Memory, Reaction Paper Example

According to our textbook, memory is defined as “the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information”. I found our lesson in memory to be highly interesting because we rely on our ability to remember and recall information for a variety of important things. The most relevant topic in this situation, I believe, is our ability to learn and recall the information that we’ve learned in school. I find it interesting that we are still able to remember many of the things that we’ve learned in our elementary education programs and that we are still able to collect new information as we earn our higher education.

Through the chapter reading, I’ve been able to gain a better understanding of this phenomenon. Long-term memory allows us to store information for a long period of time as long as we occasionally refresh these memories. This explains why we still know how to do basic math and tie our shoes, but we may not remember obscure history facts that were mentioned in our youth and have not been brought up since. Now I know that I should rehearse the information that I wish to retain. This fact is also highly applicable to my own performance as a student.

Now that I understand short-term and long-term memory, I have a greater understanding of how my own brain works when I attempt to study for exams. Since short-term memory allows us to recall information after several seconds of knowing it, it is useful to take advantage of psychological methods to convert our short-term memories to long-term ones that will be useful for tests and assignments. If I break down information into 7 plus or minus two items or attempt to “chunk” it, I think I will be able to remember essential test information more easily. I’ll be sure to try this for the next one and report back!