3.1 Memory

What is Memory?
Memory refers to the processes that are used to acquire, store, retain and later
retrieve information. There are three major processes involved in
memory: encoding, storage, and retrieval. Human memory involves the ability
to both preserve and recover information we have learned or experienced. As
we all know, however, this is not a flawless process. Sometimes we forget or
misremember things. Sometimes things are not properly encoded in memory in
the first place.
Memory problems can range from minor annoyances like forgetting where you
left your car keys to major diseases, like Alzheimer's and other kinds of
dementia, that affect the quality of life and the ability to function. The study of
human memory has been a subject of science and philosophy for thousands of
years and has become one of the major topics of interest within cognitive
psychology.
Definition of Memory
1. According to Magdougall, "Memory means to imagine the experience of

past events and to recognize that they are past experiences in their own right."
2. According to Stout, "memory is the ideal repetition in which the experiences

of the past are awakened in the same order and manner as they occurred
before."
3. According to Woodworth, "memory is the direct use of learned

experiences."
Phases of Memory
(i) Learning:- Memory is based only on the recording of learning or

experiences. Therefore, the first stage of memory is the learning of an object or
fact. The conscious mind does the work of learning. In this stage, the
experiences of life are imprinted in our mind in the form of mental impressions
and when necessary they come again in the present consciousness.
(ii) Retention:- It is retaining the learned text or rituals permanently in the mind
.The power to hold is found in different amounts in each person. The longer a
person holds something in his mind, the better his memory is said to be. The
holding power of the students i.e. adolescents and adolescent girls is more than
that of the adults.
(iii) Recall:- It is bringing dry experiences to consciousness .Whether a person's

memory is good or bad depends only on recalling his past experiences. No
matter how well he has learned, it is in vain if he cannot remember anything
when needed.
(iv) Recognition:- Seeing an object or a person, to tell that we have seen it

before is called identification. In other words, identity is the mental process by
which we come in contact with some object or person and tell what is or who is
the person and when we got acquainted with it. Recognition and recall have the
same relation as the mind has with the body.
How Memories are Formed?
In order to form new memories, information must be changed into usable form,
which occurs through the process known as encoding. On the information has
been successfully encoded, it must be stored in memory for later use.
Much of this stored memory lies outside of our awareness most of the time,
except when we actually need to use it. The retrieval process allows us to bring
stored memories into conscious awareness.
Types of Memory
1. Sensory Memory
Sensory memory refers to the brief storage of sensory information. Sensory

memory is a memory buffer that lasts only very briefly and then, unless it is
attended to and passed on for more processing, is forgotten. The purpose of
sensory memory is to give the brain some time to process the incoming
sensations, and to allow us to see the world as an unbroken stream of events
rather than as individual pieces.
2. Short-Term Memory
Most of the information that gets into sensory memory is forgotten, but
information that we turn our attention to, with the goal of remembering it, may
pass into short-term memory. Short-term memory (STM) is the place where
small amounts of information can be temporarily kept for more than a few
seconds but usually for less than one minute. Information in short-term memory
is not stored permanently but rather becomes available for us to process, and the
processes that we use to make sense of, modify, interpret, and store information
in STM are known as working memory.
3. Long-term Memory
We store a vast majority of our memories in our long-term memory. Any

memory we can still recall after 30 seconds could classify as long-term
memory. These memories range in significance—from recalling the name of a
friendly face at your favorite coffee shop to important bits of information like a
close friend’s birthday or your home address.
There is no limit to how much our long-term memory can hold and for how
long. We can further split long-term memory into two main categories: explicit
and implicit long-term memory.
Explicit Long-term Memory
Explicit long-term memories are memories we consciously and deliberately

took time to form and recall. Explicit memory holds information such as your
best friend’s birthday or your phone number. It often includes major milestones
in your life, such as childhood events, graduation dates, or academic work you
learned in school.
In general, explicit memories can be episodic or semantic.
 Episodic memories are formed from particular episodes in your life.

Examples of episodic memory include the first time you rode a bike or
your first day at school.
 Semantic memories are general facts and bits of information you
absorbed over the years. For instance, when you recall a random fact
while filling in a crossword puzzle, you pull it from your semantic
memory.
Implicit Long-term Memory
We are not as deliberate with forming implicit memories as we are with explicit
ones. Implicit memories form unconsciously and might affect the way a person
thinks and behaves.
Implicit memory often comes into play when we are learning motor skills like
walking or riding a bike.
Methods of Memorization
Having a better memory is also an important skill to have at work. Whether it’s
remembering the name of someone you met at a conference or recalling figures
or dates during a meeting with your team, a good memory is good for business.
Our brain memorizes information in four steps: attention, encoding, storage, and
retrieval.
1. Attention:- Let’s say you’re in a meeting and one of your colleagues pitches
a marketing idea. The information enters your brain through sensory receptors.
They will hold on to this information for mere seconds while your brain filters it
and hopefully deems it important. Only when you consciously perceive
information, will it be passed onto the next step.
2. Encoding:- It looks like your colleague’s pitch was good because your brain
is now encoding the information. In this step, it will either be moved into your
short-term memory or working memory. Your short-term memory will hold the
information for a few seconds, while in your working memory, you can retain it
for up to 20 minutes. This can be helpful when solving a math problem or
cleaning up an Excel sheet but it won’t help you recall your colleague’s pitch
during the client call next Thursday.
3. Storage:- Moving information from your short-term memory into your long-
term memory is an active step. Your brain can’t make this decision for you,
you’ll have to memorize it using a technique that works for you—but we’ll get
to that in a minute.
4. Retrieval:- How you pay attention, encode, and store information will affect
how well you can retrieve it at a later point in time. The more time that passes
between the last two steps, storage and retrieval, the more important it is to
revisit and review the information frequently so it stays fresh in your mind.
Factors Affecting Memory
Factors that Influence Memory Process in Humans are as follows:

1. Ability to retain:- This depends upon good memory traces left in the brain
by past experiences.
2. Good health:- A person with good health can retain the learnt material better
than a person with poor health.
3. Age of the learner:- Youngsters can remember better than the aged.
4. Maturity:- Very young children cannot retain and remember complex

material.
5. Will to remember:- Willingness to remember helps for better retention.
6. Intelligence:- More intelligent person will have better memory than a dull
person.
7. Interest:- If a person has more interest, he will learn and retain better.
8. Sleep or rest:- Sleep or rest immediately after learning strengthens

connections in the brain and helps for clear memory.

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What is Memory?

1. According to Magdougall, "Memory means to imagine the experience of

2. According to Stout, "memory is the ideal repetition in which the experiences

3. According to Woodworth, "memory is the direct use of learned

(i) Learning:- Memory is based only on the recording of learning or

(iii) Recall:- It is bringing dry experiences to consciousness .Whether a person's

(iv) Recognition:- Seeing an object or a person, to tell that we have seen it

How Memories are Formed?

Sensory memory refers to the brief storage of sensory information. Sensory

We store a vast majority of our memories in our long-term memory. Any

Explicit Long-term Memory

Explicit long-term memories are memories we consciously and deliberately

In general, explicit memories can be episodic or semantic.

 Episodic memories are formed from particular episodes in your life.

Implicit Long-term Memory

Factors Affecting Memory

Factors that Influence Memory Process in Humans are as follows:

4. Maturity:- Very young children cannot retain and remember complex

5. Will to remember:- Willingness to remember helps for better retention.

8. Sleep or rest:- Sleep or rest immediately after learning strengthens

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