Get help now

Short term memory

Updated July 8, 2019
  • Subject
  • Pages 6
  • Words 1367
  • Views 12
dovnload

Download Paper

File format: .pdf, .doc, available for editing

Short term memory essay

Get help to write your own 100% unique essay

Get custom paper

78 writers are online and ready to chat

This essay has been submitted to us by a student. This is not an example of the work written by our writers.

Memory plays a crucial role in our lives.

As you know, there are many deadlines, dates, and names to remember. How do we remember them all? Where does the information go? Memory also plays a very important part in learning. Intelligence is fundamentally based on memory. Learning means a change that causes a system to act differently on the basis of what is contained within it.

Our memories are constantly changing. To understand how we learn, it is necessary to learn how we store information. How the memory works is not exactly understood. Before I discuss the different theorists and their ideas on how our memory system works, I will explain the basic areas of our memory.

Memory is the retention of information and how a person retrieves information. Memory is essential for intelligent behavior. Without memory, learning Memories are generally formed by chemical changes in the nerve cells and the pathways in the brain that are involved with the memory process. The parts of the brain that are concerned with memory are the hippocampus, cortex, and thalamus.

Everytime someone learns something new, new pathways are created.(Howe, 1983) There is two types of memory which are motor-skill memory and factual memory. Motor-skill memory obviously refers to remembering how to walk , run, etc. Factual memory refers to remembering telephone numbers, names, different places, etc. There is three levels of memory in which input travels; sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. The sensory memory absorbs things going on around you. Sensory memory refers to the input that is taken in through a human’s five senses (eyes, ears, nose, taste, and touch).

Information is kept here for a brief second. If the information gets attention, it gets passed on to the short-term memory. If the information does not get attention, then the information is ignored.(Howe, 1983) The short-term memory is where information gets passed to after the sensory memory. The short-term memory is also refereed to as the working memory. This is where information is temporarily stored. The STM has a limited capacity and a limited duration.

The STM can basically hold seven items at a time and no longer then thirty seconds. The only way time is extended is through repetition. As you add new items the earlier ones drop off. Due to the limited capacity of the STM, the amount of information received by the long-term memory is limited. The information used by the short-term memory will be sent to the long-term memory.(Rosenfield, 1988) To help students remember more then seven items, there is a method called chunking. This method groups items together in groups in order for a student to recall more information.

For example, if there is 14 letters (such as on the handout), the letters can be combined in groups of seven. (refer to handout) The long-term memory is where information is permanently stored by repetition or links to already existing information. Information can be stored here for a few months or for the rest of your life. Research has shown that information exists longer if it is associated with already existing information.(Rosenfield, 1988) The first major break in the study of memorization was made by Hermann Ebbinghaus(1850-1909). Until this time, philosophers believed that memorizing processes could not be measured or experimented on.

Through experimentation on himself, he concluded that there is a process to memory and there is a forgetting curve. His three theories of forgetting were; the earlier the images are more and more overlaid, so to speak, and covered by the later ones, the persisting images suffer changes which more and more affect their nature, and crumbling into parts and the loss of separate components instead of general obscuration. (Baddeley, 1976, pg. 4) Ebbinghaus also researched the capacity of human memory.

He used a method in which he created called the saving method. This is a technique which he estimated the amount of material retained by measuring the difficulty of relearning it. (Baddeley, 1976, Ebbinghaus created many theories and experiments that will be used by other theorists in the future. Ebbinghaus moved on to different subject areas and never concluded a theory from his experiments on memory.(Baine,1986) Baretlett used some of Ebbinghaus’ theories and concluded that when we attempt to learn something, we base it on what we already know from our past experiences. There are two theorist that focus on forgetting, which puts limits on memory. Freud’s theory is based on repression.

If the information that is coming in has painful associations, a person well unconsciously block it.(Baddeley, 1976, pg.51) The second theory came from the German School of Gestlt Psychology. The study of memory was influenced by the discovery of the organization of memory, and autonomous change in memory trace.(Baddeley, 1976, pg55) Using the study of shapes, the prediction was made that memory trace would get stronger as the shape was study longer. These are only a few theorists. There are so many theorists who have helped attribute to the mystery of memory. One of the most influential theories is called the Levels of Processing proposed by. This theory does not believe that there are separate stores(STM and LTM) as most of the other theorists believe.

The Levels of Processing Theory was first introduced by Self-ridge and Neisser in 1960, and again by Sutherland in 1968. The theory explains how stimuli goes through different stages. Morton (1970) and Baddeley and Patterson (1971) also suggested the same theory. Each level of processing is deeper as more processing is required. There is relation between the depth of processing and the duration of processing.(Baddeley, pg.76, Instead, Craik and Lockhart proposed that input traveled to different levels of perception, but they believe there is a working or short-term memory involved.

The working memory can operate at any of the processing levels.(Baddeley, 1976, pg. 166) Cermak share similar views: “Information could be conceived of as passing through… stages of encoding… at the same time that acoustic properties of a word are becoming well-established, a weak semantic encoding can be starting. The word passes through various stages of encoding, being categorized more and more specifically.” (Cermak, Craik and Lockhart’s views; “The memory trace can be understood as a by-product of perceptual analysis and…trace persistence is a positive function of the depth to which the stimulus has been analyzed.” (Craik and Lockhart, 1972, p. 671) The theory of Levels of Processing, according to Craik and Lockhart, consisted of shallow and deep processing.

They proposed that “different levels of processing are necessary for the perceptual analyses that transform information about the various items’ attributes into forms stored as memory traces.” (Howe, pg28) Deep processing refers to the meaning of the stimulus being processed. The working memory in this theory is responsible for maintaining and prolonging perceptual experience. The information then proceeds to what is call type 1. This is when attention is diverted and information is lost. This area does not consist of permanent memory.

Type 2 processing is a deeper processing and has a higher memory Craik and Lockhart’s theory has been criticized by other theorists. Kolers and Ostry (1974) believe that physical stimulation information is stored in memory for a period of time, unlike Craik and Lockhart.(Baine, 1986, pg.12) Learning is based on information and experiences, and is also based on the functioning of the brain and the nervous system. Due to the lack of knowledge about the brain or the nervous system, it is difficult to know how people learn and how their memory functions. There are a few theories in which most are familiar with. S-R learning with positive reinforcement discovered by Pavlov; or Kohler’s cognitive learning theory through Memory is essential to learning.

The question where memory takes place and how it is stored cannot be answered yet. Practice and repetition seems to be the way most new information is learned. Cramming does not result in long-term retention. Bibliography Baddeley, Alan D.

1976. The Psychology of Memory . Basic Books, Inc. New York Baine, David. 1986.

Memory and Instruction. Educational Technology Publications, Cermak,L.S. 1975. Improving Your Memory. Norton New York Howe, Michael J.A. 1983.

Introduction To The Psychology Of Memory. University Rosenfield, Israel. 1988. The Invention of Memory.

Basic Books, Inc. New York Short-Term and Lori Frend EDU500 Bibliography:

Short term memory essay

Remember. This is just a sample

You can get your custom paper from our expert writers

Get custom paper

Short term memory. (2019, Jul 08). Retrieved from https://sunnypapers.com/short-term-memory-report/