Memorizing Chapter 7

The Paradox of memory: Why we can memorize complex ideas but sometimes forget where we parked. Our memory tends to memorize selectively, basically on the importance level that we associate each possible instance. There are 3 systems of memory that each event must go through in order to be recognized. At first we have Sensory Memory, which is the brief storage of perceptual information that lasts for no more than 3 seconds. Sensory, like senses, we’ll hear, see, smell, taste—Sense something that will peak our interest and continue into short-term memory. Short term memory is the most important, most used; in fact you’re using it right now while you process what I’m telling you about memory, nuts huh? Short-term memory is the thing you’re thinking about at the moment; essentially we’re always in this mode. But Marco! What about long-term memory? Oh yes, we’re getting there. Short-term is pretty neat because we can draw long-term memories back or at least imprint them into our LTM through rehearsal. It’s when we quiz ourselves, and think about things multiple times that help us remember something important is coming up. The opposite of rehearsal is called decay, and it’s when we forget things but I doubt you’ll forget about the concept of decay, pretty self-explanatory. We memorize things best by chunking information, like numbers and dates. Por ejemplo, 1,639 (One thousand, six hundred, and thirty nine) is easier to remember than with separate digits—one-six-three-nine. Am I right? Well if you’re too good for 4 digits, then try ampin up the number there, sport. The average span of short term memory is 7 plus or minus two meaning we can jugle 7 plus or minus 2 pieces of information within our STM. Basically, just walk away knowing chunking information works best, and you’ll be just fine. And if the connection with the event is strong enough, it will stay in our long-term memory as long as continue to rehearse it frequently. There are different ways we access our LTM too, get excited.

Explicit memories are the memories that we are consciously aware of, the ones that we dig for when we’re thinking, so think VOLUNTARY. Semantic, think meaning and relevance, like factual events-knowledge, book smarts, whatever you wanna call it, this describes semantic memory. The other type of explicit memory is called episodic memory, referring to autobiographic events, things we see 1^st person in our heads, also voluntary. Explicit, things we gotta think about? If you can capture that in your short-term memory, rehearse it and store it as semantic memory, I think we can move on. Well done, blogger.
The other type of LTM is called implicit memory, which is made up of four sub sections of memory, the things we can recall automatically, or INVOLUNTARY. When your mom tells you to practice your tennis serve and develop muscle memory so you don’t have another losing record this year, she’s alluding to procedural memory which is motor memory, also relevant in speech, even in vocal music. 2 other implicit memory subtypes sound a lot like Procedural memory, they are Conditioning and Habituation but I’m not really sure how to describe them seeming as their Marco definitions would probably sound a lot like the one for procedural. Ok then…well the final type is called priming which is our preparation or response time to a stimulus that we’ve previously encountered. Our actions are guided by primes them, kinda neat. The example in the book goes like this: Fill in the blank—Queen, K_____ and most of us will probably think “King”, yeah? Well we’ve been primed to do so based on the word Queen. I wish I had a personal example, but my episodic memory is failing me.

Well that’s the first couple sections of C7 and probably the most exciting, fare thee well, bloggers!