MEMORY LAYERS

MEMORY LAYERS

Many experts think that memories are stored following three stages or layers: first, the sensory stage, then in the short-term memory and finally, for some, in the long-term memory.

You'll find all sources at the end of the course

SHORT TERM MEMORY

LONG TERM MEMORY

PERCEPTION

PERCEPTION

Creating a memory starts with perceiving: information storage when perceiving takes place during a brief sensory stage that usually lasts only a fraction of a second. It is your sensory memory that allows a perception such as a visual pattern, a sound or a touch to persist for a brief moment after the stimulation has ended.

SHORT TERM MEMORY

After this first blast, what you perceived is stored in the short-term memory. This one has a rather limited capacity: it can hold about 7 elements at a time for 20 or 30 seconds.Important information move slowly from short-term memory to long-term memory. The more information is repeated, the more the chances to reach the long-term memory (and so, learning) increase.

LONG TERM MEMORY

This layer has an unlimited and stable storing capacity.Knowledge in the long-term memory can lasts several years and even a lifetime! Long-term memory can itself be divided in two: explicit memory (conscious) and implicit memory (unconscious).