MEMORY

Sensory Memory

•Iconic • Echoic •Haptic

Short-term Memory

Long-term Memory

•Explicit Episodic

•Implicit Semantic
 Memory

Memory is a person’s ability to remember things . It can be

defined as the storage of learned information for retrieval and future use . It is the

retention of , and ability to encode , recall information , personal experiences and

procedures (skills and habits) . The word memory comes from the Anglo-

French memoire or memorie , and ultimately from the Latin memoriaand memor,

meaning mindful or remembering .

“Memory is that characteristic which underlines all learning, the essential

feature of which is reflection . In narrow sense it is recall and recognition .”

-Drever

“Memory is mental power which consists in learning, retaining and remembering

what has previously been learnt .”

-Woodworth and Marquis

“The power that we have to store our experiences, and to bring them into the field

of consciousness sometime after the experiences have occurred, is termed as

memory .”

-Ryburn
Types of memory

Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory . It is the ability

to retain impressions of sensory information after the original stimuli have

ended . It acts as a kind of buffer for stimuli received through the five

senses which are retained accurately, but very briefly .The ability to look at

something with just a second of observation is an example of sensory

memory . Sensory memory cannot be prolonged via rehearsal . Information is

passed from the sensory memory into short-term memory via attention which

effectively filters the stimuli to only those which are of interest at any given

time .

Types of sensory memory

(I) Iconic memory (also known as visual sensory memory) involves a very

brief image. This type of sensory memory typically lasts for about one-quarter

to one-half of a second.

(II) Echoic memory (also known as auditory sensory memory) involves a very

brief memory of sound , a bit like an echo . This type of sensory memory can

last for up to three to four seconds .

(III) Haptic memory (also known as tactile memory ) involves the very brief

memory of a touch . This type of sensory memory lasts for approximately two

seconds .
 Short-term memory is the information that a person is currently thinking

about or is aware of . It is also calledprimary or active memory . Short term

memory often encompasses events over a period anywhere from 30 seconds

to several days . For example, short term memory can be used to

remember a phone number that has just been recited .

Long-term memory refers to the storage of information over an extended

period . This type of memory tends to be stable and can last for a long time –

often for years . Long-term memory is usually divided into two types –

explicit and implicit . Explicit memories,also known as declarative memories ,

include all of the memories that are available in consciousness . Explicit

memory can be further divided into episodic memory(specific events)

and semantic memory (knowledge about the world). Implicit memories are

those that are mostly unconscious . Implicit memory helps to perform various

skilled activities properly . It is otherwise known as non-declarative or skilled

memory . This type of memory includes procedural memory , which

involves memories of body movement and how to use objects in the

environment . How to drive a car or use a computer are examples of

procedural memory .