memory definition and meaning

A cognitive store house of representative information where frequency of recalling strengthens its retention.

1. Memory, Definition and
Meaning
Dr Rajesh Verma
Assistant Professor in Psychology
Govt. College Adampur, Hisar (Haryana)

2. Meaning
Retainingandrecallingofinformationover
aperiodoftime.
Acognitivestorehouseofrepresentative
informationwherefrequencyofrecalling
strengthensitsretention.
Information
rememberedfrom
thepast.

3. Definition
“Memoryisthemeansbywhichwedrawon
ourpastexperiencesinordertousethis
informationinthepresent”(Sternberg,1999).
Memory,theencoding,storage,andretrieval
inthehumanmind
ofpastexperiences
(britannica.com).

4. Introduction
HermannEbbinghaus(1885)wasthefirst
tostudyandwriteascientificaccountaboutthe
memory(Solso,2006).Hewas
hisownsubjectwhoinvented
nonsensesyllables(three
letteredconsonant-vowel-
consonantwords)tostudy
thephenomenonof
memory.

5. WilliamJames(1890)usedintrospection
methodtocategorizedmemoryintoprimary
(immediate)andsecondary(Indirector
permanent)types.Primarywhichlastsforafew
secondsandholdsinformation
inourconsciousness,and
secondarymemory,which
hasunlimiteddurationand
canbebroughtto
consciousnessifdesired
(learning-theories.org).

6. In1932FrederickBartlettsuggestedthat
memoryisanactiveprocessratherthanpassive.
Heusedverbalmaterial(storiesandtexts)to
supporthisclaim.Accordingtothisapproach
thestoredinformation
undergoeschangesand
modificationsovertime.So
thereisaqualitative
differenceinwhatwasinitially
memorizedbyusandwhatwe
retrieveorrecalllater
(NCERT).

7. In1965WaughandNormansuggesteda
modelwhichexplainedarelationshipbetween
primaryandsecondarymemory.Accordingto
themodelapieceofinformationfirstenters
primarymemorywhichmayberemaintheiror
ifrehearsedthenenterssecondarymemoryelse
forgotten.

8. In1968AtkinsonandShiffrinproposedthree
stagemodelofmemorywhichisgenerallyknownas
InformationProcessingModel.Accordingtothismodel
memoryhasthreesystems.Informationentersthrough
thesensorysystem,brieflyregisteringinsensory
memory.Selectiveattentionmovestheinformationinto
STM,whereitisheldwhileattention(rehearsal)
continues.Iftheinformationreceivesenoughrehearsal,
itwillenterintoLTM(CiccarreliandMayor,2012).

9. In1974BaddeleyandHitch(1974)
suggestedamodelwhichclaimedthatSTMhas
threesystemsi.e.centralexecutive,phonological
loopandvisuo-spatialsketchpad.

10. Characteristics of Memory
(i)Practicerehearsalisthekeyinretaining
andrecallinganinformation,
(ii)MemoryformswiththeaidofPerception,
AttentionandLearningandinfluencethemtoo
(britinica.com).
(iii)Memorycanbe
momentaryor
lifelong.

11. (iv)Memorymanipulatesinformationtoo.
(v)Memoryisadaptiveandflexible.
(vi)Forgettingisflipsideofmemory.
(vii)Memoriessolidifiesinlongtermstorage
systemforwhich
itmaytakedays
oryears.

12. (viii)Cerebralcortex,thecerebellum,andthe
hippocampusarefoundhaveroleinmemory
storageandprocessing.
(ix)Forgettingismoreinfluencedby
interferencethandecay(Solso,2006).
(x)Contextual
cuesaidsin
memory
making
(Baddeley,1975)
[Beachexperiment].

13. Brain Regions that play important
role in Memory
1.Hippocampus–thetransferofinformationfrom
STMtoLTM.
2.Cerebralcortexandmore
specificallyprefrontalcortex.
3.Themedialtemporal
lobe(theinnerpartofthe
temporallobe)isexpected
toplayroleindeclarative
andepisodicmemory.

14. 4.Amygdalaplaysimportantroleinprocessingand
memoryofemotionalreactions.
5.Basalgangliasystemwhichisimportantinthe
formationandretrievalofproceduralmemory.
6.Temporallobe(processingofsemanticsinboth
speechandvision,andplaysakey
roleintheformation
oflong-term
memory).

15. References:
1.NCERT,XIPsychologyTextbook.
2.https://www.learning-theories.org/doku.
php?id=memory_models:a_brief_history_of_huma
n_memory_systems.
3.https://human-
memory.net/parts-
of-the-brain/

16. [email protected]
Next Discussion
Stages of Memory