Memory in psychology is a form of mental reflection that consolidates, preserves and reproduces subsequently past experience, which makes it possible to reuse it in a new activity. Memory connects a person’s present with the past and future. It represents the most important cognitive function that contributes to human development. Mental activity is also based on memory.
There are different types of memory in psychology. They are classified according to the following criteria.
The content of mental activity distinguishes motor (motor), emotional, verbal-logical, figurative memory. Figurative memory - the perception, preservation and use of images of phenomena and objects of reality. In psychology, motor memory is the recording and reproduction of movements (walking, using tools, etc.). Emotional - a memory of familiar emotional states and feelings. She is the main condition for moral development. Verbal-logical memory comes down to remembering and later reproducing thoughts (peculiar only to man).
According to the degree of volitional regulation, random memory is allocated (a person remembers at his own discretion and desire) and involuntary (memorization occurs without volitional effort).
The duration of consolidation and further preservation distinguishes between short-term memory in psychology (enough captured information for a few seconds after a short perception) and long-term (characterized by the duration and relative strength of material storage).
According to the role and place of activity, there is a permanent and operational memory (it holds some intermediate results and goals).
All listed types of memory exist separately from each other.
Memory in psychology is characterized by the following processes that occur in it: memorization, preservation, forgetting, recognition, reproduction.
The memory features of different people depend on the types of their nervous system, the nature of professional work and other factors. A person can have a certain type of memory: visual-figurative, verbal-logical or intermediate (harmonious).
There are theories of memory in psychology. Theory of memory is a form of mental reflection. In the 19th century, Ebbinghaus investigated the laws of pure memory. In the twentieth century, in gestalt psychology, gestalt, integral organized structures, were taken as the basis of memory. With behaviorism, the role of reinforcements in memorization was emphasized. Psychoanalysis believed that forgetting is connected with the motivational sphere of the psyche. Today there are theories that consider the processes and mechanisms of memory: biochemical theory, theory of neural models, chemical theory.
The quality of memory (volume, speed of storage, accuracy of reproduction, duration of storage, the ability to quickly retrieve data, ease of reproduction) determine its productivity. Objective and subjective causes can influence memory performance.
Objective factors include the nature of the information being stored, its structure, consistency and coherence of the material, proportionality, distribution, visualization, as well as general settings and conditions under which memorization should take place, etc.
Subjective reasons are the individual type of memorization, the wealth of past experience, the presence of an attitude to memorize and preserve information, personal significance, emotional attitude, memory size, age and gender characteristics, physical condition, etc.
The study of memory in psychology is carried out using experimental methods. Often they give conflicting information. However, scientists are confident that memory can capture everything that a person experiences. Restrictions on it are imposed only by human consciousness.