Blog Assignment #2
In class, we discussed the different types of memory. There’s sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. When we learned about long-term memory, we learned that the capacity for it is relatively unlimited. However, when we learned about infant memory, we saw that it is hard to trace back every single memory before the age of three. There are memories from before that age, however, it is just very difficult to retrieve. Another term to describe this is infantile amnesia. Between the ages of one and two our brain structures that are involved in memory storage are not fully developed.
I was born in New York City and lived in an apartment until I was around the age of two. We moved to New Jersey and have lived there ever since. A lot of times, my family will bring up moments from the old apartment we used to live in, but I have no memory of it at all. To me, the house I lived in when we decided to move is the only place I am familiar with. This is because I was far too young to be able to recall any memories from living in New York City. If my parents told me about a specific event from when we lived there, I would have to believe that it actually happened because I do not know otherwise. When we go into the city and walk around the old neighborhood, I would be shown the building I used to live in and the park I used to play in and the nearby restaurants my family would go to. To me, it all seemed new and unfamiliar even though I had been to all my places my parents told me about. My brother, on the other hand, is older than me and might have a better memory of the old apartment. He was around the age of three or four when we moved. His memory at the time was more developed that mine so he might be able to remember certain events from living in New York City, although he might not remember all of it. My earliest memory comes from living in New Jersey and going to preschool in my town. My brother’s earliest memory could have come from living in the old apartment. As we have learned, the average person’s earliest memory is from when they are about three years old. I will never be able to remember the early year or so of my life and living in the apartment in New York City.