Memory

Memory comprises the processes through which information is encoded, retained and subsequently used. Remembering depends on more than storage: information must be registered in a usable form, and later circumstances must permit its retrieval. A failure to remember does not therefore establish that a complete record was once stored and then lost.

Processes

Encoding concerns the formation of a representation from experience. Storage concerns its persistence, and retrieval concerns bringing retained information to bear on a later task. What a person attends to, the way material is organised and the cues available later can all affect remembering. These terms distinguish functions within a process rather than three independently observable containers.

Forms of memory

Psychologists distinguish temporary retention from longer-lasting memory. Working memory concerns information maintained and used during an ongoing activity. Within long-term memory, explicit or declarative memory includes consciously reportable information: episodic memory concerns experienced events, and semantic memory concerns knowledge and meanings. Implicit memory is expressed through performance without requiring conscious recollection; learned skills are one example.

Reconstruction and error

Remembering is not a literal replay of experience. A recollection can combine retained information with later knowledge, expectations or suggestions. Information may also have been poorly encoded in the first place. These distinctions matter when interpreting a successful recollection, a mistaken detail or an apparent gap. A vivid memory is an experience of remembering, not an independent guarantee that every detail is accurate.

Attribution

Prepared with reference to the structure and linked topics of the English Wikipedia article, revision 1380372913. Rewritten and checked against the sources cited above; changes have been made. Wikipedia contributors’ material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.