Short Term Memory : How Does Memory Work?

Article by Martin Davie

The discipline that investigates the internal processes of thought such as learning, visualisations, memory, feeling, sounds, problem solving, language and thinking is known as Cognitive Psychology.

On a daily basis our senses are subjected to a flood of information and his information is constantly stored in memories. Many experts working in cognitive psychology suggest that there are three ways we store these memories, and this system acts as a sort of filter to protect ourselves from this information onslaught.

The three storage systems are: Sensory, Short Term, Long Term.

The sensory memory retains an exact copy of what is seen or heard (visual & auditory) at that moment. It’s your sensory memory that allows a perception such as a visual pattern, a sound, or a touch to linger for a brief moment after the stimulation is over. The memory is stored for a few seconds at most, many experts suggest only a fraction of a second. It has been claimed that Sensory Memory has unlimited capacity.

Short Term memory simply means that you are retaining the information for a short period of time. There isn’t the need to create the neural mechanisms for later recall. For example, maybe you are looking for your car keys as you are about to head out of your building. A friend advises you that the keys are on a table next to the door. You only require storage of that memory until you walk over to pick up the keys. Short term memory is often stored as sounds, especially in recalling words, but may be stored as images as well. Similar to a Computers RAM (Random Access Memory) it provides space for short computations before either discarding the information or moving it to other storage facilities in the memory system. Similar to a computer where you can loose a document, for example, if you don’t save it – a short term memory is also susceptible to loss through interruptions or interference.

Long term memory is relatively permanent storage. Neural pathways are created for storing ideas and information which can be recalled weeks, months, or even years later. Information is stored on the basis of meaning and importance, and is gradually transferred from short-term memory into long-term memory. The more the information is repeated or used, the more likely it is to eventually end up in long-term memory, or to be “retained.”. To create the neural pathways requires deliberate effort. Interest in the topic obviously helps. Repetition and rehearsal of information, especially auditory, assists in recall. In studying mathematics, for example, learning the times table by rote is something many people will use for recall throughout their whole lives. The limits of the capacity of our long term memory are not known.

Some strategies to improve long term memory include:Be attentiveRehearse or repeatChunkingMnemonic techniquesVisualisationsExternal aidsBeing organisedThese techniques can be reviewed in the article “Increase your brain power with 7 quick memory tips”.

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