Memory

Memory is the process involved in retaining , retrieving , and using information about stimuli
, images , events and skills after the original information is no longer present . There are 4
memory stages .

Sensory memory which is the part of memory where any information is first registered Ex :
to look at an item , its inputs are briefly held approximately 0.5 to 2s , it is divided into 3
parts . Iconic memory which stores images and visual information , Echoic memory which
stores sounds and auditory information , Haptic memory which stores tactile sense of touch
like pain .

The second stage is short term memory which is capable of holding small amount of
information for a brief period of time ( 18-30s ) . Ex : listening to someone speaking and
remembering what he’s saying during the conversation .

The third stage is working memory which temporarily stores , organizes , and manipulate
information . It is divided into 3 parts . Visio-spatial sketchpad which stores and processes
information in a visual or spatial form , Phonological Loop which deals with spoken and
written material Ex : to remember a phone number , and Central Executive which deals with
cognitive tasks such as problem solving and allocates data to the subsystems , its considered
as the boss of working memory .

The last stage is long term memory which stores larger quantities of information for
potentially unlimited duration ( life-time ) such as dates of birth . It has 3 different parts :
Semantic memory which refers to knowledge about factual information such as meanings of
words , Episodic memory which is more about personal memories such as sensations and
emotions , And finally Procedural memory which is primarily involved in learning motor skills
like doing better in a task after multiple tries .

Memory is the term given to the structures and processes involved in the encoding , storage
and retrieval of information .

Memory processes :

Memory encoding takes information either as sounds or images or senses and give that
information meaning ( convert sounds and images into meaningful info ) . once it is encoded,
it can be recalled from either short- or long-term memory. The four primary types of
encoding are visual, acoustic, tactile , and semantic. Visual encoding is the process of
encoding images and visual sensory information , Acoustic encoding is the use of auditory
stimuli or hearing to implant memories , Tactile is the encoding of how something feels,
normally through the sense of touch , Semantic encoding involves the use of sensory input
that has a specific meaning or can be applied to a context .
Memory consolidation is the process where our brains convert short-term memories into
long-term ones. We only store short-term memories for about 30 seconds, so if we're ever
going to remember anything, all that information has to be moved into long-term memory.

Memory storage is the creation of a permanent record of the encoded information . This
concerns where the information is stored, how long the memory lasts for (duration), how
much can be stored at any time (capacity) and what kind of information is held. The way we
store information affects the way we retrieve it.

Memory Retrieval is the process of remembering information stored in long-term memory

and short term memory .When we are asked to retrieve something from memory, the
differences between STM and LTM become very clear. STM is stored and retrieved
sequentially. For example, if a group of participants are given a list of words to remember,
and then asked to recall the fourth word on the list, participants go through the list in the
order they heard it in order to retrieve the information .LTM is stored and retrieved by
association. This is why you can remember what you went upstairs for if you go back to the
room where you first thought about it. The first form of memory retrieval is

recognition. Memories retrieved this way are identified by the brain based on some
external cue. Basically, the mind recognizes that something is familiar, and is then able to
retrieve the memory based on that association.

recall. Recall describes retrieving a memory without any additional cues. It's simply
remembering, drawing information out of the memory banks and using it .

relearn , sometime memory can’t be recalled and even visual cues aren’t enough to spark
recognition , being exposed to the information again will promote the process of relearning .

There are two types of long term memory .

Explicit memory which stores the information that we intentionally try to remember like
remembering information for a test . There are two major types of explicit memory .

Episodic memory which includes long-term memories of specific events, such as what you
did yesterday or your high school graduation.

Semantic memory which includes memories of facts, concepts, names, and other general
knowledge.

Implicit memory which stores information that we don’t purposely try to remember
unconsciously and effortlessly . there are three general types of implicit memory: procedural
memory, classical conditioning effects, and priming.

Procedural memory refers to our often unexplainable knowledge of how to do things Ex :

Walking from one place to another and speaking with people in English .
classical conditioning effects, in which we learn, often without effort or awareness, to
associate neutral stimuli (such as a sound or a light) with another stimulus (such as food),
which creates a naturally occurring response, such as enjoyment or salivation.

priming is changes in behavior as a result of experiences that have happened frequently or

recently.

Why do we forget :

According to interference theory, forgetting is the result of different memories interfering

with one another. There are two ways in which interference can cause forgetting . Proactive
interference occurs when you cannot learn a new task because of an old task that had been
learnt or we can’t remember new memory because of old memory , Retroactive
interference (retro=backward) occurs when you forget a previously learnt task due to the
learning of a new task , or we forget old memory because of the new one .

Retrieval failure is where the information is in long term memory, but cannot be accessed.
Such information is said to be available (i.e. it is still stored) but not accessible (i.e. it cannot
be retrieved). It cannot be accessed because the retrieval cues are not present.

The Decay theory suggests that when something new is learned, a memory “trace” is
formed in the brain and over time the trace begins to fade and disappear, unless it is
occasionally used. With this theory, if information is not occasionally retrieved, it will
eventually be lost

Encoding Failure: Many memory failures occur because we fail to encode information into
our long term memory. Either because it is not processed deeply enough due to the fact it is
not meaningful enough or because our attention is on something else.

Motivated Forgetting: Repression is a motivational process is purposely trying not to

remember or forget an event occurred.

Physical injury or trauma : Anterograde amnesia is the inability to remembers events that
occurred before or after an injury or traumatic events .

Forgetting that occurs through psychological damage to the brain is referred to as organic
causes of forgetting . it causes the loss of information retrained in long term memory or the
inability to encode new information .