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Memory
Processes
Memory: the capacity for
storing and retrieving information.
Three processes are involved in memory:
| 1.Encoding Encoding is processing information into memory. We automatically encode some types of information without being aware of it. For example, most people probably can recall where they ate lunch yesterday, even though they didn’t try to remember this information. Some types of information become encoded only if people pay attention to it. Students probably won't remember everything in their textbooks unless they pay close attention to what they’re reading. |
There are several different ways of
encoding verbal information:
Structural
encoding focuses on what words
look like. For instance, one can remember whether the words are
long or short, uppercase or lowercase, or handwritten or
typed.
Phonemic
encoding focuses on how words
sound.
Semantic
encoding focuses on the meaning of
words. Semantic encoding requires a deeper level of processing than
structural or phonemic encoding and usually results in better
memory. For example, the word "rambutan" may not mean anything to
you - but if you put a meaning to it (a tropical fruit which means
"hair" in Indonesian, similar to its physical qualities), you will
probably remember it better.
2.Storage
After information enters the brain,
it has to be stored or maintained. To describe the process of
storage, many psychologists use the three-stage model proposed by
Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin. According to this model,
information is stored sequentially in three memory systems:
sensory memory, short-term memory
and long-term memory.
Sensory
Memory
Sensory memory stores incoming information but only for an instant. The capacity of sensory memory is very large, but the information is unprocessed. For example, if a flashlight moves quickly in a circle, people will see a circle of light rather than the individual points at which the flashlight is moved. This happens because sensory memory holds the successive images of the moving flashlight long enough for the brain to see a circle. Visual sensory memory is called iconic memory; auditory sensory memory is called echoic memory.
| Short-Term
Memory Some information in sensory memory transfers to short-term memory, which can hold information for approximately 20 - 30 seconds. Rehearsing can help keep information in short-term memory longer. Short-term memory has a limited capacity: it can store about seven small pieces of information, give or take a couple. A method called chunking can help to increase the capacity of short-term memory. Chunking combines small bits of information into bigger, familiar pieces. |
An example of chunking:
Can you remember the following sequence of 12
letters ten seconds later?
HO, TB,
UT, TE,
RE, DP,
OP, CO,
RN, IN,
AB, and OL?
Short-term memory cannot handle
twelve pieces of individual information. BUT these letters can be easily remember if they're
grouped into 6 familiar words: HOT
BUTTERED POPCORN IN A BOWL.
Psychologists today consider
short-term memory to be a working memory. Rather
than being just a temporary information storage system, working
memory is an active system. Information can be kept in working
memory while people process or examine it. Working memory allows
people to temporarily store and manipulate visual images, store
information while trying to make decisions, and remember a phone
number long enough to write it down.
Long-Term
Memory
Memories can be transferred from
short-term to long-term . Memories can also move from long-term
back to short-term. Long-term memory has an almost infinite
capacity, and information in long-term usually stays there for a
person’s entire life. This doesn’t mean that people will always
be able to remember what’s in their long-term memory - they might
not be able to retrieve information that's there.
| The Organization of
Memories… What would you do if you had a textbook that had no table of contents and wasn't organized in chapters? It would be very hard to find the information you're looking for. Long-term memory stores much more information than a textbook, and people would never be able to retrieve the information from it if it weren’t organized in some way. Psychologists believe one way the brain organizes information in long-term memory is by category. It can also organize it by the information's familiarity, relevance, or connection to other information. Flashbulb Memories Flashbulb memories are vivid, detailed memories of important events. For example, many people remember where they were and what they were doing when they first heard the World Trade Center had been attacked on September 11, 2001. |
3.Retrieval
Retrieval is the process of getting
information from your memory. Retrieval cues help stimulate the
process of retrieval. Retrieval cues include
associations, context and
mood.
Image Credits: Jon Christall, Francesco Rachello, slagheap, Sektor dua
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