Memory Awareness : The Importance Of Memory

In the section “Tips from the Science of Memory-for Studying and for Life”, found in our textbook, “Experience Psychology”, the Arthur Laura A. King discusses the importance of study habits. She addresses the skills needed to turn short-term memory into long-term memory through organizing, encoding, rehearsing and retrieving the information we study and memorize. “No matter what the model of memory you use, you can sharpen your memory by thinking deeply about the “material” of life and connecting the information to other things you know.” (King. 2013).

When we recall these memories, we re-consolidate them by reactivating the neutrons that compose our memory, which allows us to create new connections. This encourages learning by strengthening these connections and allowing them.

There are 3 necessary steps/types that are crucial to forming a lasting memory. Step 1: sensory memory, step 2: short-term memory, and step 3: long-term memory. These are the three types of memory that are needed to build a lasting memory. Sensory memory is the shortest memory in the shortest- term memory element.One of the types of memory allows you to remember information through the 5 senses. The brain will remember anything that happened from 1 second to 60 seconds using the sensory part of your memory. An example of sensory memory is: I got hit in the head with a purple yo-yo. After sensory memory comes the short-term memory. Short-term memory acts as a “scratch- pad” for temporary recall. Short- term memory holds small amounts of information. Anything something that took place in front of your eyes for longer than 60 seconds, the short-term memory section of the brain will remember it. This section of your brain will allow you to recall that information in the next few hours or days. An example of short-term memory is: time on the clock 10 minutes ago. Lastly, comes long– term memory. Long- term memory, is used to store information of a set time

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec once said “You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories.” Stanislaw Jerzy Lec’s quote relates to the theme of the importance of memory by saying that reality can fade away however memory will always stay in your heart no matter what. Scrooge knows this however doesn’t see it until the Ghost of Christmas Past shows him his past memories of Christmas. For example, the Ghost of Christmas Past shows his first Christmas all alone in his old school’s room as a child. As well as when Scrooge is shown his past Christmas with his family for the first time since his father had changed. Lastly when he enjoys his Christmas with his friends from his work with their annual Christmas party and has a wonderful time. “The Christmas Carol” displays the importance of memory.

It is very common to hear people from various age groups talk about how they feel like their memory is failing them, as they are getting older. They then begin hypothesizing that they could be suffering from early onset dementia, which then causes them to panic. A famous dramatist of ancient Greece by the name of Aeschylus once said, “Memory is the mother of all wisdom.” This quote highlights the importance of memory for it represents a part of history and provides one with a sense of past. That is important for many reasons especially for making one’s future stronger since future always takes off from the past. Hence, people’s fear of memory loss is something understandable for they cannot imagine their memory quitting them moreover the daunting effect it will have on them. Unfortunately, 47.5 million people worldwide suffer from

Persistence is an essential trait if success is desired in any learning set up. Students must demonstrate the trait of repeating certain tasks for full comprehension and grasp of concepts. The brain is always wired to forget certain concepts that might have been explained earlier. Persistence makes sure the student never hangs up their boots when they encounter a hard task. Besides grasping forgotten concepts, persistence is also efficient when dealing with practical sessions. The ability of the student to perform one task repetitively is desirable and it increases the chances of the student to permanently and fully grasp the concept (Habley, 2013).

Ryan, E. (1992). Beliefs about memory changes across the adult life span. Journal of Gerontology, 47, 41-46.

Some scientists believe that parts of long term memory are permanent while others will eventually weaken over time. (3) Long term memory can be divided into three sections: procedural memory, declarative memory, and remote memory. Procedural memory includes motor skills such as learning how to ride a bike or how to drive a car. "Such memories are slow to acquire but more resistant to change or loss." (4) Declarative memory is used to remember facts, such as names, dates and places. It is easy to learn but also easy to lose. Finally there is episodic memory, which is the record of events that a person stores throughout his or her experience. Recent studies show that these events, as soon as they occur, are sent to a temporary part of the brain called the hippocampus, and that over time they are moved to the neocortex for permanent storage. (5).

The brain uses three steps to store information in you memory system. These steps are referred to as retrieving, storing, and encoding. (“Dig Deeper” 2)The two types of memory are short-term and long-term. Short-term memory is different from long-term memory because information only lasts for a short time when you have short-term memory. (“Dig Deeper” 4) With this information, you may train your brain by taking the information you need to memorize and make it meaningful to you, just as Michael Mirski did. For example, you make take a phone number and relate it to a certain date or time. (“Dig Deeper” 6) Retrieving, storing, and encoding may depend on the strength of your memory. However, you can make your memory stronger by using certain tricks. This is how Dellis and Mirski have incredibly good

“We remember what we understand; we understand only what we pay attention to; we pay attention to what we want,” is a famous memory quote stated by an actor, Edward Bolles. Memory is a broad term that reflects different processing abilities on how humans encode, store and retrieves information. There are numerous domains in the human’s memory ability with the storage and retrieval of short-term and long-term information. For many centuries, theorist has tested recall and recognition capabilities on the human’s memory functions. Memory retention is our ability to retain experiences based on the mental process, through the organization of information through meaning, where relations between new information is associated with the previously stored

As we progress through life, it seems that simple things become difficult to recall. The question is does memory decline with age. There have been numerous debates about whether age has any correlation with memory deterioration or if our lapse in the recollection of our memories is contributed to stress we are experiencing. Another important factor that we must consider is the illnesses that are linked to memory loss such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. How does a researcher examine memory decline in humans in respect to age? Biology plays a key role in aspect to memory loss and the illnesses associated with memory loss; gender also seems to be a significant factor when discussing memory deficits.

Advancing age is commonly associated with loss of memory. The inability to maintain both short term and long term memory is serious. Learning new things or remembering familiar words and names can be quite daunting.

Memory is defined as "the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information." Our memory can be compared to a computer's information processing system. To remember an event we need to get information into our brain which is encoding, store the information and then be able to retrieve it. The three-stage processing model of Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin suggests that we record information that we want to remember first as a fleeting sensory memory and then it is processed into a short term memory bin where we encode it ( pay attention to encode important or novel stimuli) for long-term memory and later retrieval. The premise for the three step process is that we are unable to focus on too much

Memory makes us. It is, to an extent, a collection of unique and personal experiences that we, as individuals, have amassed over our lifetime. It is what connects us to our past and what shapes our present and the future. If we are unable remember the what, when, where, and who of our everyday lives, our level of functioning would be greatly impacted. Memory is defined as or recognized as the “sum or total of what we remember.” Memory provides us the ability to learn and adjust to or from prior experiences. In addition, memory or our ability to remember plays an integral role in the building and sustaining of relationships. Additionally, memory is also a process; it is how we internalize and store our external environment and experiences. It entails the capacity to remember past experiences, and the process of recalling previous experiences, information, impressions, habits and skills to awareness. It is the storage of materials learned and/or retained from our experiences. This fact is demonstrated by the modification, adjustment and/or adaptation of structure or behavior. Furthermore, we as individuals, envision thoughts and ideas of the present through short-term memory, or in our working memory, we warehouse past experiences and learned values in long-term memory, also referred to as episodic or semantic memory. Most importantly, memory is malleable and it is intimately linked to our sense of identity and where we believe we belong in the world.

Central idea: Memory is a process of the brain which is prone to certain failures, although specific steps can be taken to guard against these failures.