TYPES OF MEMORY




Because our brains are capable of processing information at incredible speeds (between 1000 and 25000 words per minute), it's no wonder that we so often forget what we read (at an average rate of 250 wpm) and hear (at an average rate of 150 wpm)! We read and listen so slowly that only a very small part of our brain activity is focused on the task at hand.

41% of people forget what they were saying AS they are saying it.

Semantic Memory:
The accumulation of facts, knowledge and experience gained over a lifetime.
Includes language and conceptual knowledge that relates concepts and ideas to one another.
It is assumed that most people's semantic memories will be fairly similar and questions that involve their semantic memory would be answered by most people the same way.

For example:
What is the capital of France?
Who wrote Romeo and Juliet?
How many planets are in our solar system?

Good exercises for your semantic memory involve puzzles, going to museums, reading, crossword puzzles.

Prospective Memory:
Prospective memory is the ability to remember something to be done in the future. For example, remembering a doctor's appointment or returning a call.

Prospective memory can be enhanced by making "To Do" lists or by getting into the habit of using techniques to remember things, like writing them down or saying them out loud a few times.

Recent Memory:
Is your capacity to remember things from a few minutes ago, or a few hours or days ago.
For example:
What did you have for lunch today?
What is the name of this website?
What color underwear are you wearing now?

Several studies suggest that exercise contributes to a healthy brain and for improved mental capaciy. Keeing your body and mind active can help improve memory.

Remote Memory:
Is your capacity to remember things that happened several years ago.
For example:
What was your favorite toy as a kid?
Describe the house you lived in as a kid?
Can you recall the name of some of your 4th grade classmates?

You can maintain your remote memory by keeping small reminders around, pictures, objects that remind you of certain events. Socializing with old friends and talking about the past also helps.

Immediate Memory:
Is your capacity to remember a small number of things over a few seconds. Unlike other kinds of memory, there is a limit to how much will be stored and that tends to fade very rapidly. At any age people can usually store 5 to 7 items in immediate memory.

For example:

Read the following list carefully then close your eyes and try to think of how many items you remember:

Car
Skeleton
Flower
Summer
Camera
Planet
Trash
Bear
Phone
Hand

Or solve the follwing problem in your head:

12 + 9 + 7+ 15 - 22 = ?

Immediate memory can be exercised. Trying to remember small lists help, and doing things that require thinking and remembering, like attending lectures or playing cards.

How to keep from forgetting things:

Intention
It's unlikely that we will do a good job of remembering unless we first prepare ourselves. In other words, get in the habit of planning to remember.

Repetition
This is probably the most popular way that we try to remember things. It works for small amounts of information, but is too dull and too slow on its own for larger chunks of data.

Association
Strange as it may seem, the mind has an easier time remembering two items linked together than separately. For instance, establishing some kind of link between a person's name (which is difficult to remember) and face (which is much easier) will improve your memory considerably the next time you meet that person.

Meaningfulness
It's very difficult to store information that doesn't make sense to us. (That's why it took us so long to memorize multiplication tables and passages from Shakespeare when we were in school!) More effort should be made understanding ideas before we attempt to actually store them in our memory systems.

Visualization
Our brains store pictures, shapes and colours much more easily than words and numbers. When we speak or write to others, then, we must do our best to present information in as visually stimulating a way as possible. Doing so will automatically increase memory power.

Chunking
Dividing large amounts of data into "chunks" or separate categories will also make remembering much easier. We too often overload our memory systems by trying to cram in far too much all at once. Our brains prefer bite-size pieces!

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