Memory is one of the most critical components of the human psyche. It is responsible for saving and retrieving information that is constantly coming to a person from outside. The value of memory lies in the fact that it also determines a person’s personality, forming it and giving it specific features. This phenomenon can be divided into several processes that define different types of memory. Among them, sensory, short-term, and long-term memory are distinguished. Knowledge of such a distinction will help to understand better the processes of memorizing and storing information by a person and improve them.
Before considering the types of memory, it is necessary to understand how this process occurs. Encoding or registration is the action that occurs first (McDermott & Roediger, 2018). This process consists in obtaining, and then processing, and combining the information received. It translates data through chemical and physical stimuli. In other words, at this stage, information is transformed into the form that is most convenient for the human mind to perceive.
Further, the data obtained during the first stage is stored. The peculiarity of this stage is that it helps to preserve knowledge for a long time. If necessary, a person can prompt the retrieval or recognition process. It consists in reproducing information that is stored in a person’s memory in response to a circumstance or condition that prompted its reproduction. An important aspect is that people must locate it and return it to consciousness. It is worth noting that there may be various problems and deviations related to memory. Examples of such diseases can be ordinary forgetfulness or even amnesia. This is due to the personal and psychological characteristics of individuals when information can be stored incorrectly or move from short-term to long-term.
As already mentioned, there are three main types of sensory memory, short-term and long-term, which in turn are divided into subspecies. The first type is sensory memory, which allows saving impressions of sensory information after the moment of occurrence of the chemical and physical stimulus itself. The most common example of this type of memory is the preservation of trial after the appearance of light in the dark, for example, from a flashlight. Sensory memory is divided into two subtypes of echoic memory, which is characterized by auditory sensory store, and haptic memory, which is inherent in the tactile sensory store. A distinctive feature of this type is also the lack of connection with the highest cognitive functions; that is, a person cannot subconsciously exercise control over this memory. The primary purpose of the sensory type of memory is to provide a picture of the sensory perception of the environment.
The next type of memory that already belongs to the subconscious is short-term or working memory. Research shows that it holds no more than seven items at once, which persist for about twenty or thirty seconds. It is worth noting that through repetitive actions, elements of short-term memory can become long-term. An example is how students constantly repeat the material, preparing for the lesson, so that new information takes root in their heads. An essential condition is an apparent concentration so that knowledge does not remain at the level of short-term memory and is not forgotten.
The most extensive type is long-term memory. This type allows individuals to retain their knowledge for a long time. Another distinctive feature is the large volume of storage capacity; that is, long-term memory stores information received at an early age until the moment of receiving a new one. Like short-term memory, this type of memory has subtypes that are explicit and implicit memory. The first subtype implies information that is consciously stored or retrieved (Bauer & Dugan, 2020). Moreover, this type has both a semantic side, that is, memories taken out of context, for example, “The Sun is yellow” and an episodic one, which is directly related to the individual’s experience.
Since this type of memory is associated with the conscious part of a person, the methods of its assessment include tests related to the intentional memorization of information. These include a memorization test, which involves extracting information from memory that was previously memorized. On the other hand, a multiple-choice test is also an example of memory measurement, which involves determining whether information has been noticed or studied before. Another approach can be considered repeated training. It is used to assess the speed of processing and assimilation of information. The main criterion is that the measured data has already been studied once.
Implicit memory is also called procedural memory and is based on the conscious storage and application of information. Research shows that “however, lack of awareness does not necessarily mean fully independent of working memory” (Yang et al., 2020, p. 100929). Often this subtype of long-term memory is used when teaching movement skills. An example that is used most of all is learning to swim or ride a bike since these actions do not consciously have an aspect. That is, people do not need to remember them as, for instance, text. Implicit memory also has its own subtypes divided into procedural, classical conditioning effects, and priming. The first is identified as the knowledge of how to perform certain actions that sometimes a person cannot even correctly and correctly explain.
The classical effects of conditioning consist in the assimilation of neutral stimuli, such as sound, together with other stimuli, which can then trigger a certain reaction. Such associativity is manifested when conditional and unconditional stimuli lead to the same result (Taylor et al., 2017). The third subtype of the implicit memory type is priming. It consists of the activation of knowledge and its influence on the behavior of an individual.
Therefore, each type of memory has an exceptional value for a person. This is due to the fact that each of them performs a specific function and has its unique work processes. Hence, short-term memory helps to process the information received from the outside world with remarkable speed. Further, the data can be transferred to long-term memory, which stores knowledge for a very long and extended period of time and allows quickly reproducing of them if necessary. It is this type that is most often used in people’s daily lives. Sensory memory also contributes to the understanding and analysis of various kinds of stimuli received from outside. Moreover, memory ensures the transfer of experience from one generation to another, which also makes it necessary to study it for further enhancement. Thanks to it, individuals have the opportunity to learn and acquire the necessary skills for life. In addition, all types of memory shape and determine the individual personal qualities of people.
References
McDermott, K. B., & Roediger, H. L. (2018). Memory (encoding, storage, retrieval). General Psychology FA2018. Noba Project: Milwaukie, OR, 117-153.
Bauer, P. J., & Dugan, J. A. (2020). Memory development. Neural Circuit and Cognitive Development, 395-412. Web.
Taylor, V. A., Chang, L., Rainville, P., & Roy, M. (2017). Learned expectations and uncertainty facilitate pain during classical conditioning. Pain, 158(8), 1528-1537. Web.
Yang, Y., Chen, M., He, W., & Merrill, E. C. (2020). The role of working memory in implicit memory: A developmental perspective. Cognitive Development, 55, 100929. Web.