Storage (memory)

Memory is the ability of the mind to store and recall information that was previously acquired. Memory is processed through three fundamental processing stages: storage, encoding, and retrieval. Storing refers to the process of placing newly acquired information into memory, which is modified in the brain for easier storage. Encoding this information makes the process of retrieval easier for the brain where it can be recalled and brought into conscious thinking. Modern memory psychology differentiates between the two distinct types of memory storage: short-term memory and long-term memory. In addition, different memory models have suggested variations of existing short- and long-term memory to account for different ways of storing memory.

Short-term memory is encoded in auditory, visual, spatial, and tactile forms. Short-term memory, closely related to working memory, seems to have a very limited capacity. Baddeley suggested that information stored in short-term memory is continuously deteriorating, which can eventually lead to forgetting in the absence of rehearsal. George A. Miller suggested in his paper that the capacity of the short-term memory storage is approximately seven items, plus or minus two, also known as the magic number 7, but this number has been shown to be subject to numerous variability, including the size, similarity, and other properties of the chunks. Memory span varies; it is lower for multisyllabic words than for shorter words. In general, the memory span for verbal contents i.e. letters, words, and digits, relies on the duration of time it takes to speak these contents aloud and on the degree of lexicality (relating to the words or the vocabulary of a language distinguished from its grammar and construction) of the contents. The ability to recall words. Characteristics such as the length of spoken time for each word, known as the word-length effect, or when words are similar to each other lead to fewer words being recalled.

Chunking is the process of combining pieces of information to increase the limited amount of information that working memory can retain. Chunking includes a process by which a person organizes material into sensible groups. This type of memory process is seen frequently with phone numbers, credit cards, house number etc. With North American phone numbers, for example, people commonly chunk the first three numbers of the area code together, the next three numbers, and then the last four numbers into separate groups.

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