Meaning and Definition of Memory

There is a great importance of memory in our day to day life. It is difficult for a man to move his life properly without memory. Whatever a man feels ever, that continues to collect in some form in his mind. The experiences, which are on the unconscious level of mind or are not conscious, they are called collected. And which comes on the level of conscious mind, they are called memory. According to the needs, these collected experiences help us in different situations. Memory helps us in the practical activities of life. If man could not remember his previous experiences, he would not have got so much progress today. Thus we can say that development and education is dependent on the tendency of collection of previous knowledge and experiences, good memory is needed for it. Especially intellectual work cannot be done in the absence of memory. Memory has an important place in the education. It is almost impossible to get knowledge without memory. So it is necessary to think in detail about the nature of memory.

Meaning and Definition of Memory

Memory is a mental process. With its help we bring our previous experiences, which are stored in our unconscious mind as mental instinct, into our current conscience. Many kinds of events happen in our daily life. If we see any place or things, get some experiences from them, which do not remain in the conscious mind forever but in the unconscious mind. The impressions of those experiences are marked in the mind. The process, of coming in the conscious mind of these experiences collected in the unconscious mind, is called memory. For example- Tajmahal is worth seeing among the different historical places in the Agra. I have seen it many years ago. Seeing it directly, an image that has been stored in my mind, that was on my unconscious level. Today when describing Tajmahal to my younger sister, the experiences which were collected on the unconscious level came into the conscious mind, it is memory. 

The definitions of memory given by psychologists are following:

1. Scout—“Memory is the ideal revival so far as ideal revival is merely reproductive in which the object of past experiences are reinstated as far as possible in the order and manner of their original occurrence.”
2. Woodworth—“Memory is the direct use of what is learned.”
3. Mc Dougall—Memory implies imagining of events as experienced in the past and recognizing them as belonging to one’s own past experience.”
4. W. James—“Memory is the knowledge of past condition after being detached from the conscious or it is the knowledge of an event or fact, about which we have not thought till sometimes, along with we have to think this that we have thought or experienced about it before.’’
5. Nunn—“The power of collecting our experiences when connected with consciousness, we call it memory.’’
6. Ryburn—“After sometimes collecting our previous experiences and getting them, the power which we have for bringing them in the field of consciousness, that is called memory.”

We can say on the basis of above definitions that memory is such a mental process by which collected or past experiences, due to need are again brought in the consciousness.

Factors of Memory

Memory is a complicated mental process. According to Woodworth, four following factors are included in memory:

1. Learning
2. Retention
3. Recall
4. Recognition

(1) Learning—First it is necessary to learn for memorizing the content of anything. What is the process of learning and how does it happen? In this relation it has been described in the chapter related to learning. There is a close relation between learning and memorizing. We cannot remember anything without learning it very well and we can learn anything without remembering it. In order to learn any lesson, a child repeats it again and again, understands it meaning and connects it with others lesson. In this process its traces falls on the mind. Thus remembering the learnt things from that lesson, he establishes association to the past knowledge with new knowledge. In this section of memory the rules of learning are followed completely.

(2) Retention—To remember anything is only to do retention of learnt things. The power of remembrance depends upon the power of retention. Retention is that power of mind by which we keep the learnt or remembered content in the mind. According to Woodworth- “Retention is such a situation in which everything, which is learnt, until it is repeated again, lies in it.’’

These traces are not destroyed. These are protected in the form of mental purification on the unconscious level. We can remember that learnt material till the memory traces are present in our mind. Retention is such a factor which can be proved by remembrance. We can remember those things again which we have retained in our mind. Thus remembrance depends upon retention and retention depends upon learning.

The factors influencing the retention-power—The factors influencing the retention power are following:

(a) Mind—Mental activities are influenced by mind. Memory traces are marked in the mind. The man whose mind is more developed, his memory traces are also more powerful, consequently, retention process is also affected due to personality differences means it is affected by less intelligence or more intelligence.

(b) Health—Retention power is also affected by health. The men who are not healthy, they cannot retain the learnt, seen or experienced things for a long time. For example, in the morning when we are not tired or we are healthier, at that time we learn any things immediately. So students are forced to do study or learning, after getting up early in the morning. So they can retain the learnt things very well.

(c) Interest—Whichever subject is learnt with interest and care. That remains in mind for a long time. For making the retention- power swift, teacher should pay attention for awakening interest of the child towards the subject.

(d) Rumination—Retention-power is also related to rumination. In whichever subject we are interested, we think about that subject. When we think about any problem, past experiences and learnt things are remembered soon. And mind absorbs them properly.

Favorable conditions of Retention—Psychologists have done many experiments related to favorable conditions of retention. The conclusion obtained from these experiments can be presented in the following form:

1. The period of stimulus is internally related to retention-power. The stimulus remaining in mind for a longer time can be absorbed in mind for longer.
2. It has been concluded from the study of Lunt, Enbinghas and Croger, that the favorable effect falls on the retention-power by more teaching. Within the definite period, the more child will be thought, the more he will assume.
3. Favorable effect falls of the speed of learning on the retention-power. Any subject that is learnt quickly it is retained with equal swiftness.
4. The effect of the health of child falls on retention-power. Healthy child can retain the learnt thing for a long time.
5. Whichever learning material is learnt with attention and interest remains in mind for a long time. Means attention and interest also favor the retention-power.
6. It is necessary for making retention powerful that memorizing materials are stimulating, fast, clear and meaningful. The more are these qualities in the stimulus, more will be the retention. These qualities provide favorable condition to retention.
7. Above learning method provides retention favorable conditions. as- retention is good and long in learning by the active method than passive method.
8. If we have more quantity of material. It throws a favorable conditioning effect on retention-power. Long time and hard work is taken in the learning of big content. More time and hard work makes retention-power strong. A child assembles the different parts of a big content looking into its essence rather than the small content. It helps in retention.
9. Some psychologists have concluded that sleeping after remembrance proves helpful in the form of favorable condition to the retention-power. During the time of remembrance if mind is diverted, hindrance comes in retention. But after learning any subject if child takes rest, memory traces get good opportunity for being powerful.
10. Experiences or content learnt for some purpose is stable in memory for long times. So, often it has been seen that the content learnt during the examination time is kept in mind for a long time, because the effect of purpose falls on it.
11. In the retention, past collected knowledge is more important. If content is not related to past collected knowledge, there is difficulty in retention. The mixture of past collected knowledge provides conditioning stage to retention.
12. Retention is also affected by feelings and emotional situations. The feeling of Suffering, pleasure, fear and hopelessness etc traces deep mark in the mind that is kept in mind for a long time. But this kind of educational situations cannot be developed for providing favoring condition to the retention.

(3) Recall—To bring the past experiences in consciousness is recall. The concepts which are marked on mind with the past experiences, they come on the level of consciousness by a recall. Recall depends on retention-power. If a child, after learning any lesson absorbs it in a proper way, he can remember it easily. “Recall is the mental process, by which we bring our past feelings in our consciousness without presented by any original stimulus.’’ There are two kinds of recall- (a) Spontaneous (b) Deliberate. In the first kind there is no need of any kind of effort, they come on the level of consciousness itself according to the need. In the second type of recall, there is a need of effort. As in the examination hall, there is need of effort for the remembrance of the answer of the question in writing. Besides, the factors influencing the retention power there are some other factors that influence recall, which are following:

• Emotional Stage—Emotional stage affects the process of recall. In the time of recall if a man is worried, fearful and nervous, he does not recall the well learnt or assumed things. For example in the examination hall, some times seeing the question paper, student does not answers some question, but coming out of the hall he remembers the answer of the question properly, because his retention power is good. Its reason was emotional stage. If a man is cheerful and healthy, he recalls things quickly.

• Mental Set—When a man is mentally prepared for learning any thing, he can recall more things. For  example: in the examination times student reads or learns whichever subjects, he learns them successfully, because in the mind of student there is a mental tendency of learning the subject due to the examination, which helps him in recall.

• Recognition—Recognition is an important factor. According to Woodworth—“to know the past experiences is recognition, or to introduce that thing in the current time which we have been introduced in the past.’’ For example, An adult man when sees his teacher after many years who taught him in the forth and fifth class, he recognize that “he taught me maths” Teacher also recognizes him by recall that ‘he was the mischievous boy of the class. Thus association of ideas depends on the feelings of introduction.