Memory in psychology. Properties, types, processes, functions, definition, disorders, classification, mechanisms

To begin with, let us define the range of development of this problem and briefly list the scientists.

Scientists who dealt with the problem of the psychology of memory: A. A. Smirnov, P. I. Zinchenko, S. L. Rubinstein, M. N. Shardakov, Ebbinghaus, L. V. Zankov and others.

Next, we will consider the concept of memory, as well as its basic processes and mechanisms.

Definition 1

Memory is a mental process, the essence of which is to reflect human experience through the processes of remembering, preserving and reproducing experienced feelings, phenomena, etc.

Definition

Memory is involved in processing a huge amount of information. This information takes many different forms, such as images, sounds, or meanings.

For psychologists, the term “memory” covers 3 important aspects of information processing:

• Memory encoding. When information enters the memory system (from sensory input), it must be converted into a form that the system can handle so that it can be stored.
• Memory capacity. How data is stored affects how it is processed in the future. Miller put forward this idea in 1957 and called it the magic number 7. According to him, the capacity of short-term memory was 7-9 items because it only had a certain number of “slots” in which items could be stored.
• Memory restoration. This refers to retrieving information from storage. When a person is asked to retrieve something from memory, the differences between short-term (STM) and long-term (LTM) memory become very clear. STM is stored and retrieved sequentially. LTM is stored and retrieved by the association.

There are 3 main ways to encode (change) information:

• visual (picture);
• acoustic (sound);
• semantic (meaning).

Most memory research is based on experiments conducted in laboratories. Psychologists use the term "ecological validity" to refer to the extent to which research findings can be generalized to other settings.

Memory in psychology (the properties of long-term and short-term memory are still poorly understood) has been tested through experiments. They have high ecological validity if the results can be generalized, applied, or extended to settings outside the laboratory.

It is often assumed that if an experiment is realistic or plausible, then there is a high probability that its results can be generalized. If this is not realistic (if the laboratory conditions and tasks are staged), then the results are less likely to be generalizable across situations.

Kinds

Memory was a subject of study among many 20th century psychologists, and remains an active area of ​​study for modern cognitive scientists:

Memory in psychology, the properties of which explain the process of encoding and storing information, can be divided into several types. Depending on the type of brain process, people use recently acquired information or old information that has been stored for several years.

Playback

Fragments of received information or experience can be presented as images, feelings, and skills in the form of movements. Recognition is a type of reproduction in which a previously captured image is compared with a given object. Memory processes are aimed at analyzing similarities and differences. This function is carried out in an arbitrary form, on the initiative of the rememberer, and involuntarily - without the participation of the person’s will and efforts on his part.

Overcoming difficulties during reproduction is the listing by consciousness of the necessary parts and elements, the selection of the required ones, taking into account the goal. If the fragments are not related to the task of reproducing a copy of the event when remembering, then they are temporarily forgotten and fall out of the process - this is how the material that was once learned is restored. The task of exact copying is not necessary, since reproduction is integrated into the conditions of the present moment and adapts to these new conditions.

Processes

People first process stimuli through their sensory memory—this information is typically stored in the brain for less than a second. The information is then transferred to short-term memory, or working memory, which allows you to think things through and store key points in your mind. Finally, past events enter long-term memory (episodic or semantic).

Different areas of the brain influence aspects of memory.

For example, the hippocampus is associated with spatial memory, which helps the brain map the world around it and bypass negative emotions:

• To form new memories, information must be converted into a usable form, which occurs through a process known as encoding. Once information has been successfully encoded, it must be stored in memory for later use. Most of this stored memory lies outside of consciousness most of the time, except when you really need to use it. The retrieval process brings stored memories into the conscious part of the brain.
• Sensory memory is the earliest stage of information processing. At this stage, sensory information from the environment is stored for a very short period of time, usually no more than ½ second. for visual information, and 3 or 4 sec. for auditory information. Short-term memory, also known as active memory, is information that a person is currently aware of or thinking about. In Freudian psychology, this memory is called the conscious mind.

• Paying attention to sensory memories generates information in short-term memory. Most of the information stored in active memory will be there for about 20-30 seconds.
• Long-term memory refers to the permanent storage of information. In Freudian psychology, long-term memory can be called preconscious and unconscious. This information is largely beyond comprehension, but can be transferred into working memory and used as needed. Some of this information is quite easy to remember, while other memories are much more difficult to access.

Clustering is used to organize related information into groups. Information that is categorized becomes easier to remember and recall.

Forgetting

When memorizing, relatively unnecessary information appears, which interferes with organizing consciousness for new tasks and processes. This contradicts the principle of “freshness” of consciousness and stability of perception. If the ability to reproduce or recognize a previously perceived object is lost, we are dealing with forgetting - the final cycle in the work of memory. We forget unimportant pieces of information. This ensures that memory is retained in terms of what is essential or even vital functions.

But forgetting is not always a successful and necessary process for consciousness. Partial forgetting is characterized by the impossibility of sufficient reproduction or the presence of errors in it. Complete forgetting eliminates any possibility of reproduction. Forgetting also includes temporal characteristics: long-term (long-term) or short-term. Naturally, consciousness filters out the information received due to the low quality of the memorization process that occurred or the insignificance of the perceived facts. Business people make it a point to write down plans in a diary to make recall processes easier.

When falling asleep and the dream itself, the consciousness is not tuned to obligatory memorization. During sleep, which is essentially a rest for the body, unfavorable factors are forgotten and negativity is erased from memory.

But let’s not forget about the pathological memory disorder, accompanied by forgetting. It is important to prevent stress, follow a routine and get good sleep. An important role is played by nutrition and the elimination of harmful substances, for example, excessive coffee and tea.

Characteristics and properties

Memory in psychology is divided into short-term and long-term. These are the 2 main types that should be analyzed for common characteristics.

Their properties also depend on the following criteria:

• Brief duration that can last up to 20 seconds.
• Its capacity is limited to 7 ± 2 “portions” of independent information (Miller's law) and is vulnerable to interference and interruptions.
• The fading of such memory occurs while taking medication or as a result of injury.

Short-term memory is responsible for 3 operations:

• Visual interpretation, which is the ability to store images.
• Acoustic imagination, which is the ability to store sounds.
• Working memory, which is the ability to store information before using it.

Information in long-term memory is stored as a network of schemas, which are then converted into knowledge structures. That is why a person remembers relevant knowledge when he comes across such information.

There are 2 types of long-term memory:

• Explicit: conscious memories that include perceptions of the world as well as one's own personal experiences.
• Implicit: unconscious memories that have been used without awareness.

Long-term memory is responsible for 3 operations:

• Coding, which is the ability to transform information into a knowledge structure.
• Storage, which is the ability to accumulate pieces of information.
• Search, that is, the ability to remember things that are already known to a person.

Setting tasks for a person provokes memorization - a work plan, further memorization and use of acquired skills. According to S. L. Rubinstein, memory helps to remember moments that depend on the situation in which they were remembered. And the research of P.I. Zinchenko proves that the mindset of memorization is a direct goal for the action of the brain.

If information is remembered by itself, then a person will better use brain data. Random memorization of pictures and telephone numbers indicates that the brain is not afraid of the tasks assigned to it. Otherwise, if you are forced to learn a poem, a person will be more difficult to succumb to this process.

A. A. Smirnov's research was devoted to the main problem of memorization. Productive unconscious thinking was analyzed during the experiment. Specific conditions were created in which a person remembered all the details of the events taking place, but he was not asked to do so.

Under the same conditions, he was given the task of learning the rules of the organization, which he failed to do. These exercises made it possible to introduce a process of analyzing situations into the education system so that workers and students could quickly integrate into the process of ongoing actions.

Memory in psychology. Properties

Psychologist Ebbinghaus studied the volume of such memory and came to the conclusion that it is easier for a subject to remember 5-7 words of unknown meaning. “Clean” memory produced a result that was ½ less than the initial one. However, several days later the person did not remember a single word.

This experiment gave rise to a new definition - mechanical and meaningful memorization:

• In the first case, mechanical actions are aimed at ensuring that a person remembers which foot he took a step from in order to repeat it in the future. This principle helps to work with athletes. The connection of neurons allows you to scroll through information in your head, which then “works” for the result. Complex elements in sports were performed as refined movements, thanks to the fact that a person “played out” their execution technique several times in his head. The deceived brain thought that the human body could work in this direction.
• Meaningful memorization involves isolating the main and important information from the pure flow of knowledge. This technique is still used in theories and practices at universities. When giving a lecture, the teacher points out important points that need to be remembered. They allow students to build on them, developing thoughts to specific events. They, in turn, remain in the unconscious part of memory. When you need to use data, the brain “opens” the door to it.
• The logical combined method of memorization was founded by M. N. Shardakov, who provided people with the opportunity to remember events evenly and in the required sequence. If the chronology of information reproduction was violated, the memorization tactics changed. The goal of the task was for children and adults to learn information in doses, remembering it in full. No one was able to learn entire poems without fragmentation, despite attempts to convey sounds through music.

The combined type can be used to learn a foreign language. The unconscious and logical method allows you to remember the theory and apply it in practice, while the intentional (force) method practically does not produce results.

Memory in psychology

Memory in psychology is the definition of a person’s ability to remember, retain, reproduce and forget information from his own experience. This property helps a person move in space and time. There are different psychological theories that have their own view of this concept.

In associative theory, the key concept is association. In memory, it connects parts of the perceived material. When a person remembers something, he begins to look for a connection between these materials and those that need to be reproduced. The formation of associations has patterns: similarity, contiguity and contrast. Similarity is manifested in the fact that the material that is memorized is then reproduced through connection with similar material. Contiguity occurs when incoming material is remembered in relation to previous material. The contrast is expressed in the fact that the material that should be remembered is different from that which is retained.

According to behavioral theory, special exercises help memorize material. Such exercises help to better and faster fix attention on objects and episodes. Several factors influence quality memorization: age, individual characteristics, interval between exercises, volume of material and others.

In cognitive theory, this process is characterized as a certain set of blocks and processes of transformation of information material. Some blocks ensure recognition of the expressive features of the material, others create a cognitive orienting map of information, with the help of others, information is retained, and the fourth block transforms the material into a specific form.

Activity theory considers this process as an active component of the connection between a person and the world. This occurs through the processes of analysis, synthesis, grouping, repetition and identification of features; with their help, a mnemonic image is also created, a unique form of material in which a person’s personal attitude lies. Memorization is also influenced by external stimulus signs, which later become internal and the person, guided by them, controls this process.

Functions and role

Memory in psychology (memory properties are directly related to its role and functions performed by it) is divided into several types depending on the functions performed in a person’s life:

Modern science in the works of P.K. Anokhin explores hypotheses about the mechanism of memory. Biocurrents that are independently renewed in nerve cells help create the effect of visual perception. This is an experiment conducted by P. P. Blonsky, which is based on a mental phenomenon. The act of cognition of a situation occurs due to orientation in the information in the depths of the brain.

The role of memory in human life occupies a dominant niche in the work of the nerve endings of the cerebral cortex. A lawyer must remember the information of all persons participating in the process, a lawyer must remember the theory and veracity of situations. A simple worker must determine the logic of sequential actions. In science they distinguish:

There is another type of implicit memory - these are effects that help to effortlessly reproduce what neutral stimuli in the brain help us remember through associations. A person may unconsciously turn towards a sound or bright light.

Memory development

Developed memory is a very big plus for a person’s personality, both in everyday life and at work. In most professions, developed memory is highly valued; it is a great advantage, helping to achieve great achievements at work and take on greater responsibility. There are certain ways to develop this process. To remember something, you need to focus on the process, on the material itself. You need to comprehend the information, look for parallels in it in relation to your experience. The more chances there are to establish such a connection, the better the memory will be.

If you need to remember some element, for example, a name, phone number, number, you don’t need to immediately rush to a notepad or the Internet for the answer. Within a couple of minutes, you need to abstract yourself from everything external, look into the depths of your brain and try to remember yourself.

If you need to remember something very important, you need to create some kind of image, a very vivid association in your head regarding it. The brain remembers something original much easier, which makes it easier to remember the right thing. To easily remember numbers, you need to divide them into groups, or, as in the previous method, create associations.

A very effective method for developing memory is a simulator for developing cognitive abilities, called the Vikium project.

In order to remember something well, you need to immediately after perceiving the information, speak it, then retell it to someone else, this will make it easier to remember and better understand the meaning of the material.

A very simple method that can be used everywhere is to solve the simplest arithmetic problems in your head.

Also, the simplest way to develop memory is to replay the events of the day in your head. It is better to do this at the end of each day before going to bed, recreating all the details and episodes, feelings, experiences, emotions that filled this day. You also need to evaluate your actions and actions performed on this day.

Reading books contributes to the development of memorization, the brain concentrates, the text is perceived, and details are stored in memory.

Effective memorization involves understanding the meaning of the text. It is very unprofitable to memorize material mechanically without retelling it in your own words. Such a process will stop at the level of RAM and will not move into long-term memory.

To develop memory, you need to accustom yourself to repeat information, at first it will require multiple repetitions to memorize, after such frequent repetition the brain will be developed enough to remember information faster.

Mechanical movements of the hands help in the development of memory. When a person does some long-term action with his hands, brain structures are activated.

Learning foreign languages ​​is also a good way to improve memory.

A person’s emotional state will play a significant role. When a person is calm and happy, he will be able to quickly and easily remember information and reproduce it than a person in a state of anger or anxiety.

To develop memory you need to work on it, focused and purposeful. Laziness will contribute to the degradation of the human psyche, and a good memory will clearly not be a characteristic feature of such a person. Developed memory opens up great prospects for a person; thanks to memory, one can achieve high results, both at work and in communication.

With the help of neurobics, you can also develop and support this mental process. There is relevant literature that describes a lot of methods for developing this process.

Using the methods described above, you need to load your memory; without regular training, it will weaken, fail and accelerate the aging of thinking.

There are a few more rules that must be followed to effectively develop this process. In order for the memory to be good, it is necessary for the brain to be functional; for this it must be saturated with oxygen, which enters the blood. To do this, you need to often be in the air, take breaks from mental work for a few minutes, do exercises and exercises that promote a rush of blood to the brain.

If a person smokes and does not train his memory, he prescribes for himself a rapid deterioration of mental processes. If a person smokes and trains his memory, such processes begin a little later, but still faster than in people who do not smoke at all.

Adequate sleep promotes the development of this process and ensures brain activity. If a person does not get enough sleep, his memory at the biological level is not able to work as needed. Because the brain depends on the biological rhythms of day and night, so only at night are brain cells restored and the next morning, after sleeping for seven or eight hours, a person will be ready for a productive working day.

To maintain mental flexibility, you need to give up alcohol. The more a person uses, the more damage he causes to his brain. Some people have the experience of not remembering half of the events that happened after drinking alcohol. Especially when you need to learn some material, you should avoid drinking even wine and beer, not to mention stronger drinks. For a well-developed memory, you need to eat right, especially foods that contain phosphoric acid and calcium salts.

All of the above methods and rules, if applied in combination, guarantee the development and preservation of memory for many years.

Violations

Memory in psychology, whose properties are also uncontrollable events and their consequences, can be subject to minor and serious failures:

• Forgetting is a surprisingly common event that can occur for a number of reasons, including inability to remember the time period.

• Dementia also affects thinking, judgment and behavior (Alzheimer's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, normal pressure hydrocephalus, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease).
• Brain infections (Lyme disease, syphilis or HIV) can cause complete amnesia.
• Parkinson's or Huntington's disease (multiple sclerosis) lead to the destruction of connections between neurons.

To identify the likelihood of mental disorders at an early stage, it is necessary to conduct a diagnosis.

Diagnostics

To diagnose mental and psychological characteristics of memory, testing is carried out:

• A. R. Luria - “learning 10 words.” The purpose of the experiment is to test the level of memory development.
• The method of “determining short-term memory” developed by G.I. Nevelskoy makes it possible to determine the accuracy and identity of memorization. In the experiment, individuals are given numbers arranged randomly. They need to be reproduced orally or in writing at the required speed.
• Testing “visual memory” using I. Melnikov’s method involves proofreading the story. The subject must write down the words that he remembers. The level of auditory memory is assessed in the same way.

Diagnostics can be carried out in Moscow at the Gerontological Clinical Center, at the Center for Psychological Diagnostics and at the Clinical Psychiatric Hospital. The procedure may be repeated depending on the accuracy and purity of the experiment. If the results are not obtained, a repeat examination is carried out. The cost of testing can vary from 2300 to 8900 rubles.

Management methods

Methods for implementing memory functions may imply specific events and actions that are set as a task for the subject.

Mnemonic technique

The essence of the method is to use local binding of verbal intermediaries and divide them into groups.

A person learns a number of elements, compares them and remembers them. J. Bruno developed a methodology to establish the ability to interpret the result obtained in the study. A mnemonic technique allows you to teach a person to evaluate the brain’s ability to hide useless information.

Association method in neural networks

The technique was developed by P.I. Zinchenko. The point is that a person should be able to assemble objects using associative thinking, remembering their role in a person’s life. For example, you need to connect a number of useful actions, correlating their functions to a number of objects. Thus, a person remembers more words, interpreting the result through memories in action.

Flying technology for forgetting and suppressing memories

It was developed by O. L. Podlinyaev, who forced mentally ill people to forget about past negative events in life.

The goal of the technique is to be able to manage the long-term part of memory in the context of neural networks. Suppression of obsessively traumatic events occurs through writing a “burning letter”, emotions that were caused in the past years, and burning emotional complexes.

This technique can involve people in whom simple memory plots cause disturbances in consciousness. For example, a person cannot come to terms with the loss of a loved one and reacts negatively to fire (the fire claimed the lives of relatives). The technique allows you to “let go” of memories and suppress their reaction to the current event (bonfire, burning candle) by burning the sheet on which the emotions are written.

Harris's Mnemonic Devices (1980)

Harris once created an amazing methodology for memory training. The method helped people remember so quickly and store information in the sensory and short-term memory sections for a long time that they inevitably became targets for others. They were able to memorize a deck of cards and magician's techniques, which is why they were considered scammers.

Harris was unable to debunk the myth about these people, since he only created a technique for memory training. To manage such possibilities and learn to suppress rapid memorization syndromes, mnemonist Shereshevsky created synesthesia, which helped disrupt the process of information exchange in the sphere of the phenomenal technique of memorizing everything around.

The essence of the method was that when one area of ​​the brain is irritated, impulses characteristic of the work of another area are activated. Thus, having pushed a person into the abyss, he should not be confused, but rejoice.

This substitution of impulses in the functioning of neurons helped Shereshevsky associate numbers and words with images of people. He also created a technique for forgetting this technique, returning a person to the body’s usual reactions.

Having managed to change the properties of all parts of memory, Shereshevsky created a psychological weapon with which he could control memory. In psychology there are many methods that allow you to manage emotions, thoughts and associative thinking. By studying and interpreting the workings of these parts of the brain, it is possible to control a person and manipulate his feelings to treat diseases.

Memory training

Training happens when people don't even notice it. Memorizing the list of products needed in the store, the names of new acquaintances, dates of birth - all this is training for a person. But there are more specific exercises for development; they promote much better memorization and concentration on the specific development of these abilities. If memory develops, then other mental processes (thinking, perception, attention) also develop simultaneously.

There are exercises for developing this process, the most common ones will be briefly described below.

Developing memory in adults, exercises can be very different. A very popular exercise is Schulte tables. They contribute to the development of peripheral vision, attention, observation, speed reading and visual memory. When looking for sequential numbers, vision fixes only a few cells, so the location of the desired cell and the cells of other numbers is remembered.

An exercise to develop photographic memory using the Aivazovsky method. Its essence is to look at an object for five minutes. Afterwards, close your eyes and restore the image of this object in your head as clearly as possible. You can also draw these images, this will help improve the effectiveness of the exercise. It must be performed periodically so that visual memory develops well.

The exercise of playing matches helps train visual memory. To do this, you need to put five matches on the table and look at their location, then turn away, take five more matches and try on another surface to recreate the location of the matches that were memorized.

The Roman room exercise helps develop the ability to structure stored information, but with its help it also trains visual memory. It is necessary to remember the sequence of objects, their details, color, shape. As a result, more information is remembered and visual memory is trained.

There are also exercises to train auditory memory.

Development of memory in adults, exercises must obey certain rules. The first exercise is reading aloud. When a person voices memorized material, he develops his vocabulary, improves diction, intonation, and improves the ability to attach emotional coloring and brightness to his speech. The auditory components of what is read are also better remembered. You need to read easily, take your time, read as you speak. There are some rules: pronounce words clearly, with appropriate placement, pronounce each word expressively, do not “eat up” the ending, pronounce the text as if it were the speech of a diplomat or speaker expressing his own thoughts on some serious issue. If you read for at least ten or fifteen minutes every day, adhering to all the rules, you can notice results in speaking abilities and auditory memory within a month.

Regular study of poems is a good and easy way to practice memorization. When studying a verse, it is necessary to understand its meaning and highlight the techniques that the author used. Divide it into semantic components, highlight the main idea. When learning a poem, it is important to repeat it all the time, saying it out loud, using intonation, conveying the mood of the author, thus further developing diction. You need to repeat it many times, and over time the number of repetitions will decrease. When pronouncing a verse in your head or out loud, the articulatory apparatus is activated. Studying a poem is used for long-term memorization of abstract information. Such memorization occurs, for example, in studying the multiplication table, or memorizing the number Pi.

Auditory memory develops through eavesdropping. When you are among people, in transport or on the street, on a bench, you need to focus on the conversation of other people among themselves, comprehend the information, try to remember it. Then, when you come home, speak out the conversations you heard with the appropriate intonation and remember the expressions on people’s faces at the time of the conversation. By practicing this very often, a person will be able to learn to perceive text fluently by ear and will become much more attentive and sensitive to intonation and tone.

An effective method is the development of memory using the methods of special services. This is a training program that is based on techniques used in intelligence agencies. The effectiveness of such a program has been verified by intelligence officers and counterintelligence officers. This method is presented in the book by the author Denis Bukin, which is called “Development of memory according to the methods of the special services.”

In the modern world, almost everyone is accustomed to the fact that they always have a phone, tablet, or organizer at hand, which stores the necessary information and can always be seen there. Routine work, overloading the memorization process with unnecessary information, and the inability to systematize this information leads to a weakening of mnemonic processes. The book describes a profession in which a well-developed memory is the key to success, or rather, it is vital - this is an intelligence officer. He cannot save the operation plan or map on his phone, he does not have time to leaf through a notepad. All important information should be stored only in the head, all the details, so that they can be clearly reproduced at the right time. Each chapter of the book describes each stage of an intelligence officer's career. Each stage contains techniques, exercises and instructions for them.