Storing information is a vital part of the human learning experience that proves human limitation through cognition. A limitation that is fundamental to brain functioning by exploring the capacity and duration of information storage. There are three parts of memory according to the dual-store memory. The sensory register is part of this three-part memory charged with retaining information for a specific time that permits the person can engage in the cognitive process (Sepp et al., 2019). The sensory register uses our senses as the primary input method for the information in our thoughts within a brief period. It includes the iconic, echonic, and japtic memory that uses sight, auditory, and touch senses. For example, seeing a bird fly high above the sky while walking down the road. The duration for memory storage is ¼ to ½ seconds (McLeod, 2021). Information arrives from five senses in the sensory store, including touch, sight (visual info), and sounds. The sensory memory boasts of possessing a great capacity, although it has a brief interval. Therefore it can encode data originating from the senses. However, most info is lost via decay. Attention is the initial step in recalling something, whereas the data gets shifted to short-term memory.
Short-Term Memory (STM) often stores memory for at most 30 seconds. It possesses a 7+/-2 while encoding information acoustically (McLeod, 2021). STM loses information as a result of decay or displacement. Maintenance rehearsal involves mentally and verbally repeating information, thereby allowing short-term memory extension for more than 30 seconds (McLeod, 2021). Rehearsal memory consists of reiterating information without engaging thoughts on the meaning or linking to other information. If a person can engage in continual repetition, the information becomes more assertive and transported to the Long Term store. However, if there is no sustained repetition, the information is forgotten and eliminated through decay from the short-term memory. An example is having to memorize a phone number because there is no other way of saving it. The action will prove difficult to remember the number for a given period unless the number gets rehearsed in mind.
Finally, we have the Long Term Memory (LTM), characterized by unlimited duration and capacity and the ability to undertake information encoding semantically, although it might include visual and auditory. The elaboratively rehearsed information in the short-term memory arrives in the LTM even though it might be called back to the STM whenever it is required. Whereas the STM uses maintenance rehearsals to remember new information, the LTM uses elaborative rehearsals, which facilitate proper information encoding. In the LTM, there exists a process of connecting further information in a meaningful way to the one already kept in the Long-Term Memory. An example of the LTM is seeing the sun high in the sky and knowing it is the most brilliant light source. Such thinking involves our conscious thoughts, and the ability to relate to personal experiences enhances the encoding of the information. In this example, someone who has never seen the sun cannot connect to it, and the memory will not be long-term since it lacks relatability. The Bible states, “…for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and Drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.” Proverbs 23:7 (Barker, 2020). The bible verse links our identity to our ability to think. It emphasizes that we are what we collectively think.
References
Barker, K. L., Strauss, M. L., Brown, J. K., Blomberg, C. L., & Williams, M. (Eds.). (2020). NIV study bible. Zondervan.
McLeod, S. (2021). Multi-Store Model of Memory. Simply psychology. Web.
Sepp, S., Howard, S. J., Tindall-Ford, S., Agostinho, S., & Paas, F. (2019). Cognitive load theory and human movement: Towards an integrated model of working memory. Educational Psychology Review, 1-25. Web.