Memory

While reading chapter twelve this week another topic that caught my attention was the topic of memory. There are three different types of memory, sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. Sensory memory is memories we create based on experiences and other things that we use senses to remember. Working memory, which used to be called short-term memory, is where we currently work in our brain to create "conscious activity" (Berger, 2011, p. 326). Long-term memory is memory that is what Berger calls potentially limitless, where we can store an indefinite amount of knowledge (Berger, 2011, p. 327). Memory is a fascinating thing. We all have memories of when we were children about maybe a favorite trip to the beach or a certain smell, like our grandmothers perfume, that we can almost smell just by thinking about it. What I wonder is why do we remember some things and not others? Is it because we did not have a sensory or emotional connection? Were those things just seemingly unimportant to us at that time of our lives? But if you think about it, then why do some people have photographic memories, and what allows them to have this rare ability? Memory is a fickle thing as my grandmother says, something I believe we do not know enough about.

Reference:
Berger, K. S. (2011). The Developing Person Through the Life Span. New York: Worth Publishers.