StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Different Aspects of the Human Memory - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Different Aspects of the Human Memory" describes that the human memory presents a very intriguing picture. It seems to be a subject with many presenting views and forms. The human memory is very essential for the normal survival of beings and psychological problems…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.3% of users find it useful
Different Aspects of the Human Memory
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Different Aspects of the Human Memory"

MEMORY Human memory has been a of study since many years. With time the different aspects regarding the human memory have been understood. This has been a subject of interest and fascination with the development of new research regarding the issue. The human memory was initially considered to be functioning as a single element but it was then understood that human memory is a very wide subject and it has many units which perform tasks at the same time to run the human memory in a perfect and organized manner. The human memory has the capability to store a large amount of memory. This is stored with the usage of three ways. First of all, the human mind changes matter into storage forms. This is done by integrating memory with known events which can be things are seen, heard or experienced. This method is referred to as encoding. The second step is storage whereby the human mind places information in the memory for storage. The final part is the ability of a human being to recall and recover the stored information in times of need that is when a person needs to utilize the memory. An interesting aspect of human memory which is unique to the human memory is that their memory functions as a multi unit. The three basic divisions include the sensory memory, the short term memory and the long term memory. The sensory memory is one which comes directly from the persons five senses. This memory is not very long lasting and stays for around 350 milliseconds. This memory does not possess ways for improvement. In 1960 an experiment was conducted by George Sperling to test this memory. According to the procedure a group of people was shown twelve letters arranged in three different rows. Different subjects were asked to repeat the different letters present in different rows. The subjects recalled what they saw but they could not remember it for a long time. The experiment suggested that the sensory memory got erased after some time and the maximum capacity of the sensory memory that a person could retain was around twelve letters. The short term memory is the next step which is reached when the events are moved from the sensory part to the area of realization and perception. This information is also short lived but the time duration of this memory is greater than that of the sensory memory. This time is around 30 seconds and this memory is used basically in short tasks. But this memory does have space for improvement by a method which is known as chunking. Chunking as the name implies means to break in to pieces. An example to support this can be seen when a person is able to learn numbers when they are shown in divisions rather than in one complete form. Another aspect which follows the short term memory is known as working memory. The working memory is the immediate follow up of the short term memory and this type of memory comes when a person gives more time in retaining something than he utilizes for the short term memory. Another intriguing factor about short term memory is the fact immediately if a person is switched from one subject to another he tends to forget a part of the previous information. An interesting experiment relating to the short term memory was conducted by George Miller. He was a famous psychologist who presented this study which was known as "The magical number 7±2" in 1956. In this paper he presented a fact that while he was busy in his work he realized that 7 was mainly the number which was equivalent to the number of things that he could memorize. Thus he presented that this was the magical number which showed the amount of things that could be retained in our short term memory were approximately 7. Another study by Conrad in 1964 showed another fascinating aspect of the short term memory. According to this study a person uses more of his hearing capabilities for the retention of information in the short term memory rather than what he sees. Long term memory is different from the other two forms of memory. This memory lasts for a greater span of time as compared to any other form of memory and it is through this memory that we can retain information for many years. This memory is considered to be associated with a part of the brain which is known as the hippocampus. The long term memory is also related to sleep. It is seen that to preserve keep hold of information it is necessary for a person to get sufficient sleep. Long term memory is considered to come after the short term memory. Information that reaches long term memory can be due to many reasons. It is believed that if a person goes through certain information again and again that will reach to the long term memory. On the other hand a high priority subject will also be retained in this memory. This form of memory is considered to be stable. It is also considered that this memory has too much space for storage and human beings do not even utilize a small proportion of this capacity. It is believed that this space is sufficient for retaining all the numbers in the directory of the United States. This memory is divided into the declarative memory which is responsible for the storage of information regarding the occurrences in our lives and the non declarative long term memory which is something that a person has within. This includes the small everyday tasks that we know how to perform and do not forget like cleaning our teeth and taking a bath. Another aspect of memory is the fact that we have a tendency to lose things from our memory as well. This is because certain information which is not recalled for a long time might be lost. On the other hand, when a person is under stress or if a person wants to forget certain aspects of his life, these pieces of information do not possess a high retention level and may be lost from the memory or their images within the memory become dull. Thus the human memory presents a very intriguing picture. It seems to be a subject with many presenting views and forms. The human memory is very essential for the normal survival of the beings and psychological problems which affect the memory highly affect the quality of life of a person. References: Top of Form  Baddeley, A. D. The influence of acoustic and semantic similarity on long-term memory for word sequences. Quart. J. exp. Psychol., 18 (1966): 302-9.      Baddeley, A. D.  Is working memory working? Quarterly Jounal of Experimental Psychology, 44A, (1992):1-31. Conrad, R. Acoustic Confusions in Immediate Memory. British Journal of Psychology, 55, (1964): 75-84.      Laming, D. Analysis of short-term retention: Models for Brown-Peterson experiments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 18, (1992): 1342-1365.      Miller, G. A. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information.  Psychological Review, 63, (1956): 81-97. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1563289-memory
(Memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1)
https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1563289-memory.
“Memory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1563289-memory.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Different Aspects of the Human Memory

Memory Through the Prism of Psychology

Within this context of memory, it's noted that it is difficult to recall the declarative aspects of the action.... When considering these aspects of memory, it's necessary to consider them in relation to the previously articulated concepts of implicit and explicit memory.... This essay "memory Through the Prism of Psychology" describes types of memory, including implicit and explicit memory and declarative and procedural memory, defines and explains the difference between short-term and long-term memory....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Human Memory Systems

The essay "human memory Systems" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the description of memory systems in human beings and the evidence of differentiation of memory.... human memory consists of systems used for storing and recalling information.... There is no universally accepted model of human memory.... The neuropsychological perspective describes and classifies human memory systems using various methods....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Tobias Wolff This Boys Life: A Memoir or Does the Story Tell the Truth

It is inconceivable, elusive and ambiguous to the human mind.... Wolf judgment that ‘memory has its own story to tell' is a true account and memory may represent what it thinks is facts.... Wolff illustrates and tries as best as he can to convey the truth according to his recollection; that is his memory.... It is in this light that “memory has its own story to tell”.... Wolff illustrates and tries as best as he can to convey the truth according to his recollection; that is his memory....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Narrative Critical Analysis

However, memory is not static or frozen aspects of life.... It is this truth about the memoir that is explored and discussed in the essay ‘memory and Imagination,' by Patricia Hampl.... Through her essay, Hampl proves that a memoir is not just a life story but also a medium of self discovery as it helps the writer not only in understanding the hidden self, but also in harmonizing the images and emotions stored in the memory, and in attaining the most desired inner peace....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Concept of Human Memory

From the paper "The Concept of human memory" it is clear that generally, Cohen et al (1997: 604) conducted research using functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine brain activation in human subjects during the performance of a working memory task.... The ability to consider the past, think in the present and predict the future, as well as the use of language, are all based on learning and human memory.... 'memory is the knowledge of an event or fact with the additional consciousness that it has been thought of or experienced before' (James, 2001: 58)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

How Memory Works

With time the different aspects regarding the human memory have been understood.... the human memory was.... considered to be functioning as a single element but it was then understood that human memory is a very wide subject and it has many units which perform tasks at the same time to run the human memory in a perfect and organized manner. ... n interesting aspect of human memory which is unique to the human memory is that their memory functions as a multi unit....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

False Memory as an Aspect of Humans

In her research works, Elizabeth Loftus puts a lot of focus on human memory.... This paper under the headline 'False memory" focuses on the fact that people who work in investigations can assert to the fact that a lot of evidence and cases have been lost due to unreliability of information that the informants give during most investigations.... This paper discusses the concept of false memories based on the views of psychologists, Elizabeth Loftus, Garry Maryanne and Steven (Jay & Judith 67)Psychologists have come up with numerous but varying definitions of what 'false memory' can be....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

Human Aspects of Human Aging

The paper "Human aspects of Human Aging" shall analyze two articles on human aspects of human aging.... The first article by Lata and Alia (2007) is about the physiological aspects of aging while the second article by Brickman and Stern (2009) is about aging and memory in humans.... human aging is a concept that has been analyzed by anthropologists based on various aspects.... This is because the process of human aging comes with several changes....
6 Pages (1500 words) Article
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us