Measures of Retention

Memory is not simply one area of the brain, it is a series of systems which work together to enable storage and retrieval of information. Memory does not always work automatically, as we are shown a variety of sensory information each day, our brain selects certain pieces of information to store in memory, whilst eliminating others. If we did not do this, we would be overloaded with information.

Memory is an active information processing system that receives organises, stores and recovers information.

Memory is often described as being similar to a computer system as they handle information using three processes:

Encoding: Process of converting information into a useable form or code that can be stored in memory.

Storage: The retention of information over time.

Retrieval: Process of locating and recovering the stored information from memory so that we are consciously aware of it.

Effective working memory: Encoding leads to storage and storage enables retrieval.

Measures of Retention: These are measures which are used to determine how much information has been retained. There are three types:

Recall: Involves being asked to reproduce information with the fewest possible cues to assist retrieval. There are three types:

·      Free recall: When participants are simply asked to remember as much information as they can, in no particular order.

·      Serial recall: When participants are asked to recall a list of words in the order in which words were presented.

·      Cued Recall: Makes use of more specific cues to aid retrieval.

Recognition: Involves identifying the correct information from among alternatives. Our ability to retrieve information is usually better using the recognition method rather than recall.

Relearning: Also known as the method of savings. Involves relearning information that has been previously learned and stored in long term memory.

Relearning information usually takes less time than it did to learn it in the first place.