Memory Is Rebuilt Each Time, Not Replayed
Memory is the faculty of recall. Research shows remembering is reconstruction, which is why memories change.
Memory is the faculty by which the mind stores and recalls information. The recording metaphor is misleading: research on reconsolidation shows that recalling a memory makes it briefly unstable and open to alteration before it is stored again. Every act of remembering is partly an act of rebuilding, which is why confident memories can be wrong.
- The faculty of recall. *A good memory.*
- Something remembered. *Childhood memories.*
- Computer storage. *Sixteen gigabytes of memory.*
- In memory of — commemorating. *In memory of the fallen.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | memory | Long-term memory. |
| Plural | memories | Fond memories. |
| Verb | memorise | Memorise the lines. |
| Adjective | memorable | A memorable day. |
| Noun | memorial | A war memorial. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Memory is reconstructive.Not a recording.
- Working memory holds a few items briefly.Cognitive psychology.
- A memory palace is a recall technique.Also called the method of loci.
Kinds of memory
- Working memory — a small amount held briefly for immediate use
- Episodic — memory of events and experiences
- Semantic — memory of facts and meanings
- Procedural — how to do things, such as riding a bicycle
- Reconsolidation — the process by which recalled memories are rewritten
From Anglo-French *memorie*, from Latin *memoria*, from *memor*, mindful — related to Greek *mermeros* and to English *mourn*.
Can memories change?
Yes. Recalling a memory makes it temporarily unstable, and information present at recall can be incorporated when it is stored again.
What is a memory palace?
A technique of placing items to be remembered at locations in an imagined building, then walking through it mentally to recall them.