Storage: is the process that includes maintaining or keeping information (memories) available.
Rehearsal: is an important process when it comes to the storage of our memories. It is a process that includes, verbalizing, thinking about, or acting on/transforming information in an attempt to keep it active within the memory.
There are two types of rehearsal: maintenance and elaborative rehearsal.
Maintenance Rehearsal - repetition of information or little or no interpretation, such as memorizing.
Elaborative Rehearsal - unlike maintenance rehearsal, elaborative rehearsal involves repetition AND analysis in which the stimulus may be associated or linked to other information and further processing.
Example: when you're trying to remember something, thinking about something that is related to the topic helps you remember more and is more beneficial. It is a more deep level of analysis.
Retrieval: is the process where stored information is recovered from our memory.
Retention of information can be retrieved in three ways: 1. Recall 2. Recognition. 3. Relearning
Recall: can be used for short answers
Recognition: used for multiple choice
Relearning: when you learn something a neuropathway is created. When a pathway is pruned (getting rid of) you comprehend quicker when relearning that topic because of the pathway that was originally created.
example: relearning is procedural learning, it eventually becomes automatized.
example: recognizing an answer to a multiple choice answer that you studied.
Common reasons for forgetting memories can be linked to: Decay and Interference.
Another reason for forgetting memories can because of False Memories or motivated forgetting which is linked to the repression of a memory.
A medical reason for forgetting memories: Amnesia (forgetting)
Decay - is the loss of information from memory as result of disuse and the passing of time.
Interferrence - suppression of one bit of information by another bit of information that was received earlier/later or it can be due to the confusion of two pieces of information. It can be harder to unlearn something that you don't fully understand.
Example: when information is similar, like math equations, similar confusion arises.
Example: if you are not actively recollecting information, it is decayed. If you do not use it, you lose it. Similar to learning a new topic in school and then never going back to recollect the knowledge you had obtained.
The curve of forgetting When you learn information and process it right away, you forget it later.
To avoid this - distributed practice and rehearsing as you go is beneficial and worth it in the long run.
It is essentially a storage mechanism that keeps a permanent record. The duration and capacity of our long-term memory to remember the meaningful memories is endless. The more information we remember, the easier it is to acquire new knowledge.
Example:: this can be seen with trivia games, or anything that is meaningful whether it is fact or fiction.
Explicit v. Implicit
Explicit: is a conscious memory that an individual is aware of. ex: Example: this memory may or may not be true
Implicit: is a memory an individual is not aware of possessing. It can be considered as an almost unconscious process, implicit memories occur almost automatically. ex: skills that are not natural.
Types of Long/Term Memory: procedural and declarative.
Procedural memory: are unconscious once they are learned - memory for skills which includes our preceptual, motor and cognitive skulls which are all required when completing tasks.
Declarative memory: is memory for specific information. There are two types: Episodic which is: memory for specific personal events/situations. Then there is Semantic which is the memory of ideas, rules, words, and general concepts.
For example: knowing how to act accordingly in a restaurant.
For example: tasks that are completed are automatized, like riding a bike, driving, or saying thank you when someone opens the door for you.
Our sensory memory id our initial memory phase and 99% of of all initial memories are discarded, this is because our brain would go into overdrive from all of the sensory input. The remaining 1% is our initial processing and working memory.
Our working memory is a storage compartment that holds current or recently acquired information temporarily for our immediate/short term use. Our working memory used to be known as our short term memory but it is now more commonly known as working memory. The duration of our working memory is only about 20 seconds, this capacity is a lot smaller than our sensory memory but the duration of working memory is much longer.
Consolidation is the process that includes changing a short-term memory (aka working memory) into a longterm memory. This is when the hippocampus comes in because it is responsible for the consolidation of memory.
Research suggests that memory is more enhanced by distributed practice as opposed to mass practice. An example of this can be: studying for about an hour very night over the course
example: the curve of forgetting - as more time passes, you forget. This is when recognition comes in, instead of studying lists and concepts, think more about the process behind the concept, making connections with your applications .
Primacy Effect - is essentially "coming first" - the more accurate recall of items presented first in a series.
Recency Effect - is essentially "recently" - the most accurate recollection of items presented last in a series.
Example: you're more likely to remember the last couple items on your grocery list rather than the items in the middle. It is based on the position of items within the list and the probability of remembering them. :
Example: you're more likely torememeber the first couple items on your grocery list.
There are two types of amnesia: 1. retrograde and 2. Anteriorgrade
Retrograde Amnesia: loss of memory for events and experiences that happened before the amnesia
Anteriorgrade Amnesia: loss of memory for events and experiences that occurred after the amnesia