Memory2
Memory is defined as the faculty by which sense impressions and information are retained in the mind and subsequently recalled. A person’s capacity to remember and the total store of mentally retained impressions and knowledge also formulate memory (Webster, 1992). “We all possess inside our heads a system for declassifying, storing and retrieving information that exceeds the best computer capacity, flexibility, and speed. Yet the same system is so limited and unreliable that it cannot consistently remember a nine-digit phone number long enough to dial it” (Baddeley, 1993). The examination of human behavior reveals that current activities are inescapably linked by memories. General “competent” (Baddeley, 1993) behavior requires that certain past events have effect on the influences in the present. For example, touching a hot stove would cause a burn and therefore memory would convey a message to not repeat again. All of this is affected by the development of short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). Memories can be positive, like memories of girlfriends and special events, or they can be negative, such as suppressed memories. Sexual abuse of children and adolescen
ts is known to cause severe psychological and emotional damage. Adults who were sexually abused in childhood are at a higher risk for developing a variety of psychiatric disorders, anxiety disorders, personality disorders, and mood disorders. To understand the essential issues about traumatic memory, the human mind’s response to a traumatic event must first be understood. The memory is made up of many different sections with each having different consequences on one another. Can people remember what they were wearing three days ago? Most likely not, because the memory only holds onto what is actively remembered. What a person was wearing is not important so it is thrown out and forgotten. This type of unimportant information passes through the short-term memory. “Short-term memory is a system for storing information over brief intervals of time” (Squire, 1987). It’s main characteristic is the holding and understanding of limited amounts of information. The system can grasp brief ideas which would otherwise slip into oblivion, hold them, relate them and understand them for its own purpose (Squire, 1987). Another aspect of STM was introduced by William James in 1890, under the name “primary memory” (Baddeley, 1993). Primary memory refers to the information that forms the focus of current attention and that occupies the stream of thought. “This information does not need to be brought back to mind in order to be used” (Baddeley, 1993). The next part in the memory process involves the encoding and merging of information from short-term into long-term memory. Long-term memory is understood as having three separate stages: transfer, storage, and retrieval. Once information has entered LTM, with a size that appears to be essentially unlimited, it is maintained by repetition or organization. A major part of the transfer process concerns how learned information is coded into memory. Long-term and short-term memories are thought to have different organizations. Where the STM is seen as being organized by time, LTM is organized by meaning and association categories. For example, our memory takes in Coke and Pepsi as drinks then organizes and puts them in categories such as soda. An important role in the transferring of information into long-term memory is rehearsal. The most critical aspe
Some common words found in the essay are:
William James, Sidran Foundation, LTM Memories, Introduction Memory, Coke Pepsi, Disorder PTSD, Endel Tulving, baddeley 1993, semantic memory, short-term memory, long-term memory, memories traumatic, positive memories, squire 1987, digit span, semantic memory retrieval, memory holds, sidran foundation 1994, songs remind, memories traumatic experiences,
Approximate Word count = 1579
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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