{"id":1003,"date":"2020-06-15T11:12:29","date_gmt":"2020-06-15T15:12:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/upeiintropsychology\/chapter\/varieties-of-memory\/"},"modified":"2020-08-17T11:37:34","modified_gmt":"2020-08-17T15:37:34","slug":"varieties-of-memory","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.upei.ca\/upeiintropsychology\/chapter\/varieties-of-memory\/","title":{"raw":"Varieties of Memory","rendered":"Varieties of Memory"},"content":{"raw":"
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For most of us, remembering digits relies on short-term<\/em> memory<\/em>,<\/em> or working<\/em> memory<\/em>\u2014the ability to hold information in our minds for a brief time and work with it (e.g., multiplying 24 x 17 without using paper would rely on working memory). Another type of memory is episodic<\/strong> memory<\/strong><\/a>\u2014the ability to remember the episodes of our lives. If you were given the task of recalling everything you did 2 days ago, that would be a test of episodic memory; you would be required to mentally travel through the day in your mind and note the main events. Semantic<\/strong><\/a> memory<\/strong> <\/a>is our storehouse of more-or-less permanent knowledge, such as the meanings of words in a language (e.g., the meaning of \u201cparasol\u201d) and the huge collection of facts about the world (e.g., there are 196 countries in the world, and 206 bones in your body). Collective<\/em> memory<\/em> refers to the kind of memory that people in a group share (whether family, community, schoolmates, or citizens of a state or a country). For example, residents of small towns often strongly identify with those towns, remembering the local customs and historical events in a unique way. That is, the community\u2019s collective memory passes stories and recollections between neighbors and to future generations, forming a memory system unto itself.<\/p>\r\n \r\n

\"image\"<\/p>\r\n

To be a good chess player you have to learn to increase working memory so you can plan ahead for several offensive moves while simultaneously anticipating - through use of memory - how the other player could counter each of your planned moves. [Image: karpidis, https:\/\/goo.gl\/EhzMKM, CC BY-SA 2.0,\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/jSSrcO]<\/p>\r\n

Psychologists continue to debate the classification of types of memory, as well as which types rely on others (Tulving, 2007<\/a>), but for this module we will focus on episodic memory. Episodic memory is usually what people think of when they hear the word \u201cmemory.\u201d For example,<\/a><\/a>\u00a0when people say that an older relative is \u201closing her memory\u201d due to Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the type of memory-loss they are referring to is the inability to recall events, or episodic memory. (Semantic memory is actually preserved in early-stage Alzheimer\u2019s disease.) Although remembering specific events that have happened over the course of one\u2019s entire life (e.g., your experiences in sixth grade) can be referred to as autobiographical<\/strong> memory<\/strong><\/a>, we will focus primarily on the episodic memories of more recent events.<\/p>\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"

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For most of us, remembering digits relies on short-term<\/em> memory<\/em>,<\/em> or working<\/em> memory<\/em>\u2014the ability to hold information in our minds for a brief time and work with it (e.g., multiplying 24 x 17 without using paper would rely on working memory). Another type of memory is episodic<\/strong> memory<\/strong><\/a>\u2014the ability to remember the episodes of our lives. If you were given the task of recalling everything you did 2 days ago, that would be a test of episodic memory; you would be required to mentally travel through the day in your mind and note the main events. Semantic<\/strong><\/a> memory<\/strong> <\/a>is our storehouse of more-or-less permanent knowledge, such as the meanings of words in a language (e.g., the meaning of \u201cparasol\u201d) and the huge collection of facts about the world (e.g., there are 196 countries in the world, and 206 bones in your body). Collective<\/em> memory<\/em> refers to the kind of memory that people in a group share (whether family, community, schoolmates, or citizens of a state or a country). For example, residents of small towns often strongly identify with those towns, remembering the local customs and historical events in a unique way. That is, the community\u2019s collective memory passes stories and recollections between neighbors and to future generations, forming a memory system unto itself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"image\"<\/p>\n

To be a good chess player you have to learn to increase working memory so you can plan ahead for several offensive moves while simultaneously anticipating – through use of memory – how the other player could counter each of your planned moves. [Image: karpidis, https:\/\/goo.gl\/EhzMKM, CC BY-SA 2.0,\u00a0https:\/\/goo.gl\/jSSrcO]<\/p>\n

Psychologists continue to debate the classification of types of memory, as well as which types rely on others (Tulving, 2007<\/a>), but for this module we will focus on episodic memory. Episodic memory is usually what people think of when they hear the word \u201cmemory.\u201d For example,<\/a><\/a>\u00a0when people say that an older relative is \u201closing her memory\u201d due to Alzheimer\u2019s disease, the type of memory-loss they are referring to is the inability to recall events, or episodic memory. (Semantic memory is actually preserved in early-stage Alzheimer\u2019s disease.) Although remembering specific events that have happened over the course of one\u2019s entire life (e.g., your experiences in sixth grade) can be referred to as autobiographical<\/strong> memory<\/strong><\/a>, we will focus primarily on the episodic memories of more recent events.<\/p>\n

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