Topic

Memory

LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Explain the basic concept of memory;
2. Describe the process of memory;
3. Differentiate several types of memory;
4. Explain the reasons for forgetting; and
5. Apply the techniques for improving memory.

X INTRODUCTION
It is a fact that memory is very crucial in our daily life. Just imagine living
without any ability to recall or remember anything. What will happen to us? It is,
therefore, important for us to have memory so that we can remember everyday
things such as names and faces of people, phone numbers, passwords, spellings,
appointments, where we keep our things, etc. I am sure our life would be chaotic
and disorderly if we were to lose our memory. Thus, in this topic we will discuss
the basic concept of memory, the process of memory, the stage model of memory
and types of memory. We will also look into the reasons why we are forgetful
and the ways we can improve our memory.

ACTIVITY 6.1
Before we discuss any further, search for information on the concept
and definition of memory. Then discuss it with your coursemates in
your tutorial.

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6.1

TOPIC 6 MEMORY

WHAT IS MEMORY?

Figure 6.1: A boy trying to recall his memory

Source: Doula (2008). Retrieved December 2, 2010, from

doula.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/thinking.png

Generally, when we talk about memory, people tend to relate it to our mental
ability to remember something and how we can retain information over a period
of time (refer to Figure 6.1). You can gauge how good your memory is by how
well you are able to store, recall, search or retrieve past events, experiences, and
certain information or knowledge acquired previously. Our memory also enables
us to remember the good and bad experiences in our life.
The study of memory began in the mid-19th century. German psychologist and
philosopher Hermann Ebbinghaus (18501909) applied scientific methods in the
study of memory and discovered an important relationship between the time
spent for learning and relearning. Then, he discovered the level of retention
(information) and called it the saving method. He was well-known as the pioneer
who started scientific memory research by observing his own capacity for
memorising lists of nonsensical syllables. Table 6.1 describes the definition of
memory.

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Table 6.1: Definition of Memory

Source

Definition

Medical Dictionary

Memory is the process of recovering information about past

events or knowledge. For example, I am still able to recall some
of my childhood experiences as well as some good and bad
experiences during primary and secondary school days.

Henry Gleitman, Alan

J. Fridlund, & Daniel
Reinsberg (2000)

Defined memory as the way we record the events of our lives

and also information. This means memory is the process of
retention where storage and retrieval of information take place.
They also compared memory to a storehouse where thousands
of items are kept.

6.2

PROCESS OF MEMORY

Can you tell how good your memory is by remembering what you have learnt in
the classroom and how much you can memorise the important points told by
your lecturer? Some of you may have a very good memory while others may not.
Why does this happen? To answer this question, you need to understand how
the process of memory takes place.
Many psychologists such as Ellen Pastorino and Susann Doyle-Portillo (2009)
describe the process of memory by using computer analogy. Through the
information processing approach (computer), you will be able to understand the
whole process of memory from acquiring to retrieving information from storage.
For example, human memory is similar to keeping important information in a
computer hard disk. For computer information storage, we need to type the data
or input and save or store it in the file and we can retrieve or access the same
data when we need it later. The psychologists assumed that our mind worked the
same way as mentioned above. Our mind is involved in a series of processes
which allow our memory to encode, restore and retrieve information whenever
needed.
We need to look at three questions to help us understand the actual process of
memory. Let us look at these questions:
(a)

How can information get INTO memory?

(b)

How is information MAINTAINED in memory?

(c)

How do we get information BACK from our memory?

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TOPIC 6 MEMORY

When we discuss about the process of memory, it concerns how humans put
information into memory (encoding), maintain the coded information (storage),
and search or get the stored information back into consciousness (retrieval). As
such, a human mind is like a computer system because we use our mental ability
to make sure of the smooth processing of information. There are several stages or
processes which enable our memory to retain or store and also trace back the
information.
Figure 6.2 shows the three stages of memory process.

Figure 6.2: Three stages of memory process

Let us now discuss the stages in greater detail.

(a)

Encoding
It refers to our effort to put some input into our memory. For example, you
meet someone at a party. He/she tells you his/her name but you do not
pay much attention and forget the name. This means you have failed to
learn or encode the name in your memory. Encoding here means the way
we key in or put the information in our memory.

(b)

Storage
It means the place where we keep or retain information in our memory.
According to Henry Gleitman, Alan J. Fridlund, and Daniel Reinsberg
(2000), the encoded experience must leave some record in the nervous
system as what we call memory trace. For example, how we label or
organise the books in our library. Even though there may be thousands of
books, you are still able to search for a particular book. Therefore, the
system of information storage is very important.

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(c)

Retrieval
It refers to the process of how we recall the information in our storage
(memory) and pulling it into consciousness. Gleitman, et al (2000), stated
that retrieval refers to our efforts to supply information from memory. For
example, can you remember the title of the psychology textbook you used
last semester? If you can, it means you have successfully recalled the
information from your memory into your conscious mind.

ACTIVITY 6.2
Discuss the process of memory with your classmates and share your
view with the others.

6.3

MODEL OF MEMORY

All of us have different capacities for memory. Some of us may have a very high
capacity to memorise information. For example, some students may be able to
memorise many words in the dictionary or facts in the textbook while others may
not. This indicates that each individual possesses his own capacity for memory.
To learn more about human memory, we will examine a memory model.
The most common and basic model of memory is Memory Stage Model by
Atkinson and Shriffins (1968). This model explains the basic structure and
function of memory and outlines three distinct stages of memory, as shown in
Figure 6.3.

Figure 6.3: Memory stage model

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TOPIC 6 MEMORY

The types of memory are different in terms of capacity, duration and function.
Let us now study the stages in greater detail.
(a)

Sensory Memory
Sensory memory is sometimes also known as iconic memory. Sensory
memory preserves incoming sensory information (in its original sensory
form) for only a few seconds. This means that sensory memory holds very
brief storage of information. For example, I see an advertisement board
with some attractive wordings but I cannot remember all the wordings
once I pass it.
Sensory storage implies that something perceptual takes place. In this
context, sensory storage refers to images (it can also be vision) or more
precisely, after-images. Although the actual stimulus may have
disappeared, we may still perceive it for a few seconds. Sometimes it may
be a case of you saying I have seen it before it but I just cant remember
where I have seen it!.

(b)

Short-term Memory
Short-term memory has a limited duration of memory where you can retain
the information for about only 20 seconds. Short-term memory has a
limited capacity too. For example, you may be able to recall a few things at
a time and then, you may not be able to recall them after that. Another
example, you want to call your friend and refer to your business card folder
to get the phone number. After looking at the number, you make the call
but immediately after that, you forget the number, right?
It is possible to extend the duration of short-term memory to approximately
30 seconds by engaging in a process called Maintenance Rehearsal. It
involves the process of repeatedly verbalising or thinking about the
information. For example, I keep repeating a name or information.

(c)

Long-term Memory
Long-term memory has unlimited capacity and can be retained for a very
long time. For example, you can remember your professors name forever,
right? Repetition and elaborative rehearsal are some of the effective
strategies to help you store information for long-term memory. For
example, you may not know how to use your new handphone, but after
using it for a while, you can remember all the steps to operate it.

Kalad (2002) stated that long-term and short-term memories are different terms
of memory. These different retention intervals are bridged by different memory
systems. According to him, short-term memory is sometimes also known as
working memory. Working memory holds information for short intervals.

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For instance, you work as a cashier at a hypermarket. You can remember the total
amount which has to be paid by your customer at that moment but when the
next customer comes along you would have already forgotten the previous one.
In contrast, Gleitman, et al (2000), said that in order to enter long-term memory,
the information coded must remain in working memory for a short while.
According to them, long-term memory is where the information learnt a long
time ago is likely to be stored for long periods or permanently. This memory
system allows information to lie dormant for long periods of time, meaning that
long-term memory stores information for much longer than working memory.
Sometimes, it can be stored for a lifetime.
Based on the above explanation, we can thus conclude that short-term and longterm memories are different in terms of capacity and duration. If we want to
enhance our information from short-term memory to long-term memory, the
information stored must remain in working memory for a short period.
According to Waugh and Norman (1965), the means for maintaining the
information is by using the technique of rehearsal.
There are some significant differences between sensory memory, short-term
memory and long-term memory. They are shown in Table 6.2.
Table 6.2: Differences between Sensory, Short-term and Long-term Memory
Memory
Stage Model

Retriever

Capacity

Duration

Rehearsal

Sensory
Memory

Retriever not
required

Almost zero
memory
capacity

Only lasts for a

few seconds

Rehearsal not
involved

Short-term

Retriever not
involved

Limited memory

Not more than

20 seconds

Rehearsal could
be involved only
one or two times

Need retriever
such as a hint to
recall

Very huge
capacity

Can last for a

lifetime

Heavily
involved
rehearsal

Memory
Long-term
Memory

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TOPIC 6 MEMORY

In addition, we will identify eight types of memory as shown in Figure 6.4.

Figure 6.4: Types of memory

Let us now study the types in greater detail.

(a)

Primacy and Recency

Primacy means when we are receiving information, the information
perceived first is more likely to be remembered.
On the other hand, recency means information perceived towards the last part
of the event is more likely to be remembered. This means that information in
the "middle" seems to be forgotten and is less likely to be remembered.

(b)

Elaborative Rehearsal
In order to improve our memory from short-term to long-term, we can use
the technique to connect new information with what was previously stored
in our memory which already exists as associative structures. For example,
a teacher may ask the students to relate the new chapter on accounting with
the previous chapter. Then, they may easily follow the new lesson.

(c)

Procedural Memory
This is the most basic type of long-term memory. Normally it involves
memories of rudimentary procedures and behaviours such as our memory
in reading, eating and writing. Sometimes, people call it Declarative
Memory. The reason is it relates to an additional and basic category like
factual information. For example, we can memorise our friends names and
their birthdays.

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(d)

Semantic Memory
This refers to our ability to remember certain symbols, concepts and
knowledge. For example, when you see a traffic light, you will understand
what a red or amber light means.

(e)

Episodic Memory
It refers to specific memory. This means that when we want to recall a
particular event or incident, we will search our episodic memory. For
example, you want to remember what you ate for dinner last night. In this
situation, you have to refer back to that specific event (dinner) and slowly
you may be able to recall the menu.

(f)

Generic Memory
This type of memory is very important to us. Normally, generic memory
will act as our mental dictionary. It also serves as a storehouse for all our
common sense knowledge. For example, when we hear the words red or
yellow, our mental dictionary will let us know what the red or yellow
colours look like. Another example is we can easily get the meaning of
someones conversation. This is because we can refer to our generic
memory to understand what it means.

(g)

Explicit Memory
It means memory which we consciously use. For example, during exams,
we consciously search for or recall information stored in our memory to
answer the questions.

(h)

Implicit Memory
Sometimes we do something which is influenced by the past without being
aware of it. This is what we call implicit memory. For example, you know
the correct formula to solve a particular question but you still repeat the
same mistake. This is because we are still influenced by the past experience
without realising it.

6.4

FORGETTING

Forgetting means our memory is failing and we are not able to retain
information. In other words, we have lost or cannot retrieve the stored
information. For example, many of us find that we can hardly remember what
we have learnt in the past or even yesterdays class. We often fail to memorise or
recall important facts. As such, we would like to understand why such
circumstances occur in our daily life. Nine of the reasons are shown in Figure 6.5.

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TOPIC 6 MEMORY

Figure 6.5: Reasons for forgetting

Let us now discuss the reasons in greater detail.

(a)

Proactive Interference
It refers to previously learnt material interfering with newly learnt material.
For example, you learnt something new yesterday and then you learn
another new topic today. You have yet to fully understand or are still tied
up with yesterdays learning material or concepts. As a result, you are not
able to get what your tutor is teaching today.

(b)

Retroactive Interference
It refers to our ability to recall being interrupted by the new learning
material. For example, we are studying new formulae today but you have
already forgotten the previous topics. This means that the new information
is confusing you, right?

(c)

No Attention
Do you agree that you are most likely to forget everything if you do not pay
attention at that moment? For example, if we sometimes just give a little bit
of attention to certain things, we can, of course, only remember certain
parts.

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(d)

Retrograde Amnesia and Anterograde Amnesia

Retrograde amnesia is the loss of memory of events at a certain period of
time before brain damage or other traumas happened. On the other hand,
Anterograde amnesia is difficulty forming new memories after
experiencing a trauma (J. W. Kalad, 2002). Therefore, it is a challenge to
those who are facing this problem to remember things. For example, an
accident victim reads a magazine and finds it interesting without realising
that he has in fact read that magazine before his memory was damaged.

(e)

Cue-dependent
It means our memory cannot easily retrieve information when the cue does
not match the cue present during encoding time. For example, you can
recognise your new classmate Ali in school but you are not able to
recognise him in the hypermarket. Have you experienced such a situation?

(f)

Source Confusion
Source confusion can badly affect our encoding and information retrieval.
In other words, source of confusion will influence memory storage.
Therefore, make sure you clearly understand the contents as it may help
you to remember better.

(g)

Nutritional Problems
We may lose our memory due to vitamin deficiencies. For example, we may
not have enough vitamin B12.

(h)

Aging Factor
As people get older, they may begin to have problems with memory. One
of the most noticeable problem areas involves forgetting names. Normally,
almost everybody has this problem in their old age.

(i)

Other Causes
Sometimes, we may have memory loss or problem due to amnesia, which
means unusual forgetfulness. This may be caused by ageing, alcoholism,
brain damage due to disease or injury, etc.

ACTIVITY 6.3
Are you someone who is always forgetful? Why? Discuss the reasons
with your classmates.

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6.5

TOPIC 6 MEMORY

IMPROVING MEMORY

Do you have a great memory? Perhaps some of us can memorise every single fact
that we read. Unfortunately, not everyone has such an outstanding memory.
There are, however, several way to improve your memory. This means you have
to really know how you are storing and retrieving information in your
memory. For example, just imagine how you are able to remove certain items on
a shelf and then replenish them easily. How do you do that? There are several
ways that can help you improve your memory, as shown in Figure 6.6.

Figure 6.6: Ways to improve the memory

Let us now study the ways in greater detail.

(a)

Rehearsal
One of the important techniques to improve our memory is through
rehearsal. Rehearsal means we repeat the data again and again in our
conscious mind. This method will increase the probability of the data being
transferred to long-term storage (Henry Gleitman, Alan J. Fridlund, &
Daniel Reinsberg, 2000).

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(b)

Exercise Your Mind

This means we must use our mind or brain to read, think and analyse as
much as possible. By exercising our mind, we will then be able to develop
our mind power.

(c)

Spread Out Your Study Time

We cannot study all things at one time. This is because we do not know
how much we can learn and remember. If we spread out the study time, it
is more likely to help us remember things. Agree?

(d)

Applying SPAR Method

The SPAR method means in order to remember something in the long term,
we should Survey, Process the meaning, Ask questions and do Revision.
This method is very useful for students. Can you try that?
Survey means to get an overview of the whole idea of a passage. Process
meaningfully refers to reading carefully and seeing how you can relate to
the ideas, etc. Asking questions will encourage you to seek more
information such as concept checks. Finally, revise refers to spending more
time studying to enhance our memory.

(e)

Use the Specific Coding Strategy

If we use a good coding strategy, we are sure to find our information easily.
For example, a librarian may place a book on a shelf according to certain
codes in the retrieval system. A student can then retrieve the book easily by
using the code according to title, author, etc. Can you apply this in your
daily life?

(f)

Encoding Specificity
According to the encoding specificity principle (Tulving & Thomson, 1973),
the associations you form at the time of learning will be the most effective
retrieval cues. Whatever you have experienced or whatever was happening
to you at that time becomes a potential retrieval cue for you later. For
example, when you go back to a familiar place after 10 years, you may
remember everything that you experienced 10 years ago in your mind.

(g)

Mnemonic Devices
When you are required to memorise something lengthy and boring, for
example, a list of all the bones in the body, how do you do it? One effective
strategy is to connect systematic retrieval cues to each term so that you can
remember it when needed. In other words, thinking of something or
associating it with certain things may remind you of each term.

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(h)

TOPIC 6 MEMORY

Influence of Emotionally Arousing

Do you agree that people normally remember emotionally arousing events?
For example, do you still remember your first day at school or your first
kiss? We can remember these events in great detail because we were
excited. Therefore, if you want to do a special and memorable thing for
your spouse, then do it in a very emotionally arousing romantic way.
Why are emotionally arousing events so memorable? This is because of our
physiological responses. When emotional arousal increases, the body will
release the cortisol hormones and epinephrine (adrenaline) from the
adrenal gland. Some of the cortisol goes to the brain. The epinephrine
stimulates the peripheral nerves that extend into the brain. The net effect is
increased excitement of certain brain areas that enhance memory storage,
including an area called the amygdala (Kalad, 2000; Cahill & McGaugh,
1998; Williams, Men, Clayton, & Gold, 1998).

(i)

Make Associations
It is an effective technique to help you to improve your memory.
Association means you connect something that you want to remember in
your mind. For example, you can use certain landmarks to help you find
and remember the roads or places.

ACTIVITY 6.4
Identify five techniques which can help you improve your memory
capacity. Then, discuss them in your tutorial class.

In this topic, we have discussed the basic concept of memory, the process of
memory, the memory stage model and eight types of memory.

This topic also described the nine reasons why people always forget.

Finally, this topic elaborated on the nine techniques of how we can improve
our memory in a very systematic and effective way.

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1.

Write a short essay to tell your friend what memory is.

2.

What do you know about the memory process?

3.

What is the difference between sensory memory and short-term memory?

4.

Test yourself on the meaning of implicit and explicit memory.

5.

Describe four important techniques to enhance human memory.

Gleitman, H., Fridlund, A. J., & Reinsberg, D. (2000). Basics of psychology (5th
ed.). New York, America: Infobase Publishing.
Kalad, J. W. (2002). Introduction to psychology (6th ed.). America: Thomson
Learning, Inc.

Medical dictionary. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from www.medicinenet.

com/script/main/hp.asp.
Pastorino, E. & Portillo, S. D. (2009). What is psychology? (2nd ed.). America:
Thomson Learning, Inc.