Memory and Cognition Terms

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Anterograde Amnesia

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A condition in which a person is unable to create new memories after an event that caused amnesia.

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Automatic Processing

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The unconscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information.

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Central Executive

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The part of working memory that directs attention and processing.

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Chunking

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Organizing items into familiar, manageable units; often occurs automatically.

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Deep Processing

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Encoding semantically, based on the meaning of the words; tends to yield the best retention.

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Déjà Vu

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The eerie sense that 'I've experienced this before.' Cues from the current situation may subconsciously trigger retrieval of an earlier experience.

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Echoic Memory

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A momentary sensory memory of auditory stimuli; if attention is elsewhere, sounds and words can still be recalled within 3 or 4 seconds.

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Effortful Processing

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Encoding that requires attention and conscious effort.

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Elizabeth Loftus

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A cognitive psychologist known for her research on the misinformation effect and the nature of false memories.

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Encoding

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The process of getting information into the memory system—for example, by extracting meaning.