Philosophy
Abstract
Memory is a term that refers to the process whereby the brain obtains information, stores and keeps it and the then later on retrieves it when there is need for it. Memory is influenced by the surrounding environment and events taking place around an individual. Memory involves three important sub processes which are encoding data, storage of the data and retrieval as useful information. At first the data is usually raw and hence the brain transforms it to a form that is essential to the human being. After this the brains stores the data. The individual is usually never aware that there is such data stored and only becomes aware when need for the data arises. Then there is retrieval of the data. This is triggered by certain cues such as sight, smell or sound.
Memory refers to a process by which human beings acquire information, store this information, retain it and at a later date or time retrieve it. Thus, memory is a process that deals almost exclusively with information and data. This information and data comes primarily from the surroundings of a given individual fir example a person living in a big city will store information relating to city life while a person living in the forest will store information about forest life. Memory is a rather complicated process and is not a clear cut simple procedural phenomenon as one might be deceived to think. Memory can be subdivided into three sub processes which collectively coalesce their operationally to create the phenomenon that is memory. These processes include encoding, storage and retrieval.
When human beings receive information this information must be changed to a form that is essential and usable by the human being. This is because the human brain is not receptive to all information in its raw form. Information has to undergo certain transformations in order to make it fully compatible with the human brain thus easy to comprehend and even remember. This is where the first process of human memory which is known as encoding comes in. Encoding is a process by which the human brain changes information that it receives to a form that is compatible with the brain and thus easy for the brain to use (Mahy, 2005). Thus whenever there is any reception of information by the brain the process of encoding must take place. In the event where the process of encoding fails to take place a person might fail to perceive the information received thus leading to absolutely no memory at all about the information. Partial encoding might also take place where a person only has clarity on partial aspects of the information received while other aspects of the information remain vague or rather unclear too the person.
After a successful encoding process the process of storage follows. This storage entails the creation of a record by the brain about the information that has been perceived and effectively encoded. More often than not this record of information is permanent. Thus, the capacity of a person to remember certain aspects of a given phenomenon rests on the capacity of their brain to store the perceived information about this phenomenon (Stokes, 2003). The amazing thing about this information stored is that it lies outside the awareness of the given person most of the time. This means that the person is not even aware that they have this information at all. This information can stay outside the awareness of the person for a very long period of time without the person ever knowing that they ever had this information to begin with. This information only traverses the line into the consciousness of the person when the necessity for it to do so arises. This means that the person will only get to know that they had this information to begin with when they need to use this information. This further means that lack of a necessity for this information might lead to a situation where the person never gets to know that they ever had this information at all. The flow of information at this stage can be impeded by an ineffective encoding process. Thus if encoding fails to take place then storage will also fail to take place.
The final step in human memory is retrieval. This process entails the brain retrieving the stored information from storage for use. This process usually happens when there is a cue for the brain to do so. The cue might for example be a question or a scenario where a person sees something that they have seen before and start remembering information about this thing. In essence this process entails bringing stored information from the subconscious of an individual to the conscious awareness of the individual (Mahy, 2005). This explains how a person might have no memory of another person but when these two people meet the first person starts remembering things about the other person. In this case the cue for the retrieval process is sight. Other cues may include the other senses for example smell or hearing. This explains how when one smells smoke one cannot help but associate this smoke with fire. The retrieval process can be impeded by ineffective storage processes which lead to lack of information needed for retrieval.
Proactive and retroactive interferences while reading affect understanding and memory of what is being read. Proactive interferences help the reader understand what is being read while retroactive interferences are more like distractions and impede understanding and by extension memory. Retroactive interferences while reading can be curbed by reading in a place with minimal distractions for example a library.
The process by which a person has no memory of a certain aspect is known as forgetfulness or amnesia. This process of forgetfulness can be curbed by performing regular memory exercises such as memorizations. Memory can also be improved by positive lifestyle changes such as healthy eating and physical fitness.
References
Mahy, Margaret. Memory. New York: M.K. McElderry Books, 2005. Print.
Stokes, William. Memory. 38th ed. London: Houlston& Sons, 2003. Print.
