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What is Memory? And How Can we Enhance our Memory?

Memory
Definition of Memory through different Psychologist.
Margaret W. Matlin
Memory is the process of maintaining information over time.

Robert Sternberg
Memory is the means by which we draw on our past
experiences in order to use this information in the present.

Memory is the term given to the structures and processes involved in the storage
and subsequent retrieval of information.
Memory is essential to all our lives. Without a memory of the past we cannot operate
in the present or think about the future. We would not be able to remember what we
did yesterday, what we have done today or what we plan to do tomorrow. Without
memory we could not learn anything.
Memory is involved in processing vast amounts of information. This information
takes many different forms, e.g. images, sounds or meaning.
For psychologists the term memory covers three important aspects of information
processing:
There are three Stages of Memory:
1. Encoding or registration:
receiving, processing and combining of
received information.
2. Storage: creation of a
permanent record of the encoded
information.
3. Retrieval, recall or recoll
ection: calling back the stored information
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in response to

some cue for use in a process or activity.

1. Memory Encoding:
When information comes into our memory system (from sensory input), it
needs to be changed into a form that the system can cope with, so that it can be
stored. Think of this as similar to changing your money into a different currency
when you travel from one country to another. For example, a word which is seen (in
a book) may be stored if it is changed (encoded) into a sound or a meaning (i.e.
semantic processing).
There are three main ways in which information can be encoded (changed):
1. Visual (picture)
2. Acoustic (sound)
3. Semantic (meaning)
For example, how do you remember a telephone number you have looked up in the
phone book? If you can see it then you are using visual coding, but if you are
repeating it to yourself you are using acoustic coding (by sound).
Evidence suggests that this is the principle coding system in short term memory
(SHORT TERM MEMORY) is acoustic coding. When a person is presented with a
list of numbers and letters, they will try to hold them in SHORT TERM MEMORY
by rehearsing them (verbally). Rehearsal is a verbal process regardless of whether
the list of items is presented acoustically (someone reads them out), or visually (on a
sheet of paper).
The principle encoding system in long term memory (LONG TERM MEMORY)
appears to be semantic coding (by meaning). However, information in LONG
TERM MEMORY can also be coded both visually and acoustically.
2. Memory Storage
This concerns the nature of memory stores, i.e. 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.
There has been a significant amount of research regarding the differences
between Short Term Memory (STM) and Long Term Memory (LTM).
Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory. Miller
(1956) put this idea forward and he called it the magic number 7. He though that

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short-term memory capacity was 7 (plus or minus 2) items because it only had a
certain number of slots in which items could be stored.

However, Miller didnt specify the amount of information that can be held in each
slot. Indeed, if we can chunk information together we can store a lot more
information in our short-term memory. In contrast the capacity of LONG TERM
MEMORY is thought to be unlimited.
Information can only be stored for a brief duration in SHORT TERM MEMORY (030 seconds), but LONG TERM MEMORY can last a lifetime.
3. Memory Retrieval
This refers to getting information out storage. If we cant remember something, it
may be because we are unable to retrieve it. When we are asked to retrieve
something from memory, the differences between SHORT TERM MEMORY and
LONG TERM MEMORY become very clear.
SHORT TERM MEMORY 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.
LONG TERM MEMORY 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.
Organizing information can help aid retrieval. You can organize information in
sequences (such as alphabetically, by size or by time). Imagine a patient being
discharged from hospital whose treatment involved taking various pills at various
times, changing their dressing and doing exercises. If the doctor gives these
instructions in the order which they must be carried out throughout the day (i.e. in
sequence of time), this will help the patient remember them.

Sensory memory:
Sensory memory holds sensory information for less than one second after an
item is perceived. The ability to look at an item and remember what it looked like
with just a split second of observation, or memorization, is the example of sensory
memory.
Humans have five main Senses:
Vision, Hearing, Taste, Smell, Touch.

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Sensory memory (SM) allows individuals to retain impressions of sensory

information after the original stimulus has ceased.

There are three types of Sensory Memories exist.

Iconic memory is a fast decaying store of visual information; a type of sensory
memory that briefly stores an image which has been perceived for a small duration.
Echoic memory is a fast decaying store of auditory information, another type of
sensory memory that briefly stores sounds that have been perceived for short
durations.
Haptic memory is a type of sensory memory that represents a database for touch
stimuli.

Short-term memory:
Short-term memory allows recall for a period of several seconds to a minute
without rehearsal. Its capacity is also very limited.
Short-term memory ("primary memory" or "active memory") is the capacity
for holding a small amount of information in mind in an active, readily available state
for a short period of time. The duration of short-term memory (when rehearsal or
active maintenance is prevented) is believed to be in the order of seconds. A
commonly mentioned capacity is 7 2 elements.
Short-term memory should be distinguished from working memory, which
refers to structures and processes used for temporarily storing and manipulating
information

Long-term memory:
The storage in sensory memory and short-term memory generally has a strictly
limited capacity and duration, which means that information is not retained
indefinitely. By contrast, long-term memory can store much larger quantities of
information for potentially unlimited duration (sometimes a whole life span). Its
capacity is immeasurably large. For example, given a random seven-digit number we
may remember it for only a few seconds before forgetting, suggesting it was stored in
our short-term memory. On the other hand, we can remember telephone numbers for
many years through repetition; this information is said to be stored in long-term
memory.
While short-term memory encodes information acoustically, long-term memory
encodes it semantically: In 1966 Baddeley discovered that, after 20 minutes, test
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subjects had the most difficulty recalling a collection of words that had similar
meanings (For Example: big, large, great, huge) long-term. Another part of long-term
memory is episodic memory, "which attempts to capture information such as 'what',
'when' and 'where". With episodic memory, individuals are able to recall specific
events such as birthday parties and weddings

Forgotten or Retention:
Forgotten:
Memory researchers certainly havent forgotten Hermann Ebbinghaus, the
first person to do scientific studies of forgetting, using himself as a subject. He spent
a lot of time memorizing endless lists of nonsense syllables and then testing himself
to see whether he remembered them. He found that he forgot most of what he learned
during the first few hours after learning it. Later researchers have found that
forgetting doesnt always occur that quickly. Meaningful information fades more
slowly than nonsense syllables.

Retention:
Retention is an opposite of forget.
Enhancing Memory
In spite of all these reasons for forgetting, people can still remember a vast amount of
information. In addition, memory can be enhanced in a variety of ways, including
rehearsal, overlearning, distributed practice, minimizing interference, deep
processing, organizing information, mnemonic devices, and visual imagery.
Rehearsal:
Practicing material helps people remember it. The more
people rehearse information, the more likely they are to remember that information.
Overlearning:
Overlearning, or continuing to practice material even after it is learned, also
increases retention.

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Distributed Practice:
Learning material in short sessions over a long period is called distributed
practice or the spacing effect. This process is the opposite of cramming, which is
also called massed practice. Distributed practice is more effective than cramming
for retaining information.
Minimizing Interference
People remember material better if they dont learn other, similar material
right before or soon after their effort. One way to minimize interference is to sleep
after studying material, since people cant learn new material while sleeping.
Deep Processing
People also remember material better if they pay attention while learning it and
think about its meaning rather than memorize the information by rote. One way to
process information deeply is to use a method called elaboration. Elaboration
involves associating the material being learned with other material. For example,
people could associate the new material with previously learned material, with an
anecdote from their own lives, with a striking example, or with a movie they recently
saw.
Organizing Material
Organizing material in a coherent way helps people to remember it:

Organizing material hierarchically or in categories and subcategories can be

particularly helpful. The way an outline is organized, for example, usually helps
people to remember the material in it.

Chunking material into segments is also helpful. People often remember long
strings of numbers, such as social security numbers, by chunking them into
two-, three-, or four-digit segments.

Mnemonics
Mnemonics are strategies for improving memory. Different kinds of
mnemonics include acronyms, acrostics, the narrative method, and rhymes.
Acronyms
Acronyms are words made out of the first letters of several words. For
example, to remember the colors of the spectrum, people often use the name ROY G.
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BIV, which gives the first letters of the colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue,
indigo, and violet in the right order.
Acrostics
Acrostics are sentences or phrases in which each word begins with a letter that
acts as a memory cue. For example, the rather strange phrase Roses on yachts grow
better in vinegar also helps to remember the colors of the spectrum.
Narrative methods
Narrative methods involve making up a story to remember a list of words.
For example, people could remember the colors of the rainbow in the right order by
making up a short story such as this: Red Smith stood next to an orange construction
cone and flagged down a yellow cab. He told the cabbie he was feeling
very green and asked to be taken to a hospital. The cabbie took him to a hospital,
where a nurse in a blue coat guided him to a room with indigo walls. He smelled
a violet in a vase and passed out.
Rhymes
Rhymes are also good mnemonics. For example, the familiar rhyme that
begins, Thirty days has September . . . is a mnemonic for remembering the number
of days in each month.
Visual Imagery
Some well-known memory improvement methods involve using visual
imagery to memorize or recall lists.
Method of Loci
When using the method of loci, people might picture themselves walking
through a familiar place. They imagine each item on their list in a particular place as
they walk along. Later, when they need to remember their list, they mentally do the
walk again, noting the items they imagined along the path.
The Link Method
To use the link method, people associate items on a list with each other. For
example, if a man wants to remember to buy bread, juice, and carrots at the store, he
might try visualizing the peculiar image of himself eating a juice-and-bread mush
using carrots as chopsticks.

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Peg Word Method

When using the peg word method, people first remember a rhyme that
associates numbers with words: one is a bun, two is a shoe, three is a tree, four is a
door, five is a hive, six is sticks, seven is heaven, eight is a gate, nine is swine, and
ten is a hen. They then visualize each item on their list being associated with a bun, a
shoe, a tree, and so on. When they need to remember the list, they first think of a bun,
then see what image its associated with. Then they think of a shoe, and so forth.

Muhammad Riaz