Memory Stages

Memory is divided into three categories. These categories consist of: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory, out of these short term memory is the main focus in this essay. It has been widely researched due to interest of how much memory can be stored, how long this memory can be stored for and what information is memorised.

The multi-store model of memory (eg, Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968) claims the memory can be sectioned into three distinctive parts: sensory store, short-term store (STM) and long-term store (LTM). Eysenck and Keane (2005:190) states that data is first encountered by the sensory store, then depending on the attention given, is processed to the STM and finally - if rehearsed - continues to the LTM.

Psychology is a discipline that involves monitoring mental processes and behaviour scientifically. Psychologists try to delve into the basic functions of a person and animals cerebral activity. This usually involves studying relationships, emotions, personality and many more areas of a person or animals day to day life. Psychology tends to steer towards finding reasons for a person or animals actions in an attempt to resolve them.

Psychology is the scientific study of the mind and behavior of human beings. Some areas

McLeod (2007) describes memory as the psychological function of processing & preserving vast amounts of information such as visual images, acoustic sounds and semantic meanings. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (2009), memory involves a series of interconnected systems that serve different functions. The basic divisions of these systems are declarative and procedural memory, episodic and semantic memory and long and short term memory.

Memory in the human brain is a complex process which is easier understood by the use of theoretical constructs. Memories begin as sensory stimuli which become sensory memory which only last about one second, from there it moves into working memory which lasts for about twenty to thirty seconds and is used to process information. Within working memory there are a few separate processes, the central executive which directs attention, the episodic buffer which is a secondary storage lasting ten to twenty seconds, this area communicates with long term memory as well as the central executive. The visuospatial sketchpad which is used to visualise visual and spacial

The visuo-spatial sketchpad when planned a spatial task and it saves memory temporarily. The episodic buffer is the general store, it integrates info from the central executive, the phonological loop and the visuo-spatial sketchpad and forms long term store.

Human memory is a complex cognitive structure, which can be defined in many ways. One would argue that memory is 1.) The mental function of retaining information about stimuli, event, images, ideas, etc. after the original stimuli is no longer present. 2.) The hypothesized storage system in the mind that holds this information is so retained. A clear distinction is made between different types of memory systems and can be divided into subclasses.

According to Shiffrin & Atkinson (1969), long-term memory is defined as the processes by which information is stored in and retrieved from. The two processes involved in long-term memory are encoding and retrieval. Encoding refers to the process in which information is learned and converted into a memory representation, whereas retrieval refers to accessing previously stored information (Shiffrin & Atkinson, 1969). The two forms of long-term memory are declarative or explicit memory and non-declarative or implicit memory. Declarative memory (DM) refers to subsystems of long-term memory that can be deliberately, intentionally or consciously recollected. These subsystems are known as episodic memory and semantic memory (Squire, 1992). Episodic memory is defined as the long-term memory subsystem that stores information about past events, occurrences or episodes related to an individual 's life and is used to recall such events or episodes. Semantic memory is a long term memory system that stores and recollects facts and general knowledge (Squire & Zola, 1998). Recognition or recall tasks are usually used to measure DM (Wagner et al, 1998). Non-declarative memory (NDM) refers to the memory subsystem that impacts recent perceptions and behaviour without knowledge, consciousness and intent. The subsystem within NDM involved in long-term memory is known as procedural memory (Squire, 1992).The NDM of skills is termed as procedural memory. The process involves learning a skill or

Procedural memory is not conscious and is often difficult to put into words. It involves things that our bodies do without our thinking about how we do them. Procedural memory can include things such as knowing how to tie your shoes, how to play a musical instrument or how to drive a car. Procedural memory is also called implicit memory. Sensory, Working, Temporary and Long-Term Memory Zhang created a model of how we process memories.

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).

Psychology is the scientific study of behavior and mental processes (Feldman, 2013, p.5). The simplistic definition is actual very complex, as it includes a persons thought, emotions, perceptions, reasoning process, memories, and their biological activates that maintain their bodily functions (Feldman, 2013, p.5). Psychologists use the scientific method in order to describe, predict, and explain human behavior (Feldman, 2013, p.5). This is done to achieve an understanding of what or why a person does what they do, in order to help people improve their lives, with out the need for speculation.

There are many proposed divisions and sub-divisions of human memory, such as working memory, procedural memory, semantic memory or episodic memory. Many of the systems seem to overlap, with each having varying functions related to the maintenance of

In this system there are three separate components that combine to enable us to process memories. These three components of memory are sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory (Reisberg, 2013). Of the three, sensory memory has the shortest time-span in our memory lasting roughly 300 milliseconds. The purpose of the sensory memory is to interpret the sensations coming to the body, and then transfer them to short term if there is enough attention placed on them (Reisberg, 2013). Short-term memory has a longer time-span in which it can be remembered. In short term memory we are able to remember 7 items +/- 2. These items can be remembered for up to a minute and that length of time can be increased if they are rehearsed. Rehearsal allows memories to be consolidated and be placed in long-term memory where they can be later retrieved and placed in working memory. Long term-memory are memories that can be retrieved with a hint or cue (Reisberg, 2013)

Miller (1956) though that through short-term memory only 7 (plus or minus two) items could be remembered due to his belief that there is a certain amount of 'slots' that information can go into. This means that using this study we can estimate that 7 (plus or minus two) item will be recollected from each list using short-term memory. However if information can be grouped