Short Term Memory Study Guide

While studying for a Psychology exam, one must use memory to retrieve facts and definitions. Memory is essential because it allows one to think and learn a vast amount of information. The information retrieved from our sensory system is then processed into memory. Memory has three vital steps which include encoding, storage and retrieval. These steps produce three different types of memory: sensory, short or long term memory. Memories that receive a certain amount of rehearsal will become a long term memory. While taking a Psychology exam, it is vital for one to have long term memories in order to achieve a high score. Every word or noise being read in class or heard in lecture becomes a sensory memory. Sensory memories are constantly being formed and processed. Information gathered by the brain is then converted into material which we can understand and store. Information can be encoded through sight, sound and meaning. Visual sensory information is taken to iconic memory while sounds are taken to echoic memory. This process allows for the mind to categorize information. While reviewing a study guide, you may notice that the information read is something similar to

If the information coming from one’s sensory memory is important, it will go into the short term memory bank. Short term memories enter through selective attention, which allows one to focus on one stimulus from all the information taken in by the sensory system. Short term memories only last 30 seconds and the capacity is limited. Miller’s magic number shows that we can only store up to seven items at a time. A tactic that can be used to remember information is known as chunking, which is to group together items so they can store themselves as single concepts. Other tactics include rhymes or acronyms. While studying for a psychology exam, we can use these tactics to help recall definitions and