memorizingnmemorizevmemorizationn
the process of establishing information, etc., in memory. The term “memor-
izing” usually refers to conscious processes. Memorizing may involve rote
learning, practice, associative learning, etc.
memory n
the mental capacity to store information, either for short or long periods.
Two different types of memory are often distinguished:
a Short-term memoryrefers to that part of the memory where information
which is received is stored for short periods of time while it is being ana-
lyzed and interpreted. Working memoryis a more contemporary term for
short-term memory which conceptualizes memory not as a passive system
for temporary storage but an active system for temporarily storing and
manipulating information needed in the execution of complex cognitive
tasks (e.g. learning, reasoning, and comprehension). In the influential
model of Baddeley, working memory consists of two storage systems, the
articulatory loopfor the storage of verbal information and the visuospatial
sketchpadfor the storage of visual information, plus a central executive, a
very active system responsible for the selection, initiation, and termination
of processing routines (e.g. encoding, storing, and retrieving).
b Long-term memoryis that part of the memory system where infor-
mation is stored more permanently. Information in long-term memory may
not be stored in the same form in which it is received. For example, a listener
may hear sentence A below, and be able to repeat it accurately immediately
after hearing it. The listener uses short-term memory to do this. On trying
to remember the sentence a few days later the listener may produce sentence
B, using information in long-term memory which is in a different form from
the original message.
a The car the doctor parked by the side of the road was struck by a passing
bus.
b The doctor’s car was hit by a bus.
see also episodic memory, implicit memory, relearning
mentalismnmentalist adj
the theory that a human being possesses a mind which has consciousness,
ideas, etc., and that the mind can influence the behaviour of the body.
see also behaviourism, epiphenomenalism, innatist hypothesis
mental lexiconn
a person’s mental store of words, their meanings and associations.
see lexicon
mental lexicon