Daniel Bowen

Psychology 1010

Memory

The process in which we use are memories can be summed up in three key
functions; encoding, storage and retrieval. Encoding is the process of transforming what
we perceive, think, or feel into a special memory. Storage is the process of maintaining
information in memory over time. Retrieval is the process of bringing to mind information
that has been encoded and stored. This happens over and over again in our lives and
builds up memories that describe who we are. Our memories, in a very real sense,
define us. Each of us have our own identity because of the things we individually have
thought, felt, done, and experienced. All this has happened, is happening and will
happen without us even appreciating the power of our memory. It is very interesting to
think about how important it is to have a memory. Think about if your memory just
stopped working. From that point on, no matter what you did, your brain couldn't
remember it. Its like you never did that thing or had that experience. You wouldn't be
able to create new memories, which in turn would make it so you could never change.
With this information we have about memories and why they are so important, why and
how does are memory fail. If they are so important what is holding those memories from
being retrieved so that we can recall them! We are going to discuss some of the Seven
Sins of Memory.

Although our memories have many obvious benefits, they can also let us down.
Blocking is one of the most frustrating of the Seven Sins of Memory. It is basically a
failure to retrieve information that is available in memory even though you are trying to
produce it. The problem with this and why it is so frustrating is because the information
has not left your memory and you aren't forgetting to retrieve it. You are just having a
absolute retrieval failure. Blocking usually leaves us saying its on the tip of my tongue.
This happens with places and names often because their links to related concepts and
knowledge are weaker than common names. I know that I have experienced this and it
makes me extremely frustrated. For instance, A name like Scar from the Disney movie
The Lion King is going to have a lot less of a chance for blocking because there is a
characteristic that goes along with Scars name and the scar on his face. On the
contrast, a name like John Smith is going to have a much higher chance to be blocked
because there is nothing that can really be pulled from the name and the character to
help retrieve it. Name blocking usually results from damage to parts of the left temporal
lobe on the surface of the cortex.

Bias is another sin of the memory. Bias is the changing influence of present
knowledge, beliefs, and feelings on recollection of previous experience. I find this very
interesting. Sometimes depending on our mood we will change our memories to fit how
we actually feel during the present time. When I learned about bias I really felt like this
is what I go through personally a lot. I started to remember an experience I had where I
messed up in a football game and was really upset about it at the time. I was extremely
upset. Now when I look back at it and retrieve that memory I have developed it to be a

funny experience. It was a silly mistake and really did transform into something that I
can now laugh at. I can see the change between the present and the past in order to
make that experience more of a bearable one. We all do this! We remember something
in the past as the way we want it to be rather than the way it truly was.

The last sin I want to talk about is Transience. This is the process of forgetting
what occurs with the passage of time. I did a little experiment on my 55 year old dad, 79
year old grandpa and my 17 year old brother. They obviously all differ in age. I did a
small experiment and asked them to remember a name. A couple days later I came
back to them and asked them if they remembered the name I gave them. Not to my
surprise my little brother was the only one that remembered the name. Now, this
experiment could be a lot more effective if I had more people to ask and with a wider
variety of different ages. With the passage of time the quality of our memories changes.

As I've had the opportunity to study memory and go into the The Seven Sins of
Memory I've really come to appreciate my memory. It truly is so important and gives
myself an identity. As I said earlier, If I didn't have the ability to remember anything I
couldn't change or progress in life. Ive figured out the way in which my memory works.
When I study more about psychology and the memory I want to learn about the things I
can do to counter these sins, so to speak. I want to be able to strengthen my memory.
Ive learned a lot about memory and it will definitely benefit my life.

Citation:
Schacter, D. L. (1999). The seven sins of memory: Insights from psychology and
cognitive neuroscience. American psychologist, 54(3), 182.
Graf, P., & Mandler, G. (1984). Activation makes words more accessible, but not
necessarily more retrievable. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 23(5),
553-568.
Nissen, M. J., & Bullemer, P. (1987). Attentional requirements of learning: Evidence
from performance measures. Cognitive psychology, 19(1), 1-32.