The Need for an Explanation of Human Memory Discuss the need for an explanation of human memory, which proposes that memory is a set of stages, rather than a single process. This essay is going to discuss the need for an explanation of human memory, which proposes that memory is a set of stages rather than a single process. Flanagan (1997) defines memory as "the mental function of retaining data, the storage system holding the data, and the data which is retained." It is evident from reviewing the literature that an explanation of memory as a set of stages proves to be more understandable than as a single process, the theories of memory all providing information about how memory is structured and organised and the findings from the research studies inevitably pointing in the direction of memory existing as a set of stages rather than a single process. Therefore these are the areas which are to be outlined in this essay in order to understand the need to explain human memory as a set of stages. The nature of memory can be explained as a set of stages that are necessary but not sufficient for memory to have taken place. These involve "input" -registering or encoding information, where a memory trace is formed from translating the sensory data, "storage" which is either temporary or permanent and "output" which involves retrieval - memories would be useless unless they could be retrieved. It is these stages that form the fundamental characteristics of the process of memory and in order for this to occur it is necessary for the data to become engaged in the memory structure. Memory structure can be separated into three distinct categories, sensory memory (input store) where the sensory data remains unchanged in the mind fo... ... middle of paper ... ...need for an explanation based on stages. In conclusion, the question posed was to "discuss the need for an explanation of human memory, which proposes that memory is a set of stages, rather than a single process". When trying to discuss this need it became apparent that the fact that memory is not a concrete article made it all the more important that it was explained as a set of stages. This may be because as a set of stages, the complex structure of memory is all the more understandable and the theories of memory put together a "story" of how the memory process may work. However, most if not all theories or models describe rather than explain the memory process (providing a guideline) therefore the empirical evidence is really the only key in explaining why memory is a set of stages rather than a single process and it is from these that the " need " is derived.
Human memory is flexible and prone to suggestion. “Human memory, while remarkable in many ways, does not operate like a video camera” (Walker, 2013). In fact, human memory is quite the opposite of a video camera; it can be greatly influenced and even often distorted by interactions with its surroundings (Walker, 2013). Memory is separated into three different phases. The first phase is acquisition, which is when information is first entered into memory or the perception of an event (Samaha, 2011). The next phase is retention. Retention is the process of storing information during the period of time between the event and the recollection of a piece of information from that event (Samaha, 2011). The last stage is retrieval. Retrieval is recalling stored information about an event with the purpose of making an identification of a person in that event (Samaha, 2011).
Atkinson, R.C. & Shiffrin, R.M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control process.
The second stage of memory processing is storage. Aronson et al. (2013) defines storage as the process by which people store the information they just acquired. Unfortunately, memories are affected by incoming information through alteration or reconstruction. This phenomenon is referred to as recon...
Memory is a group of related mental processes that are involved in acquiring, storing, and retrieving information (Hockenberry and Hocenberry page 232). I will be addressing two specific types of memory: short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-term memory holds temporary information transferred from sensory memory or long-term memory. Sensory memory is the first stage of memory and obtains information for a brief amount of time. Short-term memory is also called active memory and is stored in the prefrontal cortex which is the most active part of the brain during an activity. Short-term memory can hold information for roughly twenty seconds, but sensory memory holds information for a shorter amount of time. We usually store things such
"Memory is the diary we all carry about with us," Oscar Wilde once said. Now for a second imagine a life without any memories! One wouldn't be able to remember his/her name, how to look after themselves or to even recognize their own friends and family. It would be impossible to live happily without ones memories. That is why our memories are such vital points in our lives. They are the building blocks of our current selves. Due to those reasons it is very useful to find as much information regarding it as possible. For that very purpose this research paper has been written. The purpose of this research is to uncover the truth regarding how the human brain stores and retrieve memories. Throughout this research, topics such as definition of memory, types of memory, diseases resulting in difficulties with memory, as well as the most known phenomena déjàvu which is caused by a certain type of memory process will be discussed.
The main functional division among memories is between so-called ""declarative" and "procedural" memories. The former consists of what are termed "episodic" or "semantic" memories. Declarative memories are formed by events, and are brought back in specific contexts and with distinct meanings. "Procedural Memories," on the other hand, include cla...
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.
The cognitive level of analysis focuses on how mental processes such as perception, language, memory and attention influence human behaviour. Memory is an active information-processing system that receives, organises, stores and recovers information. Recall can be defined as the action or ability to remember something that was learned or experienced. Cued (or contextual based) recall refers to the way information is presented, or the situation in which information is encoded and retrieved, then recalled when the same context is presented (McLeod, 2008). Evidence on this method of memory recall indicates that retrieval is more likely when the context at encoding matches the context at retrieval.
Craik and Lockhart (1972), proposed a 'conceptual framework of memory', which accentuates the importance at which levels of new information is processed. They further emphasised that the 'depth' in which we process information whilst learning it determines how it is stored in LTM. According to Craik and Lockhart (1972), memories and information are processed better in LTM if they're semantically encoded, processed and stored. If meaning (semantic) is processed during learning then the information is more likely to be stored in LTM, in contrary to if there is no meaning added during the process. More so, for the information that is stored in our memory, there is a continuum that illustrates
Before going into depth of studying, we need to understand what the human memory is. The human memory is a system involved in the process of maintaining and processing of information over time (Matlin, 2005). The human memory is active, whereby it has the ability to receive, to process, store, change, organize and recall information (Coon & Mitterer, 2012). Without memory, we would not be able to remember what we have done in the past, nor how to operate in the present or future. Therefore, when it comes to developing an ideal study method, memory plays the most important role.
Memory is a fundamental component of daily life. We rely on it so heavily, that life without memory would be close to impossible. Our very survival depends on our ability to remember who we are, who others are, and our past experiences. Memory allows us to remember our family vacation from when we were a kid, directions on how to get to the grocery store, or who the first president of the United States was. Psychologists define memory as “the process by which we encode, store, and retrieve information” (Feldman, 2015, p. 205). Encoding can be compared to a computer’s keyboard, because it is the initial process in which information is recorded in a usable form (Feldman, 2015, p. 205). Storage is similar to a computer’s hard drive, because it is the maintenance of material for future use (Feldman, 2015, p. 205). Lastly, retrieval can be compared to a computer’s software, because it is the location and recovery of stored information (Feldman, 2015, p. 205).
According to Sternberg (1999), memory is the extraction of past experiences for information to be used in the present. The retrieval of memory is essential in every aspect of daily life, whether it is for academics, work or social purposes. However, many often take memory for granted and assume that it can be relied on because of how realistic it appears in the mind. This form of memory is also known as flashbulb memory. (Brown and Kulik, 1977). The question of whether our memory is reliably accurate has been shown to have implications in providing precise details of past events. (The British Psychological Association, 2011). In this essay, I would put forth arguments that human memory, in fact, is not completely reliable in providing accurate depictions of our past experiences. Evidence can be seen in the following two studies that support these arguments by examining episodic memory in humans. The first study is by Loftus and Pickrell (1995) who found that memory can be modified by suggestions. The second study is by Naveh-Benjamin and Craik (1995) who found that there is a predisposition for memory to decline with increasing age.
Throughout this course, I’ve learned about numerous different concepts and ideas involving the field of psychology, but the area I took the most interest in was the involvement of memory in psychology. During this course, I’ve learned that our memories are what identifies us during our youth and when we reach full adulthood and without those memories, we are lost as to who we are, and the history that defines us as well. I also learned something very interesting, those memories that leave an everlasting footprint in our minds can also assist us memorizing new content as well. The concept associated with this theory is called “The Memory Palace” or the “The Method of Loci”.
Memory can be declarative or procedural. A declarative memory would be concerned with the experiences and facts, while a procedural memory is related to skills. A declarative memory is further classified into episodic memory and semantic memory. An episodic memory is based on awareness of a previous experience in a particular situation at a particular time. It develops throughout childhood. A semantic memory is concerned with the factual knowledge about the world (Tulving 1983,1993,2002). The article initially explains the cognitive neuroscience of the development of the episodic memory formation. Behavioral evidence indicates an episodic memory emerges from childhood through adulthood. Developments in cognitive functions such as speed of
Learning to tie shoes and ride a bike requires the encoding, storing, and retrieving of past observations of the procedure. With a lot of practice, children master these skills so well that they are able to remember them the rest of their lives. Memory is the storing of information over time. It is one of the most important concepts in learning; if things are not remembered, no learning can take place. As a process, memory refers to the "dynamic mechanism associated with the retention and retrieval of information about past experiences" (Sternberg 260). We use our memory about the past to help us understand the present. The study or memory in psychology is used in different ways, as well as there are many different ways to study how memory works in humans. In psychology there are many tasks used to measure memory, and different types of memory storages that human's use, such as sensory storing, or short term storing. There are also a lot of techniques that humans use to improve their memory, which they can use to learn, such as mnemonic devices. All these things can be classified as important issues in the study of human memory and ways of learning.