The memory
Memory is that faculty that allows us to retain knowledge of our past experiences to use it in the present or to plan the future.
In reality, memory is given by a set of complex dynamic processes which in the literature we find divided into stages, from three to five depending on the theoretical model of reference. The simplest model involves a succession of three stages: coding, information storage and retrieval.
Attention however, it is a fundamental prerequisite for these three stages to take place. If we don't pay attention to the information that comes to us from the outside world, these are not encoded or stored. For this reason, many authors propose a stage model that includes attention.
Attention is essential to maintain adequate concentration over time (sustained attention) or to avoid being distracted by environmental interference (the noise that can be heard from the window while we follow a lesson in the classroom) or due to thoughts that do not directly concern the activity we are carrying out at that moment (selective attention). Attention also serves to adequately distribute our attentional resources based on the different situations we find ourselves having to face (alternating and divided attention), as for example in the case in which we speak at phone while we work on the computer, or when we talk to passengers while driving the car.
There is another important element for the correct functioning of memory: the consolidation of information. For this reason some authors include it in the memory stages model.
At this moment the reader is paying a certain degree of attention to the content of this page. While reading, based on your personal interests, he will find that some things in this text are of greater interest to him than others. You will be able to reflect, thoughts or criticisms on the topic you are reading, which are based on one's past experiences and previously acquired knowledge. This process of grasp what it means to us based on our personal reality and our specific knowledge needs, connecting new information to our internal world of thoughts and affections but also of necessity and usefulness, we could say that it is the coding process. The greater the significance that new information takes on for us, the deeper the links with previous memories and memories will be. Then the events connected with strong emotional experiences, they will be those most interested in this process which is the prerequisite for what has been schematically defined as the next phase, or of thestorage things to remember (actual memorization), so that they are available when needed. The information retrieval stored happens continuously in our lives because we live present experiences based on past experiences.
The fifth stage, it is that of information consolidation in memory. Some information, if they are never recalled, are at risk of being lost. We need to give it a "freshen up" every now and then. If we want to memorize someone's telephone number, it is a good idea to do so every now and then by trying to remember it rather than reading it from the diary so that it can truly be acquired from memory.. Another example common to the experience of all of us is that of studying. When we study something with the aim of being able to pass a test, we read and then repeat in our mind or out loud the things we want to remember.
