Memory is not a ‘thing’, but a process with stages that require skills.
Memory can be compared to a sophisticated music system in which CDs are recorded, stored, and then retrieved from storage and replayed when required.
The first stage of memory is Recording - which involves attending to and encoding the information we perceive. Our brain selects the “music sounds” it records by attending to them; what our brain records depends on a few things.
Attention
Attention is the mechanism by which information enters the brain. If you do not attend to information, it cannot be encoded or stored.
Processing
Processing or encoding is the registration of information at the time of learning. The registration strength depends on the depth of processing or the amount of meaning associated with the information. Emotional events, or things you are interested in, are usually more meaningful and, therefore, processed deeper.
Rehearsal
It will probably be lost if the information is not rehearsed or practiced. The process of practicing is called consolidation. For instance, if someone tells you their phone number, you need to use it several times before you begin to remember it.
The second stage involves storing that information, like putting that “recorded CD” somewhere safe.
Storage
Once the information is encoded, it is stored in the long-term memory.
The third stage involves retrieving the information when we need to. Our brains must find the “correct CD” and replay it when recalling a memory.
Retrieval
Retrieval involves accessing information stored in the long-term memory. Retrieval can be improved when given cues, for example, “the name starts with ‘F,’” when you are struggling to recall the “Frank Sinatra CD.”
Memory can fall into different categories based on the time period involved, and the type of information being remembered.
This is the initial stage of memory where information is taken in through your senses (seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, touching). The information is processed and stored for a brief time, usually a few seconds. It can be compared to a notepad upon which you take down the information before processing it deeply or discarding it.
This is information that is stored just long enough to be used. It may be a few minutes, hours, or days.
This is the memory for 'episodes,' or things that have happened to you in the past. Therefore, sometimes it is called 'episodic memory' or 'autobiographical memory.'
This is the ability to remember things for the future and involves a certain amount of planning. For example, "this the way back home." Or, "Sarah said she would be out of the house from 9am to 12pm, and so those would be bad times to visit her home."
This is the memory of events using words, such as stories.
This is the memory of pictures, images, or places.
This is the memory of a particular motor skill, like brushing your teeth.
This is the memory of procedures, like doing the dishes or folding clothes. Procedural memory often seems to bypass conscious thought.
