AP Psychology · Unit 5
AP Psychology Memory & Cognition Terms, Defined
Memory is the unit where the material and the skill overlap: you are memorizing terms about memorizing. Use that. Every technique named here is one you can immediately apply to studying the rest of the course.
Cognition terms — heuristics, framing, functional fixedness — reward examples over definitions. Learn the scenario, and the label follows.
Study tip
Spaced practice beats cramming for nearly every kind of material. Three 25-minute sessions across three days will outperform one 75-minute block, and it's the single most exam-relevant thing this unit teaches you.
20 terms, defined
Encoding
Getting information into memory by converting it into a usable mental form.
Example: Turning a spoken phone number into a mental image of the keypad.
Storage
Retaining encoded information over time.
Example: Still knowing your childhood address decades later.
Retrieval
Pulling stored information back into conscious awareness.
Example: Recalling a definition mid-exam without any prompt on the page.
Sensory memory
A very brief, high-capacity record of sensory input lasting well under a second for vision.
Example: The trail a sparkler seems to leave in the dark.
Working memory
The limited-capacity system that actively holds and manipulates information right now — an update to the older 'short-term memory' idea.
Example: Holding three numbers in mind while adding them without writing anything down.
Long-term memory
The relatively permanent, effectively unlimited store of knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Example: Remembering how to ride a bike after ten years off one.
Chunking
Grouping items into meaningful units to expand how much working memory can hold.
Example: Remembering 1-4-9-2 as the year 1492 instead of four separate digits.
Mnemonic device
A memory aid that uses vivid imagery, acronyms, or organization to make material easier to retrieve.
Example: ROY G. BIV for the colors of the visible spectrum.
Spacing effect
Information studied in spread-out sessions is retained far better than the same time spent cramming.
Example: Reviewing flashcards 15 minutes a day for a week rather than two hours the night before.
Serial position effect
The tendency to best recall the first (primacy) and last (recency) items in a list.
Example: Remembering the first and last people introduced at a party, but not the middle five.
Explicit (declarative) memory
Consciously recalled facts and personal experiences.
Example: Naming the capital of France, or recalling your first day of school.
Implicit (procedural) memory
Memories expressed through skills and conditioned responses without conscious recall.
Example: Typing quickly without being able to name the key positions.
Retroactive interference
New learning disrupting recall of older information.
Example: Learning Spanish and then struggling to recall French vocabulary.
Proactive interference
Older learning disrupting recall of new information.
Example: Typing your old password out of habit after changing it.
Misinformation effect
Memory becoming distorted after exposure to misleading information following an event.
Example: Witnesses estimating faster speeds when asked how fast cars 'smashed' rather than 'hit.'
Availability heuristic
Judging how likely something is by how easily examples come to mind.
Example: Fearing plane crashes more than car accidents because crashes dominate the news.
Representativeness heuristic
Judging likelihood by how well something matches a mental prototype, ignoring base rates.
Example: Assuming a quiet, bookish stranger is a librarian rather than a salesperson — though salespeople vastly outnumber librarians.
Confirmation bias
Seeking and favoring information that supports what you already believe.
Example: Reading only the reviews that agree with the purchase you already want to make.
Functional fixedness
The inability to see an object being used in a way other than its usual one.
Example: Not realizing a coin can work as a screwdriver.
Framing
How a choice is worded changing the decision people make, even when the options are identical.
Example: '90% survival rate' feeling much better than '10% mortality rate.'
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