Memory is our neurocognitive ability to code, store and recall information. It is an individual and conscious phenomenon that allows us to learn and recover what we learned.
In the cortex, there are 1 000 000 000 million connections that have a role in the process of memory. Studies assure that, on average, you have the memory space equivalent to 20 million books with 500 pages each. So, why can’t you remember everything?
Semantic Memory
Semantic memory refers to the general meaning of words, and it’s necessary for the use of language. It’s associated with symbols, and the relationship between the words and is stored in long-term memory.
Semantic memory is not related to specific events but to concepts, objects, and their relationships. Therefore, it’s important to understand language, think, and read the information we get from the environment.
It does not register the perceptive properties of the stimulus but the cognitive references associated with it.
Memorizing Process – a meaningful one
Knowledge must make sense for you to learn. It has to have some meaning. That’s why teachers should look for examples that mean something to their students.
According to Tulving Model, information must be stored in our brain according to the content – here is when semantic memory comes along. So it stored the meaning of content, regardless of time and space. As a result, it gives more meaning to what you’re memorizing.
Semantic memory Models
What you’ve stored in your memory isn’t an exact replica of the event. Instead, it’s an altered representation of the original stimulus and must be organized.
Three models try to explain how we organize information.
The Hierarchical Network Model
First introduced by Collis and Quillon in 1969, the Hierarchical Network Model establishes that the information is organized according to hierarchical categories. For example, for the category “human”, there are the sub-categories “man/woman”.
This model assumes a hierarchical structure that relates the concepts and their characteristics.
Active Structural Network
The significance is given by a group of theoretical characteristics – the network expands in terms of events, movements, and relation modes. For Norman & Lindsy, who postulate this network model, semantic memory is summarized by a group of attributes.
Feature-Comparison Model
According to Smith, Shoben, and Rasgos (1974), memory results from multiple isolated semantic characteristics. This model tells us that a piece of information is processed or recalled easily if it’s typical or representative of the category – the typicality effect.
Memory and Learning Ability
In 1953, Bousfield showed in his studies that a list of randomly presented words is recalled by regrouping the words into semantic categories, proving how organization and semantic meaning are essential in learning and memorizing.
Organization is vital in the learning process and in organizing information. We tend to group it into meaningful categories, making it easier for our memory to store (and recall) the data.
Naturally, there are other factors to consider when discussing memorizing, such as previous experiences or specific individual abilities – focus, concentration, motivation…
Learning relies on memory
The learning process depends on memory. You need to memorize the information in order to learn it. Memorizing is a complex process, and your brain tries to find ways to make it easier to retain and recall that information.
It is easiest to organize it into groups or categories that make sense. Semantics profoundly impact this organization, relating the information by meaning, the field of action, or any other category. Semantic memory gives those categories and helps us understand where each new information belongs, greatly impacting our learning process.
Psychology in our World 