What is Memory?
Memory is the ability to record, retain, and later retrieve information. It is a biological process that relies on networks of neurons in the brain.
There are several forms of memory:
- Working memory (short-term or immediate memory).
- Semantic memory, which allows us to store information about ourselves and the world around us.
- Episodic memory, which relates to past events, their context, and helps predict future events.
- Procedural memory (or motor memory), which is unconscious and governs automatisms and skills.
- Perceptive memory, linked to our five senses, helps recall sensations experienced through sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Memory in Antiquity
In antiquity, Plato was a memory expert. According to him, we do not learn but "re-learn"; we do not recall but "recollect." He distinguished between natural memory (preservation of the past) and artificial memory, which involves intentional recall, strengthened through practice.
Plato compared memory to an aviary: having knowledge is like having a bird in the aviary; mastering that knowledge is like holding the bird in hand. In childhood, the aviary is nearly empty, but learning fills it over a lifetime. To catch a bird quickly, one must practice regularly. Working on memory means frequently opening the aviary to locate the bird and hold it in hand.
The Three Phases of Memorization
Research on memory has identified three key phases:
Encoding (voluntary or involuntary):
This involves acquiring new information about the concept to be memorized. For example, to learn the word "elephant," we might associate it with "animal" and "large" and use strategies to add details: it lives in Africa or Asia, it has three syllables ("e-le-phant"), and its feminine form in French ("éléphante") includes a silent "t."
The more refined the encoding, the more effective the learning.
Storage (consolidation and transformation):
Information acquired during encoding must be stored to remain accessible. The brain automatically repeats the information until it is anchored in memory.
Retrieval (direct and explicit or indirect and implicit):
This involves retrieving the stored information. The more encoding strategies used, the quicker the recall.
Improving Memory
Memory performance can be enhanced through practice and by learning to focus attention. The good news? This capacity improves with age!
To aid memorization, you can:
- Simplify encoding with mnemonic devices or striking examples.
- Enrich stimuli with images, sounds, or rhymes.
- Encourage active attention: generating a response is more effective than selecting one.
- Structure and illustrate the information to be memorized.
- Repeat essential information.
- Use games to reinforce memory skills.