Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds. When this short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the memory. How did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way to the short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has a filter which only allows stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, also known as the working memory.

   There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term memoiy. The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologist who suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of information. A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information such as a word or name rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can increase the capacity of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar information together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve the chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage

   When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as information for an exam many people engage in "rote rehearsal". By repeating something over and over again, one is able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of memory maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a person stops rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and paper are not handy people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it aloud. If the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the opportunity to make a phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly. Therefore rote rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long term memory. A better way is to practice "elaborate rehearsal". This involves assigning semantic meaning to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with other pre-existing long term memories.

   Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrieving information can be done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily recall memories that are stored in the long term memory and used often- however, if a memory seems to be forgotten, it may eventually be retrieved by prompting. The more cues a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory can be reừieved. This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that require a lot of memorization.

The word “elaborate” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ...........

Câu hỏi liên quan

• Which statement would the author probably agree with?

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ZUNIA12

• It can be inferred that the names of the three basic shapes mentioned in paragraph 2 reflect ______.

• The first to support the equality of the sexes was .................

• What is the topic of this passage?

• Which of the following is mentioned as the main cause of the destruction of Mantle’s body?

• According to the passage, all of the following have caused damage to the paintings EXCEPT ………………...

• Where did Moore spend most of her adult life?

• All of the following statements are mentioned EXCEPT ______.

• The author’s main purpose is to...

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• The paragraph following the passage most likely discusses:

• Education in early times was mostly aimed at _______.

• The word "obscurity" could best be replaced by __________

• Which of the followings is NOT an evidence of monitoring studying?

• We sometimes think of writing as more real than speech because ..................

• According to the passage, Melville’s early novels were ...............

• What is the main point of the passage?

• The word -that in the third paragraph refers to ............