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Unlock This CourseMemory is like a complex filing system in your brain that helps you store and retrieve information. Just like a computer, your memory has different ways of getting information in, storing it and getting it back out when you need it. Understanding how memory works can help you become a better learner and understand why sometimes you forget things!
Key Definitions:
Think of memory like a factory production line. Information comes in through your senses (input), gets processed and stored in different warehouses (capacity and duration) and then gets retrieved when you need it (access). Each stage has its own special characteristics and limitations.
Information enters your memory system through your five senses - what you see, hear, smell, taste and touch. This is called sensory input. However, not all information that hits your senses makes it into your memory system.
Your brain receives thousands of pieces of information every second, but it can only process a small amount. This is where attention comes in - it acts like a filter, deciding what information is important enough to remember.
Information from what you see - colours, shapes, faces, words on a page. Visual input is often the strongest type of memory input.
Information from what you hear - voices, music, sounds. This includes the inner voice you hear when reading silently.
Touch, smell and taste can also create strong memories, often linked to emotions and past experiences.
Ever noticed how you can focus on one conversation at a noisy party, but immediately hear your name mentioned across the room? This shows how your brain selectively processes input based on what's important to you. Your attention acts as a filter, letting in relevant information whilst blocking out the rest.
Different parts of your memory system can hold different amounts of information. It's like having different sized storage containers - some are tiny but work very fast, others are huge but take longer to access.
Psychologists Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that memory has three main stores, each with different capacities:
Capacity: Huge - can hold all sensory information briefly. Like a camera flash that captures everything in view for a split second.
Capacity: Very limited - about 7±2 items (Miller's Magic Number). Like your mental workspace where you manipulate information.
Capacity: Unlimited - can store information for a lifetime. Like a vast library with infinite shelves.
Researcher George Miller found that most people can remember about 7 digits in the correct order (like a phone number). Try this: 4-7-2-9-1-6-3. Can you repeat it back? Now try: 4-7-2-9-1-6-3-8-5-2. Harder, right? This demonstrates the limited capacity of short-term memory. However, we can increase capacity through 'chunking' - grouping information together (like remembering 472-916-3 instead of individual digits).
Just as different memory stores have different capacities, they also hold information for different lengths of time. Some memories fade in seconds, others can last a lifetime.
Understanding how long information lasts in each memory store helps explain why some things are quickly forgotten whilst others stick with us forever.
Duration: 0.5-3 seconds maximum. Information in sensory memory fades very quickly unless we pay attention to it. It's like writing in the sand - the waves wash it away almost immediately unless you act to preserve it.
Duration: 15-30 seconds without rehearsal. Think about looking up a phone number - you can hold it in your mind just long enough to dial it, but then it's gone unless you repeat it to yourself.
Duration: Potentially permanent. Some memories can last your entire lifetime. You probably still remember your first day at school, your favourite childhood toy, or how to ride a bike - these are stored in long-term memory.
Researchers Brown and Peterson gave participants three-letter combinations (like XQJ) to remember, then made them count backwards by threes to prevent rehearsal. After just 18 seconds, participants could only recall about 10% of the letters correctly. This proved that without rehearsal, short-term memory duration is very brief indeed.
Having information stored in memory is useless unless you can get it back out when you need it. There are different ways to access memories and some are more effective than others.
Psychologists have identified several different ways we can access stored memories. Each method works differently and is more or less effective depending on the situation.
Retrieving information without any cues or hints. Like answering "List everything you can remember about the Second World War" - you have to generate the information entirely from memory.
Retrieving information with the help of hints or cues. Like "Name the British Prime Minister during World War Two" - the cue helps trigger the memory of Churchill.
Identifying information you've seen before from a list of options. Like multiple-choice questions - you recognise the correct answer when you see it, even if you couldn't recall it freely.
Ever had that frustrating feeling where you know you know something, but just can't quite remember it? You might know it starts with a certain letter, or how many syllables it has, but the word won't come. This shows that memories can be partially accessible - you know the information is there, but you can't fully retrieve it. Often, the word pops into your head hours later when you're not even trying to remember it!
Several factors can influence how well the memory system works at each stage - input, storage and retrieval. Understanding these can help you improve your own memory performance.
Memory isn't just about having a "good" or "bad" memory - it's affected by many different factors that you can often control.
The more attention you pay during input, the better the information will be encoded. Distractions during learning can seriously impair memory formation. This is why it's harder to remember things when you're multitasking.
Repeating information helps transfer it from short-term to long-term memory. But not all rehearsal is equal - elaborative rehearsal (thinking about meaning) works better than maintenance rehearsal (simple repetition).
Researchers Craik and Lockhart showed participants lists of words under different conditions. Some participants just had to say if words were in capital letters (shallow processing), others had to say if words rhymed (deeper processing) and others had to say if words fitted into sentences (deepest processing). The deeper the level of processing, the better the memory performance. This shows that how you think about information during input affects how well you remember it later.
Understanding input, capacity, duration and access helps explain many everyday memory experiences. From studying for exams to remembering where you put your keys, these four concepts work together to determine memory success.
Use multiple senses during input, break information into chunks to work with capacity limits, use spaced repetition to overcome duration limits and practice retrieval in different ways to improve access. Understanding how memory works makes you a more effective learner!