Our whole lives are purely made from memories. Our memory is made up of 3 different systems: sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is the first step in the cycle and involves how we first perceive our surroundings. Iconic memory is a part of sensory memory that relates to visuals. It allows us to take a visual picture and hold it in our memory for 1 second before it is sent down the cycle. Echoic memory is also within sensory memory and pertains to our hearing. It allows us to play back what we hear and normally only lasts 5-10 seconds before moving it along the memory path.
Next, comes short-term memory. This is memory that comes from sensory memory and will either be forgotten or turned into long term memory. Short term memory only lasts 10-30 seconds and anything remembered after that is considered long-term memory. Most people can only hold 5-9 pieces of information. Information that is remembered in those 10-30 seconds of short-term memory is then transferred into long-term memory.
Long-term memory can be broken down into implicit and explicit memory. Explicit memory refers to memories that we are aware of and can recall. These explicit memories can be categorized even more into semantic memory and episodic memory. Semantic memory refers to factual information while episodic memory includes your personal life events. Implicit memory includes information that we are not consciously aware of and are not quite able to explain. Implicit memory can also be broken down into habituation/classical conditioning, procedural memory, and priming. Habitual/classical conditioning refers to information that has already been learned and you have formed associations with. Procedural memory refers to memory for how to do things like tying your shoes. Finally, priming is the ability to identify a stimulus more quickly once we’ve seen similar stimuli.
Memory is very important and understanding memory can help us in all aspects of our lives. I can still remember the first time I played volleyball and learned how to pass a ball. After learning the proper form, I remember my coaches tossing a ball at my arms. Instantly, the ball hit my arms and I could feel the exact location the ball touched. This sensory experience of touch only lasted 1 second in my sensory memory before it moved to my short term memory. I was able to remember the movement I made in order to put my arms in the correct position for the ball to hit. I remembered the same spot the ball hit my arms. The memory was then moved to my long-term memory. Because I wanted to remember this skill, my coach kept throwing more and more volleyballs at my arms. I would have to make a move and allow the ball to hit my arms. Again and again this information would transfer from my sensory memory into my short-term memory and finally into my long term memory. Over time, my coach increased the speed at which the ball came at me more and more as I was getting a faster reaction time. Thinking about it now, I can pass a ball with ease that is coming at me very fast. Within my long-term memory, my ability to remember how to pass a ball is encoded within my implicit memory; when a ball is coming at me, I do not necessarily have to think about what to do, in fact the motion just takes over. Even more, this memory would fall under a procedural memory as I have learned and practiced how to do something over and over.
