Free Essays on Memory

Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. A repressed memory is one that is retained in the sub conscious mind, where one is not aware of it but where it can still affect both conscious thoughts and behavior. When memory is distorted or confabulated, the result can be what has been called the False Memory Syndrome: a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are entered around a memory of traumatic experience which is objectively false but in which the person strongly believes. Note that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such. We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle, in turn disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behaviors. The analogy to personality disorder is intentional. False memory syndrome is especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids confrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated and resistant to correction. The person may become so focused on the memory that he or she may be effectively distracted from coping with real problems in his or her life. John F. Kihlstrom, Ph.D. There are many models which try to explain how memory works. Nevertheless, we do not know exactly how memory works. One of the most questionable models of memory is the one which assumes that every experience a person has had is 'recorded' in memory and that some of these memories are of traumatic events too terrible to want to remember. These terrible memories are locked away in the sub conscious mind, i.e. repressed, only to be remembered in adulthood when some triggering event opens the door to the unconscious. And, both before and after the repressed memory is remembered, it causes p... Free Essays on Memory Free Essays on Memory Memory One of the most important things that involves the brain. Without memory you would not know how to move, eat, or do any of life’s essentials. If I did not have memory then I would have not remembered to do this paper or how to type it. Think about it, memory is essential to your life. Memory is the ability to remember something that has been learned or experienced (Psychology Book). Memory also refers to the brain's ability to store information. Memory is a vital part of the learning process, without it, learning would be impossible. If your brain did not record anything from the past then you would be unable to learn anything new. All your experiences would be lost as soon as they ended, and each new situation would be unfamiliar. Without memory, you would repeatedly have the same experiences for the "first time."(Grolier Encyclopedia). Psychologists divide a person's memory system into three types, each of which has a different time span. These types are called sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory holds information for only a second or two. Suppose you look at a picture of a mountain. A nearly exact image of the mountain is stored briefly in your visual sensory memory, which involves your eyes and parts of your brain. However, the image quickly fades and disappears unless you make an active effort to think about it. Short-term memory contains what you actively think about at any particular time. It can hold a fact for as long as you think about it. You use short-term memory when you look up a telephone number and repeat it to yourself until you dial it. Unless you continually repeat this information to yourself, it will fade after about 20 to 30 seconds. Long-term memory can store facts, ideas, and experiences after you stop thinking about them. All conscious processing of informationsuch as when you think or when you solve problemsinvolves short-term memory working together w... Free Essays on Memory Memory has been an ongoing topic for study throughout the years. How and why we remember certain pieces of information has led to decades of research and investigation. Studies conducted in recent years have explored the interests of college students. The article, What Aspects of Their Memories Do College Students Most Want to Improve?, discusses the results of these studies in order to answer that question. The author of the article, Kenneth L. Higbee, initially conducted a study to learn what aspects of memory are important to people. A general audience of people attending a memory-improvement seminar responded to an open-ended question. That question was, â€Å"What aspects of memory do you most want to improve?† Another group was then given a survey based on the responses of the first group. It was found that the most important aspect of memory was remembering people’s names. The purpose of Higbee’s research was to compare the results of that first study (conducted among a general audience) to two other linked studies, which dealt with responses of college students. In a pilot study, 41 college students from a memory skills class were asked the question, â€Å"What are the main benefits you hope to get from taking a memory-improvement class?† The students’ responses were tallied and placed into four main categories. The categories were as follows: 1. Schoolwork : 51% 2. People’s names and faces: 24% 3. Everyday tasks: 15% 4. What I read: 10% It was found that no substantial differences existed between males and females, low-GPA and high-GPA students or among years in school. An additional study was then conducted to more deeply explore what aspects of memory college students most want to improve. Like the other study, the participants were college students enrolled in a memory skills class. Mr. Higbee was the teacher of this class. 36 students participated, including 23 males and 13 ... Free Essays on Memory Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. A repressed memory is one that is retained in the sub conscious mind, where one is not aware of it but where it can still affect both conscious thoughts and behavior. When memory is distorted or confabulated, the result can be what has been called the False Memory Syndrome: a condition in which a person's identity and interpersonal relationships are entered around a memory of traumatic experience which is objectively false but in which the person strongly believes. Note that the syndrome is not characterized by false memories as such. We all have memories that are inaccurate. Rather, the syndrome may be diagnosed when the memory is so deeply ingrained that it orients the individual's entire personality and lifestyle, in turn disrupting all sorts of other adaptive behaviors. The analogy to personality disorder is intentional. False memory syndrome is especially destructive because the person assiduously avoids confrontation with any evidence that might challenge the memory. Thus it takes on a life of its own, encapsulated and resistant to correction. The person may become so focused on the memory that he or she may be effectively distracted from coping with real problems in his or her life. John F. Kihlstrom, Ph.D. There are many models which try to explain how memory works. Nevertheless, we do not know exactly how memory works. One of the most questionable models of memory is the one which assumes that every experience a person has had is 'recorded' in memory and that some of these memories are of traumatic events too terrible to want to remember. These terrible memories are locked away in the sub conscious mind, i.e. repressed, only to be remembered in adulthood when some triggering event opens the door to the unconscious. And, both before and after the repressed memory is remembered, it causes p...