speech despite gaps.

Flashcard 66: What is the Atkinson–Shiffrin (three-stage) model of memory?

Answer: Sensory memory → short-term memory → long-term memory. Sequential flow through three distinct memory stores.

Flashcard 67: Which brain structure is most critical for forming new explicit (declarative) memories?

Answer: Hippocampus (medial temporal lobe). Damage causes anterograde amnesia, preventing new memory formation.

Flashcard 68: Which explicit memory subtype involves personal events tied to time and place?

Answer: Episodic memory. Autobiographical memories with context.

Flashcard 69: What is long-term potentiation (LTP) in the context of memory?

Answer: Persistent strengthening of synapses after repeated activation. Neural basis of learning via enhanced synaptic transmission.

Flashcard 70: What is long-term potentiation (LTP) in the neurobiology of memory?

Answer: Persistent strengthening of synapses after repeated activation. Neural basis of learning: synapses strengthen with use.

Flashcard 71: Which type of memory store holds raw sensory input for milliseconds to seconds?

Answer: Sensory memory. Brief buffer that captures all sensory input before rapid decay.

Flashcard 72: What is the levels-of-processing framework for encoding?

Answer: Deeper semantic processing produces better long-term retention. Shallow (structural) vs deep (semantic) processing affects retention.

Flashcard 73: What is the distinction between episodic and semantic memory within explicit memory?

Answer: Episodic is events; semantic is facts and concepts. Personal experiences vs. general knowledge.

Flashcard 74: What is the levels-of-processing principle in memory?

Answer: Deeper, semantic processing yields stronger, longer-lasting memories. Craik & Lockhart showed meaningful processing beats shallow processing.

Flashcard 75: What is chunking in short-term memory?

Answer: Grouping items into meaningful units to increase effective capacity. Overcomes STM limits by combining individual items into larger units.

Flashcard 76: What is the typical duration of iconic (visual sensory) memory?

Answer: About $0.5$ seconds. Visual afterimages fade extremely quickly.

Flashcard 77: What is the key distinction between recall and recognition?

Answer: Recall reproduces info; recognition identifies previously learned info. Recall generates info; recognition matches to memory.

Flashcard 78: What is the central executive in Baddeley's working memory model?

Answer: Attentional controller that allocates resources and coordinates subsystems. Directs attention and manages cognitive resources.

Flashcard 79: Which type of memory stores near-exact sensory impressions for a very brief time?

Answer: Sensory memory. First stage holds raw sensory data for milliseconds to seconds.

Flashcard 80: What is iconic memory?

Answer: Visual sensory memory lasting about $0.2$ to $0.5$ seconds. Brief visual afterimage allows processing after stimulus disappears.

Flashcard 81: What is chunking in memory, and what does it improve?

Answer: Grouping items into meaningful units; increases effective capacity. Like remembering phone numbers as 3-3-4 instead of 10 digits.

Flashcard 82: What is echoic memory?

Answer: Auditory sensory memory lasting about $3$–$4$ seconds. Stores sound echoes briefly after hearing them.

Flashcard 83: What are the three stages of the Atkinson–Shiffrin (modal) model of memory?

Answer: Sensory memory, short-term (working) memory, long-term memory. Information flows from brief sensory to limited STM to permanent LTM.

Flashcard 84: Identify the retrieval principle: Recall improves when internal/external context matches encoding.

Answer: Encoding specificity (context-dependent memory). Memory is enhanced when retrieval context matches encoding context.

Flashcard 85: What is the capacity and typical duration of short-term (working) memory?

Answer: About $7\pm^2$ items; duration about $20$ to $30$ seconds. Miller's magic number limits immediate recall without rehearsal.

Flashcard 86: What is storage in the context of human memory?

Answer: The retention of encoded information over time. Maintains encoded memories in neural networks over time.

Flashcard 87: What is the typical capacity of short-term memory in Miller's classic estimate?

Answer: About $7 \pm 2$ items. Miller's magic number for immediate memory span.

Flashcard 88: What are the two major subdivisions of explicit (declarative) long-term memory?

Answer: Episodic memory and semantic memory. Episodic stores personal experiences; semantic stores facts.

Flashcard 89: What is the spacing effect, and what study strategy does it support for durable learning?

Answer: Distributed practice yields better retention than cramming. Spaced intervals strengthen memory consolidation.

Flashcard 90: What type of encoding focuses on visual features such as shape or color?

Answer: Visual encoding. Processing based on appearance, common in recognizing objects.

Flashcard 91: What is working memory (relative to short-term memory)?

Answer: Active, limited-capacity system for holding and manipulating information. Unlike passive STM, it actively processes information.

Flashcard 92: What is the testing effect in memory?

Answer: Retrieval practice improves later recall more than restudying. Active retrieval strengthens memory pathways more than passive review.

Flashcard 93: Which option best describes the levels-of-processing theory of encoding?

Answer: Deeper semantic processing produces better long-term retention. Meaningful processing creates stronger memory traces than surface features.

Flashcard 94: Which retrieval method is described by: "identify the correct information among options"?

Answer: Recognition. Matching stored information to presented alternatives.

Flashcard 95: What is sensory memory, and what is its typical duration?

Answer: Brief initial store; iconic 1 s, echoic 3–$4$ s. First memory stage holding raw sensory input very briefly.

Flashcard 96: What is the difference between explicit (declarative) and implicit (nondeclarative) memory?

Answer: Explicit is conscious recall; implicit is unconscious learning (skills/priming). Explicit requires conscious effort; implicit occurs automatically.

Flashcard 97: What is iconic memory?

Answer: Visual sensory memory lasting about $0.5$ seconds. Brief visual afterimage in sensory register.

Flashcard 98: What is retroactive interference?

Answer: New information disrupts retrieval of previously learned information. Recent learning interferes backward with old similar material.

Flashcard 99: What is the difference between retrograde amnesia and anterograde amnesia?

Answer: Retrograde: loss of past; anterograde: cannot form new memories. Direction of memory loss differs: before vs. after injury.

Flashcard 100: What is the visuospatial sketchpad in Baddeley's working memory model?

Answer: Subsystem for temporary storage/manipulation of visual-spatial info. Processes visual and spatial information.