"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" (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 effected 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 Memory

adolescents is known to cause severe psychological an

"The Science and Politics of Recovered Memory,"

they saw and lived through. Some researchers have proven in the laboratory that ordinary or slightly stressful memories are easily distorted. However, this laboratory research on ordinary memory may be irrelevant in regard to memories of traumatic experiences. Other scientists argue that traumatic memories are different from ordinary memories in the way they are encoded in the brain. Evidence shows trauma is stored in the part of the brain called the limbic system, which processes feelings and sensory input, but not language or speech. (1994) People who have been traumatized may live with memories of terror, though with little or no real memories to explain the feelings. Sometimes a current event may trigger long forgotten memories of earlier trauma. The triggers may be any sound or smell like a particular cologne which was worn by an attacker.

"Short-term memory recall is slightly better for random numbers than for random letters, which sometimes have similar sounds. It is better for information heard rather than seen. Still, the basic principals hold true: At any given moment, we can process only a very limited amount of information." (Myers, 1995)

different. What is the difference between the two sequences? The first were 11 unrelated letters, and the second were chunked into two words which makes this task easier. (1993)

Ethics & Behavior (Vol. 8, No. 2, 1998).

Squire, L.R., and Lindenlaub, E. (Eds.). The Biology of Memory. F.K. Schattauer Verlag: Stuttgart. 1990.

Retrieval, the third process related to LTM, is the finding and retrieving of information from long-term storage. The cues necessary to retrieve information from memory are the same cues that were used to encode the material.

The critical aspect is the type of rehearsal or processing that takes place during the input time. "Simple repetition, which serves only to maintain the immediate availability of an item, does little if anything to enhance subsequent recall. Active processes such as elaboration, transformation, and recoding are activities that have been found to enhance recall." (Asken, 1987)

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Approximate Word count = 1670
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)