Psychology: A Self-Teaching Guide

Learning: Understanding Acquired Behavior 85

hood was like. Learning would be a meaningless concept, because learning implies

retention. You will recall that the definition of learning includes the idea that

learning is more or less permanent.

Memoryis a process that involves the encoding, storage, and retrieval of cog-

nitive information. Let’s explore these three related processes one by one. Encod-

ingis a process characterized by giving an informational input a more useful

form. Let’s say that you are presented with the letters TCA. They seem meaning-

less. You are told that the letters represent an animal that meows. You think, “The

animal is a cat.” You have just transformed the informational input TCA into

CAT, and it has become more useful to you. The use of symbols, associations, and

insights are all examples of human encoding.

The use of a mnemonic device,a cognitive structure that improves both

retention and recall, is a special case of encoding. Let’s say that in a physics class

you are asked to memorize the colors of the rainbow in their correct order—red,

orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. You can use the name Roy G. Biv

as a mnemonic device, using the first letter of each color.

(a) is a process characterized by giving an informational input a more

useful form.

(b) The use of the name Roy G. Biv to remember the colors of the rainbow is an example
of a.

Answers: (a) Encoding; (b) mnemonic device.

Storagerefers to the fact that memories are retained for a period of time. A

distinction is made between short-term memory and long-term memory. Short-

term memory,also known as working memory,is characterized by a tempo-

rary storage of information. If you look up a telephone number, hold it in at the

conscious level of your mind for a few minutes, use it, and then promptly forget

it, you are employing the short-term memory process. Long-term memoryis

characterized by a relatively stable, enduring storage of information. The capacity

to recall much of your own personal history and what you learned in school pro-

vide examples of the long-term memory process.

If short-term memory is impaired, as it is in some organic mental disorders

(see chapter 14), then this interferes with the capacity to form new long-term

memories.

(a) refers to the fact that memories are retained for a period of time.

(b) Short-term memory is also known as.

(c) is characterized by a relatively stable, enduring storage of information.