Have you ever wonder how you remember things that happened 10, 15 or even 20 years go? Thank Long term memory for that. Memory is divided into three stores based on the amount of information each one can hold and the length of time it can be stored. There is sensory memory which can last between .5 to 5 seconds, working memory which is acoustic and visual which can last 20 seconds and long term memory which can last years.

Memory is the process which is involved in retaining and retrieving information which are no longer present. Everyone recalls long term memory daily. The process to recall information is called retrieval. Long term memory is the system that is responsible for storing our memory for a long period of time. Our long term memory is basically an archive.

Have you ever passed by a place and then you retrieve a memory you never gave much thought about? I have. A few months ago, I went home to NYC to be a “tourist guide” to a cousin of mines travelling for the first time to NYC. I happened to drive her downtown Manhattan by the freedom tower. As I drove by the Tower, a memory of 9-11 came through and I became nostalgic. I was 19 years of age and classes has been cancelled at NYC Tech in Brooklyn NY. It was my first college semester and I felt like my “grown up” life was unreal. I remember exactly how I felt and how the towers looked from the east side of Manhattan. All I saw was a cloud of dust and people while some has dust on their clothing. My autobiographical memory is to blame for this.

Also, I can remember like it was yesterday getting home and watching the news. Those bodies falling of the windows of the Twin towers will forever belong in my long term memory. Episodic memory has to do with me remembering this specific event. Sometimes I wonder if my flash bulb memory is wrong, or altered. Flashbulb memory is basically a snapshot of an event, in my case of the 9-11 attack.

In conclusion, we go through life using memory. Some we store in our long term memory, some we don’t. One thing for certain is that we use our visual, acoustic and long term memory from remembering what I did a few seconds ago to what I was doing on 9-11.

References:

The Human Memory: Episodic and Semantic Memory, Luke Mastin (2010). Retrieved on 10/16/16 from http://www.human-memory.net/types_episodic.html

Goldstein, B. (2011). Cognitive psychology: Connecting mind, research and everyday experience (3rd ed.). Wadsworth, Inc.