The Process of Memory

[Ready for Fall 2026]

Modified: 2026-08-03 6:43 PM CDST

• Memory and forgetting are constructs, or things that we have constructed.
  • We have not constructed them physically; rather, we have done so conceptually.
    • So, no one has ever seen, heard, or felt memory or forgetting.
      • They have no physical reality; rather we assume they exist from their properties.
  • From now on we will be seeing a number of constructs in this course.
    • We have just finished one, learning, and we will see others, like personality, soon.
    • It is easier to imagine memory and forgetting as processes rather than as things.

• Psychologists use the steps: encoding, storage, and retrieval.
  • We measure memory in the process of retrieving items from storage.
  • We know little still about the physiological mechanisms of memory or the parts of the brain involved.
  • Recall is when we attempt to retrieve items from memory with a minimum of retrieval cues.
    • For example, I might ask you to list the presidents of the United States. Most students will have trouble recalling more than half of the presidents.
    • Another example would be a question from earlier in this course like, "Who is generally considered to be the first psychologist?"
    • Or, a more difficult question would be, "Who was his most famous student?"
    • Free recall is when retrieval cues are minimal, as above.
    • Cued recall is when hints, or additional retrieval cues are given. For example, the first psychologist's name starts with a "W."
• Generally, we recall fewer items than we recognize.
  • Recognition is when we are asked to remember whether or not a certain item is the correct one.
    • For example, was Rutherford B. Hayes a president? (He was.Was he on your list above?)
    • How about Chester Allen Garfield? (No, Chester Allen Arthur was and so was Garfield, but his first and middle names were different.)
  • We recognize more than we recall because the tasks are different.
  • By the way, essay tests are more like recall and multiple choice tests are more like recognition.
  • I like to give tests with both kinds of items because then I learn more about what students have learned.
• Finally, relearning is a task that involves learning an item, forgetting it, and then learning that same item again.
  • Relearning is not used much to study learning because people do not completely forget items.
    • Hopefully, you will not have to relearn this course next semester. (In other words, pass it the first time around.)
    • Ebbinghaus, whom we will cover soon in this chapter, used relearning in his pioneering studies of memory.

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