Psychology

The  process by which memory is generated and retrieved consists primarily of three phases short-term, long-term and working memory. Each of these phases has unique functions that contribute to the formation and retrieval of memory.

Working memory draws information primarily from two sources. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)  These include sensory input (what is being currently perceived by the senses), and information from the long-term memory. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)This stage is where imagination, reasoning and the other processing of information occur. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003) Unless stored into long-term memory, these memories last only about thirty seconds. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)This is the phase of the memory process during which organization of sensory data occurs, and the resulting memories are either stored in long-term memory, short-term memory, or are discararded after a short period of time. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)

Short-term memory differs from working memory in that it is a passive storage phase, rather than one in which input is organized or categorized for storage. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003) The short-term memory is a location of memories that can last only a short period of time without the use of prolonging mechanisms, such as rehearsal. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003) These prolonging processes will either keep the memory in the short-term longer, or encode it into long-term memory. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)The capacity of short-term memory is variable. One theory suggests a seven-item limitation on such memories (with a variation of two in either direction). (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)While this theory is substantiated by studies among college students in memorizing digits, other studies produce no clear range of item numbers that constitute the capacity of short-term memory. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)

Long-term memory is the location of storage of memories that survive short term absorption through one of several methods. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003) One of the most common of those methods is rehearsal. Simply put, the repetition of information can lead to the eventual formation of longterm memories, whose duration can be anything from a few days to several years. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)Another method by which memories become long-term is by association with existing memories. This process, which takes place in working memory, involves the relation of the new data to that which already exists in long-term memory. (Radstone  Hodgekin, 2003)It involves chunking the new input with items retrieved from long-term memory stores.

Most memory tests target short-term memory. In one such test, offered online by Rutgers University, verbal memory is tested. (Memoryn.d.) The subject is given a list of forty words and asked to assign affective responses (very pleasant, somewhat pleasant, somewhat unpleasant, very unpleasant) to each word. (Memoryn.d.)  After the subjects complete the task, they are required to recall as many of the words as they can (both of these phases are untimed). (Memoryn.d.) When I took this test, I recalled eight of the forty words. According to the site, the average score on this portion is six, and an outstanding score would be ten. (Memoryn.d.)  In the second part of the recall test, subjects are asked to look at word pairs and identify which word was on the original list. I scored 39 out of 40. The average score for this portion of the test is 38. (Memoryn.d.)  The first part of the test was evaluating recall, and the second was evaluating recognition. It is an established fact that rate of recognition is far higher than that of recall. This test and my results bear out that observation.

The outcomes of tests such as these are determined by variables affecting the encoding of information into long-term memory. (Arnold, 1984)  Encoding is done on the basis of one or more of the following categories visual, acoustic, semantic and tactile. (Arnold, 1984)   In the particular test I took, semantic encoding is the method used to store the data. The circumstances of the test make the other methods unlikely to be effective. There is a complete absence of auditory or tactile stimulation in the input, and letters are too common as images to be useful tools for encoding. While it is possible that test words may be designed to provoke particular tactile or acoustic images, such was not the case in this test. Encoding can be an automatic or an effortful process. In this particular test, most of the encoding was automatic. (Arnold, 1984)   This was assured in the experimental design by the use of a distractor-task (evaluation of the words) in this test. Had the subjects been given a list of words to commit to memory, they may have effortfully employed a number of methods to encode the list. Such strategies include rehearsal (repetition of the words either verbally or mentally) the creation of mnemonics (jingles or associative phrases designed to stimulate recall). (Arnold, 1984)  In the case of my test, my own recall illustrated the use of organizational encoding done in an automatic manner. For example, I recalled one word being morning and was able to retrieve sunset as a categorically similar concept. Another such example in my test was recalling bloody after having generated dagger. These words were not paired in the initial list, but organized in my working memory for better recall.

Several variables effect encoding efforts. Foreknowledge of the task is a major variable. If a list is presented with the instruction to memorize it, a subject can employ methods that work best for them in the encoding process, rather than relying on the unconscious selections of the working memory. (Arnold, 1984)  A second variable illustrated in the test I took was the type of recall required. Blind recall of the words was much more difficult than recognizing the words in word-pairs. In the test I took, intermediate levels could have been tested by offering associated words, or word sets with three, instead of one distractor. Other variables include the number of targeted words. (Arnold, 1984)   Had the initial lit been shorter, the recall scores would represent a higher percentage of successful recall.

The memory process is an interesting field of study in that it offers suggestions for the improving of a normal subjects memory, and defines a process whose interruption by injury or disease may be more clearly understood. (Arnold, 1984)   Persons with memory deficiencies may be able to define such deficiencies in terms of whether they occur in short-term, long-term, or working memories. (Arnold, 1984)   As science discovers which physical portions of the brain are responsible for each of these functions, it becomes more likely that the locus of their origins might be discovered and both treatment and artificial stimulation of these areas might lead to the improvement of memory across the board for all people. (Arnold, 1984)