Crash Course Psychology #13 is where I learn about Memory and some basics on how it works.
For context, Crash Course inspired me to learn the basics of psychology, so I’ve made it my mission to watch the entire Crash Course Psychology playlist and paraphrase each episode in my own words. This journey wouldn’t have been possible without the Crash Course team, so many thanks to them! To showcase what I learnt, here is my personal paraphrase of episode 13:
Memory
Memory. Definition: Technically, it is learning that has persisted over time. Information that has been stored and in many cases, can be recalled.
How can it be recalled? Well, so far with what we know, it’s typically done in these 3 different ways;
- Recall
- Simply remembering something you know/learned. At any given time.
- Recognition
- As the name suggests, it is recognising something you previously learned that’s presented in front of you.
- Relearning
- It’s learning the same thing again but measured with how much time was saved in newer attempts.
So how does information (data, experience, etc) become memory?
Memory Formation Explanation #1
The first draft explanation of this was apparently done in the late 1960’s by American psychologists Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin. They figured enough about memory formation to propose that the process can be broken down in to 3 stages:
- Sensory Memory
- External events happen to us, and we absorb those events as Sensory Input through our senses, thus encoding it into our brain.
- Working / Short Term Memory
- If you want to remember something briefly, you have to execute Maintenance Rehearsal, which is effort in remembering anything you just absorbed through your senses. This could be done by repeating that information to yourself. Doing a little bit of this, it stays in your Short Term Memory for under 30 seconds. Also, our brains can only hold between 4 – 7 bits of information at a time. Then the memory either decays or gets transferred to…
- Long Term Memory Storage
- Stored here for future use. Then it eventually gets retrieved by one of the three ways we recall memory. Also, this storage is where we keep all our knowledge, skills, and experiences.
Memory Formation Explanation #2
Over time, psychologists have recognised that this classic definition did not cover all of the processes involved. So, later generations of psychologists revisited this and updated it to the more comprehensive concept of Working Memory. Definition: conscious, active processing of incoming auditory and visual spatial information, and of information retrieved from long term memory.
Increasingly, we also think Working Memory involves both explicit and implicit processes. When we store information consciously and actively, that’s an explicit process. At the same time, we are not conscious of every little detail we absorb. Working Memory often transfers stuff we are not even aware of to our long term memory storage. This is the implicit process, because we don’t have to actively concentrate to do it.
Explicit Memory. Definition: Memory of facts and experiences that one can consciously know and “declare”.
Implicit Memory. Definition: Retention independent of conscious recollection.
Classically Conditioned Associations are a good example of implicit processes turning into implicit memory. This explains why sometimes we associate certain events with certain feelings, even if unintentionally. Implicit processes do this automatically.
Automatic Processing. Definition: non-conscious encoding of incidental information, such as space, time, and frequency, and of well-learned information, such as word meanings. Also difficult to shut off.
So we learn and remember those learnings either using explicit or implicit processes, or both.
Types of Long Term Memory
Additionally, we have different kinds of long term memory. To illustrate, a couple of them are;
- Procedural Memory
- Memory storage of how we do things. At first, it takes effort to learn, but eventually we can do it on auto-pilot.
- Episodic Memory
- These are specific episodes of your life.
There are other types of long term memory, and we are still researching what they are and how these work. Not to mention, the connection between our psychology and biology of this whole thing.
Memory Tricks
Next, let’s talk about techniques to utilise our memory to our advantage. There are many out there. Here, we cover;
- Mnemonics
- These help with memorisation. Usually in the form of vivid imagery and organised acronyms.
- Chunking
- This is splitting long pieces of information in to manageable pieces.
There are many techniques. Find the one that works for you in your given circumstance!
Deep & Shallow Processing
Indeed, memory tricks like the above help explicit processing. However, how well we remember depend on how deep we dig through the levels of processing. The deeper, the better. These levels include;
- Shallow Processing
- Basic level of encoding. Done visually or auditory. Based on the sound, structure, or appearance of the word.
- Deep Processing
- Higher level of encoding. Done semantically. Based on actual meaning associated with the word. Has higher retention rate.
But to make it retain even more, then we connect whatever we’re trying to remember to something meaningful or related to our own personal, emotional experience. Make it personal to you! In the end, how much information you encode and remember depends on both the time you took to learn it and how personally relevant you made it for you.
Conclusion of Crash Course Psychology #13
Our memory helps makes us who we are. They upkeep our relationships with others and how we carry ourselves approaching our lives. We are constantly adding memories, and it reshapes ourselves as a result. They define us.
However, memory is not an all or nothing thing. From research, memory seems compartmentalised. We don’t yet fully understand how it works so research is ongoing.
In the end, memories are a vital part of our lives. Without memory, we become vulnerable and unsure when navigating our lives moving forward.
Danniel’s thoughts on Crash Course Psychology #13
- None so far!
Enjoyed this learning of Psychology? Test your knowledge against these quick custom Kahoot! quizzes I’ve made based on the episode above: This is the easy mode and this is the hard mode for Crash Course Psychology #13.
Also, do check out what else Psychology related I’ve learnt from my Psychology blog!
Credits for Crash Course Psychology #13
Original Content & Media by Crash Course
Content Consumed and Paraphrased by Danniel Iskandar
Paraphrase Proofread by
Paraphrase Reviewed by