Essentials Of Psychology: Three-System Approach

Memory
Erika Durant 21992273
August 4, 2014
Essentials of Psychology SSC130
Essay 25072400

There are three processes that take place in order for memory to take place. These processes are encoding, storing, and retrieving information. Memory has a theory known as the three-system approach that helps explain how information goes through three memory or storage stages in which memory must travel before it can be remembered. The three-system approach includes the following stages: sensory memory, short-term memory and long-term memory. The first stage sensory memory is “the initial, momentary storage of information, lasting only an instant” (201). Sensory memory is the first reaction of a stimulus that is presented to us.
If the information retrieved from sensory memory is not able to move forward to short-term memory than it is considered to be lost for good. Precision of sensory memory is very high; because when it is stored there is an “almost exact replica of each stimulus to which it is exposed” (202). An example of a stimulus from sensory memory for me is a flash of lightening. When I see a flash of lightening, it stimulates a sense of fright for me because I am afraid of thunderstorms. If I saw the lightening I would not be able to remember the precise place it had struck, but I could mentally visualize the flash. The second stage, short-term memory is “memory that holds information for 15 to 25 seconds” (201). During this stage, “information first has meaning, although the maximum length of retention there is relatively short” (202). Short-term memory is known to have “incomplete representational capabilities” (202). This can be shown by the chunk technique.
A chunk is defined as “a meaningful grouping of stimuli that can be stored as a unit in short-term memory” (202). When chunks are used to store information within short-term memory, they are used in variables of seven. Chunks can be letters, numbers, words or other meaningful units.
An example of chunking that I would use is to remember a phone number, this is because it is seven numbers and thus can be held within my short-term memory. However, if I want to remember this phone number for a long time, there is a process called rehearsal in which I can use to move the phone number into long-term memory.
Rehearsal is “the repetition of information that has entered short-term memory” (203).
The type of rehearsal is what determines whether the information stays in short-term memory or long-term memory. For example, if you are watching television and you see a phone number for a lawyer but you do not have a piece of paper and a pen readily available you will rehearse the phone number until you are able to write it down. However, if you want to remember the phone number for a longer period of time, you could write down the phone number and keep repeating it so that it can be transferred into your long-term memory storage.
The third and final stage of memory is long-term memory. Long-term memory is defined as “memory that stores information on a relatively permanent basis, although it may be difficult to retrieve” (202). The capacity of long-term memory seems to be endless, and information can be stored here for years to come.
Within long-term memory there are four different memory modules. These memory modules are declarative memory, procedural memory, semantic memory, and episodic
memory.
Declarative memory is “memory for factual information: names, faces, dates and the like” (204). Basically, declarative memory is the reason why we are able to identify a friend or family member’s face as well as knowing that a car has four wheels.
Procedural memory is “memory for skills and habits” and is “sometimes referred to as nondeclarative memory” (204).
This type of memory is how we remember how to do things. For example, if you have not ridden a bike in ten years, and you get back on one, you will automatically remember how to do it. This is due to the procedural memory within the long-term memory storage.
Semantic memory is “memory for general knowledge and facts about the world, as well as memory for the rules of logic that are used to deduce other facts” (204). Due to semantic memory we are able to know that a red light means stop and a green light means go. There are many facts similar to these that are stored within semantic memory.
Episodic memory is “memory for events that occur in a particular time, place, or context” (205). This can be shown how we can remember when we learned how to swim. For example, I learned how to swim at camp when I was younger. Doing the act would be considered procedural memory, where as remembering how I learned the act is episodic memory.
Long-term memory, though the capacity is endless, is responsible for a lot of daily thoughts and activities. For example due to long-term memory I am able to type this essay because I learned how to
type.
Memory is an important part of our life and without it we would not be able to function the same way.

Cited Source
Feldman, R. S. (2010). Thinking: Memory, Cognition, and Language. Psychology and your life (). Boston: McGraw/Hill.