What is memory definition for children. Types of memory in psychology

- Every time you can't remember a name or a place, write it down in your diary.
“What if I can’t remember the diary?”

In this article, we will introduce you to the principles of memory, tell you about the methods of remembering and retrieving memories, share exercises, recommendations from scientists and unexpected facts about memory. You will definitely remember it 🙂

How memory works

Did you know that the very word "memory" misleads us. It gives the impression that we are talking about something unified, about one mental skill. But over the past fifty years, scientists have found that there are several different processes of remembering. For example, we have short-term and long-term memory.

Everyone knows that short term memory is used when you need to keep a thought in mind for about a minute (for example, telephone number which you are going to call). At the same time, it is very important not to think about something else - otherwise you will immediately forget the number. This statement is true for both young and old people, but for the latter, its relevance is still slightly higher. Short term memory is involved in various processes, for example, is used to track changes in a number when added or subtracted.

Long term memoryь is responsible for everything that we need in more than a minute, even if you were distracted by something else in this interval. long term memory divided into procedural and declarative.

procedural memory concerns activities such as riding a bicycle or playing the piano. Once you have learned to do this, later on your body will simply repeat necessary movements- and it is controlled by procedural memory.
Declarative memory, in turn, participates in the conscious recall of information, for example, when you need to restore a shopping list. This type of memory can be either verbal (verbal) or visual (visual) and is divided into semantic and episodic memory.

semantic memory refers to the meaning of concepts (in particular, to the names of people). Suppose that knowledge of what a bicycle is belongs to this kind of memory.
episodic memory- to events. For example, knowing when you last went for a bike ride calls on your episodic memory. Part of episodic memory is autobiographical - it relates to various events and life experiences.

Finally we got to prospective memory- it refers to the things you are going to do: call the car service, or buy a bouquet of flowers and visit your aunt, or clean the cat's litter box.

How memories are formed and returned

Memory is the mechanism by which impressions received in the present affect us in the future. For the brain new experience means spontaneous activity of neurons. When something happens to us, clusters of neurons fire up, passing on electrical impulses. The work of the gene and the production of protein create new synapses, stimulate the growth of new neurons.

But the process of forgetting is similar to how snow falls on objects, covering them with itself, from which they become white and white - so much so that you can no longer distinguish where it was.

An impulse that provokes the extraction of a memory - an internal (thought or feeling) or an external event, causes the brain to associate with an event from the past. works like a kind of predictive device: it is constantly preparing for the future based on the past. Memories condition our perception of the present through a "filter" through which we look and automatically assume what will happen next.

The memory extraction mechanism has important property. It has only been carefully studied in the last twenty-five years: when we take a coded memory out of our internal storage, it is not necessarily recognized as something from the past.

Take, for example, cycling. You sit on a bike and just ride, and clusters of neurons fire in the brain, allowing you to pedal, balance and brake. This is one type of memory: an event in the past (trying to learn to ride a bike) influenced your behavior in the present (you ride it), but you don't feel today's bike ride as a memory of the day you first got to do it.

If you are asked to remember the very first ride on a bicycle, you will think, scan the memory storage, and, for example, you will have an image of a dad or an older sister who ran after you, you will remember the fear and pain from the first fall or the delight that you managed to get to the nearest turn. And you will know for sure that you are remembering something from the past.

The two types of memory processing are closely related in our daily lives. Those that help us pedal are called implicit memories, and the ability to remember the day we learned to ride are called explicit memories.

Master to collect mosaics

We have a short-term working memory, a slate of consciousness, on which we can this moment put some picture. And, by the way, it has a limited capacity, where the images present in the foreground of consciousness are stored. But there are other types of memory.

In the left hemisphere, the hippocampus forms factual and linguistic knowledge; in the right - arranges the "bricks" of life history by time and topic. All this work makes it more efficient " search engine» memory. The hippocampus can be compared to the one who collects mosaics: it connects separate fragments of images and sensations of implicit memories into full-fledged "pictures" of actual and autobiographical memory.

If suddenly the hippocampus is damaged, for example, during a stroke, memory will also be impaired. Daniel Siegel told this story in his book: “Once at a dinner with friends, I met a man with such a problem. He politely informed me that he had several bilateral hippocampal strokes, and asked me not to be offended if I went away for a second to pour myself water, and then he did not remember me. And indeed, I returned with a glass in my hands, and we again introduced ourselves to each other.

Like some sleeping pills, alcohol is notorious for temporarily shutting down our hippocampus. However, the state of blackout caused by alcohol is not the same as a temporary loss of consciousness: a person is conscious (although incapacitated), but does not encode what is happening in an explicit form. People who experience such memory lapses may not remember how they got home or how they met the person they woke up with in the morning in the same bed.

The hippocampus also shuts down when angry, and people who have seizures uncontrollable rage are not necessarily lying when they claim to not remember what they said or did in this altered state of consciousness.

How to test your memory

Psychologists use different techniques to test memory. Some of them you can do yourself at home.

Verbal memory test. Have someone read 15 words to you (only unrelated words: bush, bird, hat, etc.). Repeat them: people under 45 usually remember about 7-9 words. Then listen to this list four more times. Norm: reproduce 12-15 words. Go about your business and after 15 minutes repeat the words (but only from memory). Most middle-aged people cannot reproduce more than 10 words.
Visual memory test. Draw this complex diagram, and after 20 try to draw it from memory. The more details you remember, the better your memory is developed.

How is memory related to the senses?

According to scientist Michael Merzenich, “one of the most important findings from recent research is that the senses (hearing, sight, and others) are closely related to memory and cognitive abilities. Because of this interdependence, the weakness of one often means, or even causes, the weakness of the other.

For example, Alzheimer's patients are known to gradually lose their memory. And one of the manifestations of this disease is that they begin to eat less. It turned out that, since visual impairment is among the symptoms of this disease, patients (among other reasons) simply do not see food ...

Another example concerns normal age-related changes cognitive activity. Aging, a person becomes more and more forgetful and absent-minded. This is largely due to the fact that the brain is no longer as good as before, processing sensory signals. As a result, we lose the ability to retain new visual representations of our experience as clearly as before, and subsequently we have problems using and recovering them.

By the way, it is curious that exposure to blue light enhances the response to emotional stimuli of the hypothalamus and amygdala, that is, the brain regions responsible for organizing attention and memory. So looking at all shades of blue is useful.

Techniques and exercises for training memory

The first and most important thing you need to know in order to have a good memory is. Studies have shown that the hippocampus responsible for spatial memory is enlarged in taxi drivers. This means that the more often you do activities that use memory, the better you pump it.

And here are some more tricks that will help you develop your memory, improve your ability to recall and remember everything you need.

1. Go crazy!

Success in almost all areas of life depends on whether we can remember the right information at a certain time. So human memory and attempts to improve it are at the center close attention around the globe for hundreds of years.

Human memory provides the continuity of experience and the basis for the development of personality. All our impressions leave a trace and, when we need to, they are updated, recalled. If it were not for memory, everything would become a moment, because only preservation and the possibility of reproduction organizes a person's idea of himself as a subject that exists up to the present moment.

Meaning and history

Memory as a mental process is associated with all mental functions, its connection with emotions, motor functions and cognitive processes is especially strong. Bartlett emphasizes that memories are not lifeless and fixed once and for all layers of experience.

Remembrance is creation, construction, the basis of which is our attitude to the past. That is, every time we remember, we create – the parts of the brain, in which there was an excitation to an event in the past, become active again when we remember, creating it.

The ability to improve is inseparable from memory, this connection is rooted in the definition of how the ability to store and reproduce. Everything newly perceived fits into the already perceived, and there is a continuous polishing of the perception and actions of a person. Apparently, this is how people become experts in their field.

All other creatures, except for humans, have genetic and mechanical memory. The genetic is responsible for the transfer through the genes of those properties that are necessary for the creature to survive. Mechanical - the result of learning for a short period of life. Both are incapable of the kind of organization of experience that human memory makes possible.

The concept of memory has long been under the jurisdiction of philosophy, as it is one of the foundations of human knowledge. Plato represented it in the form of an imprint, however, without endowing it with activity. Aristotle singled out the role of associations when referring to it in the process of thinking.

Descartes focused on the activity of memorization - the necessary remains, the other is discarded. To the question "What is memory and what is its significance?" Spinoza, Hobbes, Locke, Hegel and many others answered. So, Bergson considered it the basis of individuality.

With mid-nineteenth century opens the era of memory research in psychology. At this time, an experimental approach is being laid to develop concepts related to mental life individual. Thanks to the successes that psychology has achieved, it has become clear what memory is - a property of the nervous system, which consists in saving, reproducing and changing information, but so far no consensus has been reached on a huge number of side issues.

general information

Memory is a condition for learning, the formation of skills, the acquisition of knowledge. The main functions of memory: recognition, reproduction, memorization, preservation.

Based on this, memory properties are distinguished: volume, memorization speed, storage time, accuracy and playback speed. Qualitative characteristics memories are often associated with professional activity or characteristics of a particular person.

Due to the abundance of reasons for classification, there are many different groups within which it is divided into specific species. For example, on the basis of difference from other creatures, one can distinguish the following types human memory:

Arbitrary. Responsible for purposeful memorization.
Logical. The inclusion of the memorized in logical connections.
mediated. The use of memory aids.

On the other side, important role plays the storage time of the material in memory. And its types for the duration of storage are different:

1. Instant memory

Instantaneous, it can also be called sensory, is a direct reflection of what the senses have perceived. It retains information for about 0.1-0.5 seconds. It represents an impression.

2. Short-term memory

Short-term - responsible for storing the most essential elements of the image for 20 seconds, if the material is not repeated. This memory belongs to the realm of the actual consciousness of a person, it contains only that which corresponds to the individual portrait of the personality, that which the person paid attention to.

3. RAM

Or, as it is also called, the working memory of a person can store information for up to several days, depending on the task. The stored information is needed precisely to solve the problem facing the person. The operational one can be increased, which will lead to the development of a mobile one.

4. Long-term memory

It contains the most fundamental and significant memories and knowledge. Stores information indefinitely. Repetition reinforces stored experience.

5. Genetic memory

Information in the genotype that is inherited. It is on her that we cannot influence.

According to the analyzer that prevails in the process of memorization, preservation and reproduction, there are: emotional, auditory, visual memory and other types. Auditory memory is responsible for the memorization and reproduction of sounds, it is she who allows musicians and philologists to capture subtle transitions between melodies and the pronunciation of words. Visual - associated with visual images, has a huge impact on the ability to imagine, while the easier a person remembers the image, the easier it is for him to reproduce it.

The quality of memory depends on the individual characteristics of the person himself. The individual features of the processes of memorization and reproduction in humans add up to types of memory. Among them are: figurative, verbal-logical. Thus, the figurative type is distinguished by the fact that whole “pieces” of the image are preserved. At semantic type the elements of the perceived are built into a system, the emphasis is on meaning, not on form.

Structure

William James was the first to propose the division of memory into short-term and long-term on the basis that we irretrievably lose some of the information that we receive, and remember the other for many years. Ebbinghaus introduced his forgetting curve around the same time. Ebbinghaus' law states that we forget more than half of what we have learned in an hour, and by the end of the week, less than 1/5 of what we have learned is left.

Already in the middle of the 20th century, Peterson was able to show the limited duration of information storage. It disappears if it is not repeated. This was the evidence for the existence of short-term memory. According to the results of the experiments of Peterson and Ebbinghaus, it can be concluded that for successful memorization of material for a long time, it is enough to repeat it periodically.

Thanks to experiments and observations on people with brain damage, we already know that the parts of the brain responsible for short-term and long-term memory are different. There are still different theories about the volumes of the short-term.

One of them, which is perhaps the most popular, is that maximum amount units of storage in it is 7. It does not matter what we consider a unit of information - a letter or a word. If given a set of letters, then a person will remember about 7, the same thing will happen with words, although words seem to be more informative and complex units information.

Thus, the ability to remember 7 units of information, in fact, does not limit us too much. It is enough to correctly organize disparate elements into groups so that there are no more than 7 of these groups, then it will be possible to remember huge pieces of information. Proper organization refers to the process of combining groups with information from long-term memory. The effectiveness of this technique has been proven in the experiments of Bauer and Springston.

Its essence is that we need not only to create some systems from disparate elements, but these systems must have associations with our past. Then any system can be labeled, a mental “sticker”, and only it can be remembered, and not the elements included in it.

Some scientists (Baddeley and others) argue that the amount of information that can be stored in short-term memory is limited only by the speed with which we repeat information. Thus, crucial remains with time. The more information we can fit into a small amount of time, the better we can potentially remember it.

We are always in the short-term, it is directly given to us. Our knowledge, memories and everything else that gives meaning to life and allows us to perceive new experience are in the long-term. She, apparently, can store an unlimited amount of information for any period of time.

On the one hand, memory is everywhere in the brain, on the other hand, some areas clearly perform the functions necessary for the interaction of its different types. How does memory and memorization work? Hebb's theory provides an original answer to this:

Due to the short-term, a coil of nervous activity begins.
A sufficiently large number of repetitions leads to a chemical or structural change.
If there was a combination of information with past memories, a meaningful inclusion, then the information is transferred to permanent storage.

Mnemonics - the art of remembering

Exist great amount sources on how to develop memory. It is best to go straight to cognitive psychology, which has spent years experimenting and studying mental processes human and directly the development of memory. Features of memory not only improve the memorization of information, but make possible intensive development intellectual level person.

And the first fact that psychology has in store for people: to remember, you need to organize information into schemes.

Organization can occur with the help of familiar ideas, things, objects. Associations of a stranger with a friend allow you to quickly access information. Connecting the imagination, crossing the new and unfamiliar with it, or creating scenes from objects, allows you to remember the material much faster and for a longer period.

The second fact that is needed for the development of memory is that vivid emotions associated with some information make it possible to memorize this information without difficulty and for a long time.

Third: repetitions at short intervals have a better effect on memorizing the material than “shock” classes with long breaks.

And the last thing: an increase in blood glucose levels immediately after memorizing information leads to the fact that it is easier for a person to reproduce it in the future.

1. Mobile intelligence

People who want to develop analytic skills memory training will help. Exercises aimed at developing working memory improve logical thinking, as well as the ability to concentrate, which are almost the basis of any successful learning and work. It turns out that when we develop memory, we develop in general. How to train this type of memory:

A person is presented with visual or sound images one after another.
The task of a person is to indicate whether the image that he perceives now was already presented before at an n-step ago.

2. Method of places

Improving memory allows you to remember absolutely everything, but for this you will first have to develop concentration. The method of places, which has been known since 500 BC, is the arrangement of objects of thought in places in a certain room that is well known to you.

For example, it is enough to imagine your house and choose certain ten places in it. You need to choose places so that you can move between them consistently and without interference. After that, take 10 random items and place them in these places. Now it remains to visit these places in your imagination in the order that you observed when arranging the objects, and name the objects. The method of places allows you to remember up to 72% new information, while only 28% remain without its use.

Poor memory complicates the learning process, prevents the manifestation of the full potential of the individual, therefore, a person’s memory must be developed from childhood and throughout life. Author: Ekaterina Volkova

Memory is the most important component of our personality. It is the link between our past, present and future. Without the ability to remember, evolution would probably stand still. For modern man In the age of information flow, it is extremely important to have good memory to keep up with the development race. The load on our natural "hard drive" is growing every day.

What is human memory?

Language and memory are closely related. The ability to remember is not innate in humans. It develops as we learn to describe the world. We have practically no memories of the first years of life, precisely because we could not speak. Then, by the age of 3-5, the child begins to speak in sentences and describes events from life, thereby fixing them in memory.

AT adolescence a person comes to self-awareness. He answers himself to the question "who am I?" And the memories of these years are the strongest and brightest. Whereas recent life events can be very difficult to remember. Why is this happening?

There is a theory that 15-25 years is last period formations. At this time, we turn our attention to other things besides the family. Hormonal changes take place, the brain is formed, new neural connections are formed, many of them work effectively in the frontal frontal lobe. This part of the brain is responsible for self-awareness. And also in these areas information is accumulated, which becomes memories. Maybe this is the reason that we remember the teenage period of our lives very well, even in adulthood.

Types of memory according to the method of memorization.

Human memory can be divided into several types. rice.

So, in order:

1 block. The subject of memory.

* figurative memory. Information that is stored by creating certain images based on data received by our senses. Everything that we see, hear, touch, feel with taste buds and smell, is converted into images and remains in memory in this form.

* verbal memory is all that we get with the help of words and logic. Only humans have this kind. All information received verbally is consciously analyzed and classified for further use.

* emotional memory. Feelings experienced by a person are imprinted in this “department”. All positive or negative emotions are preserved, and in the future, remembering these moments of life, a person can again experience the same sensations.

* Motor (motor) memory. Everything that is connected with movement is remembered by motor memory. Riding a bike, the ability to swim, everything that we do "on the machine", having learned it once, is stored in our muscle memory.

2 block. Memorization method.

* Arbitrary memory. In this way, a person remembers necessary information on purpose, by force of will. For example, through repetition.

* involuntary memory. In the process of life, we remember not only what we need, but also other processes. Especially if these data correspond to our interests and preferences. For example, after a New Year's corporate party, someone will remember the outfits of employees, someone delicious food, and others will keep competitive games in memory. Everyone will involuntarily carry away in his memory what was most interesting to him personally.

3 block. Memory time.

* short term memory. It is used to solve problems "on the agenda". With its help, a person processes a huge amount of information, but very quickly forgets it. Immediately, as soon as it is no longer needed. The natural “fuse” is triggered so that the brain does not “explode”.

* long term memory. This type is determined by the long period of information storage. All accumulated knowledge is structured, grouped and used for months, years or a lifetime.

* Intermediate memory. It is something between long-term and short-term. During the day, the brain collects everything it has learned, and during the night's sleep it sorts - something is cut off, and something is put into a long-term "safe".

* RAM needed to perform a specific action.

* sensory memory the shortest. Stores information received from the senses for fractions of seconds. For example, after closing the eyes, the last picture seen does not immediately disappear. It is probably due to this type of memory that we do not notice the blinking of our eyes.

human memory amazing gift given by nature to people. Thanks to her, we can accumulate life experience and then use it for your own benefit. A person deprived of memory is helpless in this world, because every moment will be a discovery for him, but it will bring benefit and satisfaction. There are situations in which a person's memory deteriorates: we forget what happened recently. The disease may develop due to an earlier pathology in life. But if you have a poor memory from birth, do not worry: it can be developed.

What it is?

Human memory is considered as a subject of study within the framework of psychology. This is a person's ability to accumulate and store information. On the other hand, in psychology, memory is defined as the ability to reproduce experiences, emotions from the past, to recall the former location of an object, etc. But most importantly, memory allows us to store the accumulated information about this world.

We know that the brain consists of two hemispheres. Thus, memory is studied not only in psychology, but also within the framework of physiology. It contains over 20 billion interconnected cells. Right hemisphere is responsible for emotions, feelings, and the left for logical thinking. However, until now, scientists do not know exactly where a person's memory is located and how the stored information is memorized.

To determine what kind of memory a person has and why it is needed, indicators should be derived according to the following characteristics of this property. general characteristics and the classification of memory in the field of psychology will depend on the parameters. Here are their main types, characteristics and general classification:

Volume. It is very difficult to measure the total memory capacity of an adult, since in life we use only 4-10% of our brain resources. On average, the capacity of short-term memory can be 7 units of information. However, human capabilities are much greater, as they say in psychology. Researcher L.I. Kupriyanovich calculated that the amount of human memory is 125 million megabytes or more. But only 1% of humanity uses its memory to its fullest extent. Such people are considered geniuses. For example, Mozart could listen musical composition only once and then write down his score without errors. Alexander the Great could call all his warriors by name. But the amazing thing is that the memory capacity of any person allows you to show the same phenomenal abilities.
Memory speed. Depends on the degree of memory training. It is different for all people.
Accuracy. It depends on how correctly a person can reproduce the facts that he has memorized.
duration. Some people remember quickly, but remember for a short time, while others for a lifetime. The duration of memory is also individual. It should also be taken into account that there different types memory for the duration of information storage. Short-term memory is a type that allows you to remember information for a short time. Long-term memory as a species is different in that it allows you to remember information for a long time, sometimes for a lifetime. Depending on which memory a person uses and trains more, this type determines the duration of memorization.
Ready to reproduce. Sometimes it happens that a person taught, experienced, remembered, but in right moment can't remember anymore known facts. There is memory, but it does not reproduce events. Thus, its role in human life seems to be reduced to nothing.

Main types

There are main types of memory depending on the characteristics:

Classification by the nature of the goal: arbitrary and involuntary. Using involuntary memory, we remember automatically. Starring arbitrary memory it is necessary to make an effort, to apply the will.
Classification by way of memorization and character mental activity: motor (or kinetic), emotional, figurative, visual, auditory, tactile, verbal-logical and logical. These types of memory correspond to a certain way of remembering: with the help of movements, words, logical calculations, visual perception, images, etc.

Special mention should be made of such basic types of memory as short-term and long-term. Short-term memory is characterized by information stored for 20 seconds. Memory happens after brief perception subject or information. The most important thing is remembered, but with the aim of reproduction in the future, which is the role of this species.

The amount of short-term memory is very individual. According to scientists, this is 7-9 units. However, today's scientists say that this parameter is too exaggerated. And we should talk about 3-4 units. This is where the replacement process takes place. If short-term memory fills up, new information replaces previous information, causing some previously learned information to disappear. For example, the surname and first names of many people with whom we used to know are leaving and being replaced by new ones. If you want to keep them in your memory, you need to make an effort of will.

What are the functions and purpose of short-term memory, it is not difficult to guess. It is necessary to process a huge amount of information that arrives daily. The unnecessary is immediately removed, as a result, a person can avoid overloading the brain.

The functions and purpose of long-term memory are directly opposite. Long-term memory stores information indefinitely. But in order to retain a certain amount of information for a long time, necessary information must be constantly reproduced. There is a direct relationship between the preservation of information and its reproduction. Since much information is remote from the present moment, it is necessary to make sure that they are constantly “at hand”. Only in this way will long-term memory be able to preserve them.

There is another type of memory - operational. Its function and purpose is to store information for certain period limited by the task. If the task is completed and the information is no longer needed, it is deleted. For example, a student who is studying material for an exam will remember little of what they learned after passing. This is due to the action of RAM: the task was completed, the information was deleted.

The laws

The general characterization and classification of memory will be incomplete without mentioning its basic laws. They help people improve memory by using some patterns. This is their role and purpose:

Interest. Everything that is remembered, a person should be interesting.
Making sense. For an adult and a child, it is important how deeply the problem is considered.
Installation. If a person has set himself the goal of assimilating the amount of information. He will definitely do it.
Action. If knowledge is used practically, memorization is accelerated. Practice plays a big role in memory processes.
Context. The new is learned in context with the old information.
Braking. The new information overlaps the old.
Optimal row length. This is a series of objects or phenomena that need to be remembered. The row should not exceed the amount of short-term memory.
Edge. Features of memory are such that what is remembered better is what is at the beginning and at the end.
Repetition. If information is repeated several times, it will be remembered better. Incompletion. If the action is not completed, the phrase is left unsaid, it will be better remembered.

To increase the amount of memory and memorability, it is enough to know these laws and apply them to your own benefit.

Processes

A general description of memory in the field of psychology mentions the processes of memory. Here are the main ones, their classification and characteristics:

Memorization. It consists in comprehending, capturing, perceiving and experiencing new elements. The main thing to remember is to establish the relationship between the elements and link them into one.
Storage. These features of memory allow you to save the received material, process it and master it. Thanks to the stored information, a person can navigate in environment and don't waste your experience. Long-term memory is responsible for this, which is its role and purpose.
reproduction and recognition. These features allow you to remember the information at the right time and apply it in practice. In reality, a previously seen object or phenomenon is recognized and related by the brain to events from past experience.
Forgetting. This is a loss of playback capability. The functions and purpose of forgetting are not to overload the brain and periodically clear it of unnecessary information.

These basic functions determine the ability of memory to retain information for some time.

The general characteristic of memory distinguishes several more of its varieties. This classification is associated with a different orientation of memory:

Visual - its role in our life is to store visual images.
Motor - its role is to remember previous physical actions.
Episodic - can be long-term, but is mainly associated with episodes from our lives.
Semantic - can also be long-term, but is associated with knowledge of facts or verbal meanings. It is thanks to her that the multiplication table is kept in our memory all our lives.
Procedural is knowledge about how to perform some actions, or, more simply, algorithms.
Topographic - allows you to navigate in space and remember the places we have already been.

The general characteristics and classification of memory allowed scientists to develop some exercises to develop and increase its volume.

Basic mnemonic techniques and exercises

Techniques and exercises developed by scientists allow you to develop memory and increase its volume. Here are some of these exercises:

Try to remember initial letters in a phrase, and then reproduce it using them.
Compose poems.
Terms and long words memorize with the help of consonant familiar words.
Connect figurative associations.
Train your visual memory by memorizing images.
Memorize numbers using patterns or familiar dates and combinations.

This simple general scheme exercises will quickly develop memory various kinds.

Why can memory deteriorate?

There are many people who suffer from memory disorders of various kinds. We know that memory impairment can occur after serious illness, as a result of injury or with age. Sclerosis (blockage of cerebral vessels), neurological diseases, skull injuries, congenital malformations of the nervous system and brain affect the quality of memorization.

If the memory disorder is caused by a disease, it is necessary to undergo medical treatment. Only after that it can be partially restored, although doctors never give an exact guarantee.

Age-related changes in the body also do not add health. To keep all types of memory “alive”, you need to constantly train them. For this purpose, crosswords, board games, riddles, Japanese puzzles are perfect. Exercise is very beneficial for children.

How can memory be improved?

In addition to the mentioned mnemonics techniques, there are many ways to improve memory and increase its volume. Here is a general outline of what needs to be done to improve memory:

Don't be lazy. Memory must be constantly trained, otherwise there will be no result.
If you forgot something, do not try to immediately look into a book or reference book. Try to remember on your own.
When reading books, then try to retell the content to someone close, naming all, even the most insignificant heroes. Do not lose sight of the small events in the book.
Learn by heart verses, the order of numbers (for example, telephones). If you have a child who is in school, you can play a race with him: who will learn the poem faster.
Work with numbers more often, solve problems. Mathematics has a great effect not only on logical thinking, but also on memory.
Try to always learn something new and reproduce information after a while. See how soon your memory improves.
Recall the events of the previous day, what happened a week ago. Such training will quickly increase memory capacity and force short-term memory to translate information into long-term memory.
Learn languages. In addition to benefiting one's own mental development, you will still benefit your memory. Learn at least 6-7 new words per day from any language in the world.
Be positive. Do not think that you are constantly forgetting something. Think that you remember everything, and you really do.
Perceive information with all senses. If you need to remember something, come up with associations. It can be a smell, a taste, a picture, an action that is associated with an event or an object. Subsequently, remembering the association, you will be able to restore the necessary information in memory.
Decide logical tasks. Although puzzles improve thinking processes, they also have a beneficial effect on memory processes.
Table. This is a proven way to train attention, memory and observation. In it, numbers from 1 to 20 are collected and scattered in a different order and written in different fonts. The task is to remember them or find them in a certain amount of time.

The quality of the types of memory is greatly influenced by the daily routine that you adhere to. There are several rules for organizing the regime that will always keep an excellent memory:

Get good sleep. Lack of sleep contributes to the disorder of memory and thinking. Full sleep should be at least 7-8 hours.
Go in for sports, walk more often. Fresh air, physical exercise promote blood flow to the brain, improve blood circulation, increase memory capacity.
Have breakfast. You can not memorize information on an empty stomach. The brain needs food, because it consumes up to 20% of the total energy of the body.
Fall in love. Love relationship, even just being in love sharpens feelings, including memory.
Get rid of the routine. Repeating the same actions daily dulls the memory. Try to change something in your life. In psychology, it is argued that even the smallest changes improve a person's condition. So, if you traditionally start your day with a cup of coffee, try replacing it with juice or another drink now. What changes can sharpen the senses.
Eat right. There are foods that help improve memory. For example, a mint leaf put in tea, soy, citrus fruits are great foods to stimulate your memory.
Play sometimes computer games. Here it is worth emphasizing the word "sometimes", since their passion does not negatively affect the psyche. However, 1-2 puzzle games per week will not hurt.
Listen to music. Everything that awakens our senses affects our memory. Music most of all can awaken emotions in us. It is thanks to her that we can improve our thinking.
Take life with interest. We remember what interests us. If a person is indifferent to everything, then the memory stops working. Live with interest, then it will have something to remember.

Memory is a great gift of nature and it must be protected. Keep your memory, and you will have a rich and bright life until the end of days.

Iconic memory is a type of sensory memory. Iconic memory is a discrete sensory recorder of visual stimuli. A feature of iconic memory is the fixation of information in a holistic, portrait form.

The experiments of George Spurling are connected with the study of iconic sensory memory, its volume. In his experiments, Sperling used both the Whole Report Procedure and his own development, the Partial Report Procedure. Due to the transience of iconic memory, the general reporting procedure did not allow an objective assessment of the amount of information recorded in the sensory memory, since during the reporting process itself, the portrait information was “forgotten”, it was erased from the sensory iconic memory. The partial reporting procedure showed that 75% of the visual field is registered in iconic memory. Sperling's experiments showed that information fades away in iconic memory quickly (within tenths of a second). It was also found that the processes associated with iconic memory are not mentally controlled. Even when the subjects could not observe the symbols, they still reported that they continued to see them. Thus, the subject of the memorization process does not distinguish between the content of iconic memory and objects that are in the environment.

Erasing the information in the iconic memory with other information coming from the senses allows the visual sensation to be more receptive. This property of iconic memory - erasure - ensures the memorization of information in iconic memory, given its limited volume, even if the speed of sensory information incoming exceeds the rate of attenuation of sensory information in iconic memory. Studies have shown that if visual information arrives quickly enough (up to 100 milliseconds), then new information is superimposed on the previous one, which is still in memory, without having time to fade in it and move to another memory level - more long-term. This feature of iconic memory is called reverse masking effect . So, if you show a letter, and then for 100 milliseconds at the same position of the visual field - a ring, then the subject will perceive the letter in the ring.

echoic memory

Echoic memory stores stimulus information received through the auditory organs.

Tactile memory

Tactile memory registers stimulus information coming through the somatosensory system.

Long-term and short-term memory

Physiological studies reveal 2 main types of memory: short-term and long-term. One of major discoveries Ebbinghaus was that if the list is not very large (usually 7), then it can be remembered after the first reading (usually the list of elements that can be remembered immediately is called the amount of short-term memory).

Another law established by Ebbinghaus is that the amount of material retained depends on the time interval from the moment of memorization to verification (the so-called "Ebbinghaus curve"). The positional effect was discovered (occurring if the stored information exceeds short-term memory in volume). It lies in the fact that the ease of remembering a given element depends on the place it occupies in a row (the first and last elements are easier to remember).

In D. O. Hebb's theory of memory, it is believed that short-term memory is based on electrophysiological mechanisms that support the excitation of related neural systems, and long-term memory is fixed by structural changes in individual cells that make up neural systems and is associated with chemical transformation, the formation of new substances.

short term memory

Short-term memory exists due to temporal patterns of neural connections emanating from areas of the frontal (especially dorsolateral, prefrontal) and parietal cortex. This is where sensory information comes in. Short-term memory allows you to remember something after a period of time from a few seconds to several minutes without repetition. Repetition preserves the contents of short-term memory. Its capacity is very limited. George Miller, during his time at Bell Laboratories, performed experiments showing that the capacity of short-term memory is 7 ± 2 objects (the title of his famous work is "The Magic Number 7 ± 2"). Contemporary estimates short-term memory capacities are slightly lower, typically 4-5 objects, and it is known that the capacity of short-term memory increases due to a process called "Chunking" (grouping of objects). For example, if you present the string

FSBKMSMCHSEGE

a person will be able to remember only a few letters. However, if the same information is presented differently:

a person will be able to remember much more letters because he is able to group (combine into chains) information about the semantic groups of letters (in the English original: FBIPHDTWAIBM and FBI PHD TWA IBM). Herbert Simon also showed that the ideal size for chunks of letters and numbers, whether meaningful or not, is three units. Perhaps in some countries this is reflected in the tendency to present a telephone number as several groups of 3 digits and a final group of 4 digits divided into 2 groups of two.

There are hypotheses that short-term memory relies primarily on an acoustic (verbal) code for storing information and, to a lesser extent, on a visual code. In his study (), Konrad showed that it is more difficult for subjects to recall sets of words that are acoustically similar.

Modern research ant communications have proven that ants are capable of storing and transmitting information up to 7 bits. Moreover, the influence of possible grouping of objects on the message length and transmission efficiency is demonstrated. In this sense, the law magic number 7±2" was also performed for ants.

long term memory

Storage in sensory and short-term memory usually has a hard-limited capacity and duration, that is, information remains available for some time, but not indefinitely. In contrast, long-term memory can store much more information for a potentially infinite amount of time (throughout a lifetime). For example, some 7-digit phone number can be stored in short-term memory and forgotten after a few seconds. On the other hand, a person can remember by repeating a phone number for years to come. In long-term memory, information is encoded semantically: Baddeley (1960) showed that after a 20-minute pause, subjects had significant difficulty recalling a list of words with similar meanings (eg, large, huge, large, massive).

Long-term memory is supported by more stable and unchanging changes in neural connections widely distributed throughout the brain. The hippocampus is important in consolidating information from short-term to long-term memory, although it does not appear to store information itself. Rather, the hippocampus is involved in the change neural connections after 3 months of initial training.

neurological memory

Memory is a set of activities that include both biological and physiological and mental processes, the implementation of which at the moment is due to the fact that some previous events, close or distant in time, have significantly modified the state of the organism. (C. Flores).

Visual (visual) memory responsible for the preservation and reproduction of visual images.

motor memory responsible for storing information about motor functions. For example, a first-class baseball player throws the ball superbly, in part due to the memory of motor activity during past throws.

Episodic memory is the memory of events that we participated in or witnessed (Tulving, 1972). Examples of it might be remembering how you celebrated your seventeenth birthday, remembering the day of your engagement, remembering the plot of a movie you saw last week. This type of memory is characterized by the fact that the memorization of information occurs without visible effort on our part.

semantic memory- memory of such facts as the multiplication table or the meaning of words. You probably won't be able to remember where and when you learned that 9 x 8 = 72, or from whom you learned what the word "stock" means, but nonetheless this knowledge is part of your memory. Perhaps you will be able to remember all the torment that the study of the multiplication table brought you. Both episodic and semantic memory contain knowledge that can be easily told and declared. Therefore, these two subsystems form part of a larger category called declarative memory.

procedural memory, or remembering how to do something, has some similarities with motor memory. The difference is that the description of the procedure does not necessarily imply the possession of any motor skills. For example, in school years you should have been taught how to use the slide rule. This is a kind of "knowing how", which is often contrasted with descriptive tasks that involve "knowing what".

Topographic memory- the ability to navigate in space, recognize the path and follow the route, recognize familiar places.

Features of the functioning of memory

Memory properties

Accuracy
Volume
The speed of memorization processes
Speed of playback processes
The speed of forgetting processes

Patterns of memory

Memory has a volume limited by the number of stable processes that are basic when creating associations (connections, relationships)

The success of recall depends on the ability to switch attention to the basic processes, to restore them. The main technique: a sufficient number and frequency of repetitions.

There is such a pattern as the forgetting curve.

The Laws of Memory

Law of memory	Implementation Practices
Law of interest	Interesting things are easier to remember.
Law of comprehension	The deeper you become aware of the memorized information, the better it will be remembered.
Installation law	If a person gave himself the installation to remember information, then memorization will happen easier.
Law of action	The information involved in the activity (i.e. if the knowledge is put into practice) is remembered better.
Law of context	With the associative linking of information with already familiar concepts, the new is absorbed better.
Law of inhibition	When studying similar concepts, the effect of "overlapping" the old information with the new one is observed.
The Law of Optimal Row Length	Memorized row length for better memory should not be much larger than short-term memory.
edge law	It is best to remember the information presented at the beginning and at the end.
Law of repetition	Information that is repeated several times is best remembered.
Law of incompleteness	Incomplete actions, tasks, unsaid phrases, etc. are best remembered.

Mnemotechnical methods of memorization

Mythology, religion, philosophy about memory

In ancient Greek mythology, there is a myth about the river Lethe. Lethe means "oblivion" and is an integral part of the kingdom of death. The dead are those who have lost their memory. And on the contrary, some who were awarded preference - among them Tiresias or Amphiaraus - retained their memory even after their death.
The opposite of the Lethe River is the Goddess Mnemosyne, personified Memory, sister of Kronos and Okeanos - the mother of all muses. She has Omniscience: according to Hesiod (Theogony, 32 38), she knows "everything that was, everything that is, and everything that will be." When the Muses take possession of the poet, he drinks from the source of knowledge of Mnemosyne, which means, first of all, that he touches the knowledge of the “origins”, “beginnings”.
According to Plato's philosophy, Anamnesis is recollection, recollection is a concept that describes the basic procedure of the process of cognition.

Notes

Maklakov A. G. General psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. - 592 p.
Norman, D. A. (1968). Toward a theory of memory and attention. Psychological Review, 75,
Atkinson, R. C, & Shiffrin, R. M. (1971). The control of short-term memory. Scientific American, 225, 82-90.
Craik, FIM; Lockhart RS (1972). Levels of processing: A framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning & Verbal Behavior 11(6): 671-84.
Zinchenko P. I. Problem involuntary memorization// Scientific. notes of Kharkov ped. Institute of foreign languages. 1939. T. 1. S. 145-187.
C. Jung Tavistock Lectures
Coltheart, Max (1980). Iconic memory and visible persistence. Perception & Psychophysics 27(3): 183-228.
Sperling, George (1960). "The information available in brief visual presentations". Psychological Monographs 74: 1-29.
Unwin. Baxt, N. (1871). Ueber die Zeit, welche notig ist, damit ein Gesichtseindruck zum Bewusstsein
John Kilstrom Professor, University of California, Berkeley Lecture 10. Memory. Part 1.
B. Meshcheryakov, V. P. Zinchenko, Bolshoi psychological dictionary, St. Petersburg: prime-EVROZNAK, 2003.- 672 p. Article "Memory physiological mechanisms". S. 370.
Miller, G. A. (1956) The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81-97.
FSB - Federal Service Security, Candidate Master of Sports, Ministry of Emergency Situations - Ministry Emergencies, Unified State Examination.
FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation, PHD - Philosophy Doctor, TWA - Trans World Airlines, IBM - International Business Machines.
Conrad, R. (1964). "Acoustic Confusions in Immediate Memory". British Journal of Psychology 55 : 75–84.
Reznikova Zh. I., Ryabko B. Ya., Information-theoretic analysis of the "language" of ants // Zhurn. total Biology, 1990, Vol. 51, No. 5, 601-609.
Reznikova Zh.I. The language of ants will lead to discovery, Science First Hand, 2008, N 4 (22), 68-75.
Stanislav Grof Areas of the human unconscious. - M .: Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, 1994. - 280 p. - ISBN 5-88389-001-6
Athanassios Kafkalides. Knowledge from the womb. Autopsychodiagnostics with psychedelic drugs. - St. Petersburg: IPTP, 2007. - ISBN 5-902247-11-X
Kuzina S.A. How to improve your memory. - M.: Publishing house of the agency "Yachtsman". - 1994.

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