Emily Hansen

June 13, 2014

PSY 1010-Su14-Campbell
MEMORY
INTRODUCTION
Memory in psychology circles can be defined as the mental capacity to encode,
store, and retrieve information (APA, 2002). While this subject has been extensively
researched and studied over the years many aspects of it remain enigmatic. Even so,
many discoveries have been made that lend clues as to how and where memory is formed
as well as later stored and retrieved. As a result of such findings, numerous memory
techniques and methods have been developed and used effectively in improving memory
retention and accessibility.
LITERATURE REVIEW
There is an exhaustive supply of literature on the science and concept of human
memory but the majority agrees that there are three major processes involved in memory:
encoding, storage, and retrieval (Cherry).
In the encoding stage, information is taken in through our senses and essentially
broken down into any relevant bits that might need to be added to the memories, ideas
and concepts that are already stored, taking what is familiar and disregarding it so only
new material needs to get added; like a complex filing system (Walsh, 2005).
The process for how the brain stores this information has been broken down into
three separate stages: sensory memory, short-term and long-term memory. During the
sensory phase all information being fed by the senses is stored for a short period of time,
no more than a few seconds. The information that stays relevant, or in other words what
we stay focused on during the sensory phase, will become stored in the active memory, or
what is widely known as the short-term memory, and the majority of this information will
only be kept from 20 to 30 seconds. The relevant bits of information that continue to hold
our attention through the short-term memory phase will then continue on to be stored
more permanently in our long-term memory, where it will reside outside of conscious
thought until such a time as retrieval is necessary, that is a time when the information is
once again needed and recalled to what is often referred to as the working memory.
It is during the recall, or retrieval process, that all the different bits of relevant
information are located and gathered together for further analysis by the conscious mind
into the working memory. This process can reasonably be broken down into two
categories: Explicit and Implicit.
The first, explicit memory retrieval, is when people consciously or intentionally
retrieve past experiences (Schacter). Different retrieval methods observed by the brain
during this process are: recall, which is accessing information without any cues needed;
recollection, the process of reconstructing a memory from partial bits of information and
using familiar frameworks to fill in any missing pieces; recognition, which involves
being able to identify the remembered information only after encountering it again; and
finally relearning, where the information is completely relearned even though it was
already learned and understood at some time previously (Cherry).
On the other hand implicit memory, also known as procedural or muscle-
memory, is retrieved without conscious recognition from the mind and is automatically
translated into action (Schacter). Meaning that the body has developed a skill or behavior
over a period of time as the result of repetition. This phenomenon may also account for
circumstances where people have retained certain skills and abilities, as well as certain
behaviors, even after conscious memory of the event responsible for them has been lost
due to brain injury, trauma and/or memory loss.
APPLICATION
Because the brain has a virtually limitless capacity for memory storage, the real
difficulty for most people comes when trying to retrieve the information, in both a timely
and applicable manner. How successful we are at this is a direct result of how the
information gets stored.
There have been many methods developed over the course of humanity to aid in
memory retention and recall with various degrees of success. I know when I was a child I
was taught to study by rote, based on the belief that continual exposure would make the
content more accessible later on. I can honestly say I dont remember much of what I
learned in that way after the tests were passed unless I revisited at some later date out of a
renewed sense of curiosity. Im not the only one this has happened to; everyone Ive ever
talked to about studying and learning has had similar experiences with this method of
memorizing and the reason behind it is quite simple.
Though the phenomenon has been acknowledge for as long as people have been
alive it has more recently been shown with more than two decades of experimental
evidence that emotions can and will enhance memory and subsequent recall (Dingfelder,
2005). Meaning that information stored in the brain with an emotive tie is far easier to
retrieve than information with no such attachment. For example, I can still remember
exactly where I was, who I was with and what I was doing when I found out my father
passed away, but ask me what I was doing last Wednesday and I wouldnt be able to tell
you without looking at my calendar.

That is why many of the more successful methods today utilize visualization and
association of some kind in an effort to create a more emotional attachment to
information needing to be remembered so that it can be recalled faster and more
accurately when it is needed in the future. New methods apply everything from color, to
pictures, word association, phonetics, numbers, visualizationthe list goes on.
CONCLUSION
I was able to learn quite a bit about this topic, both from previous research I have
done independently on how the brain works and during the more recent research that was
specifically geared towards memory for this research paper.
My whole life I have struggled with remembering names and faces, particularly
those of people I meet who fall in my own age category. More recently I decided that this
was a personal area that I wanted to do better in. Ironically though, I got so intimidated
by my seeming inability to retain that information I never actually got around to looking
at solutions for improving my approach until this opportunity presented itself.
Two of the more popular methods that I really liked learning about, and will not
only continue to use but will be sharing with others, were the memory priming, which
uses familiarity to generate an emotional response so that when the topic of interest is
encountered again the brain already has a file system ready to delegate it to for faster
access later on (Schacter); and the memory palace approach, which consists of
visualizing familiar locations, objects and routes in order to remember information based
on how it is allocated and positioned along the way (Metivier, 2013).
















Bibliography
APA. (2002). Retrieved June 2014, from American Psychological Association:
www.apa.org
Cherry, K. (n.d.). Psychology. Retrieved June 2014, from About.com:
pyschology.about.com/od/cognitivepsychology/a/memory.htm
Dingfelder, S. F. (2005, September). Feelings' Sway Over Memory. Retrieved June 2014,
from American Psychological Association: www.apa.org/monito/sep05/feelings.aspx
History.com. (2013). How Does Your Memory WOrk-Biology Psychology
Documentary. The Human Brain-How does it Work? Please Documentary Channel-
YouTube.
Metivier, A. (2013, September). Memorize Concepts Using Memory Palaces. Retrieved
from YouTube : www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUC5N9QORhM
Schacter, G. W. Introducing Psychology. Worth Publishers.
Walsh, B. E. (2005). Unleashing Your Brilliance. walsh Seminars Ltd.