Stages of Memory

Stages of Memory

Valerie Johnson

American InterContinental University Online

Stages of Memory

Human memory in short, is the storage of various events based on sensory memory. The study of human memory is very intriguing. It's probably not something that an average person would necessarily think about. Memory has three different stages in which it takes place.

The first stage is known as sensory memory. It is the primary storage system for memory, in which brief sensations are processed and noted through one of the five senses. The five senses individually produce their own form of sensory memory. An example of sensory memory is shooting fireworks, which is processed by both visual and auditory senses. Sensory memory forms strong cues for memory recall. This could be hearing a song that triggered memories of a high school prom.

The second stage is short-term memory. It resides between sensory memory and long term memory. According to Definition of Short-term (2012), short-term memory is involved in the selection, initiation, and termination of information process functions such as encoding, storing, and retrieving. An example of short-term memory is trying to remember what type of car passed you. Information that is transferred from short-term to long-term memory is mainly rehearsed.

Long-term memory is the last phase which comes in two forms, episodic and semantic. Episodic memory consists of events that individuals have experienced personally. In the memories are facts about the experiences, such as who, what, when, and where. An example of episodic memory is a person's first kiss. They experienced it, and the memory is basis of that memory. Semantic memory is the understanding the meaning of various things as well as knowledgeable of facts about the world. Remembering where the Great Wall is located is an example of semantic memory.

When it comes to learning new items it may interfere with retrieving other, practically when items are alike. There are two types of interferences that can happen. Proactive interference happens when something learned prior disrupts the recall of something experienced later. The more and more information is collected, the mental attic never fills, however gets cluttered.For example, if a friend gets their number changed and gives the new number to their contacts, the old number may interfere. Retroactive interference on the other hand happens when new information makes it difficult to recall some learned prior. For example, teachers have a hard time recalling past student names when it comes to learning new student names.

There are circumstances in which individuals forget things. Ut doesn't mean that the information