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Essay / Understanding how human memory works
Human memory remains an interesting research subject for psychologists. Generally, human beings live in the present. However, the past is an integral part of life, which makes memory a fundamental element in daily operations. According to Zimmerman and Kelley (2010), recalling past and recent events involves complex mental processes that integrate multiple complex areas of the brain. Our memory is not a physical object or a component of our body; rather, it is about past events and the meaning attached to them. The ability to store memories of past experiences makes up our memory. The work done by the brain consists of processing information and classifying each element according to its importance. The ability to break down information into multiple relevant and irrelevant pacts ensures that the most relevant information is stored. Therefore, human memory consists of a complex process of perceiving and retaining events. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Schwabe and Wolf (2010) argue that without memory, one cannot learn. Memory is the internal mental record that allows people to access personal and past events. The human brain captures brief information from the environment and stores it for future use. The encoding of experiences or personal information embodies a mental process that allows information to be retrieved from different compartments of the brain. Scientists suggest that the hippocampus of the brainstem is the center where information is stored. Our brain has the ability to recall bits of information and discriminate these pieces of information in which the most relevant data is retained appropriately (Wimer & Shohamy, 2012). Human memory is the basis of the learning process; through retention of information, learning takes place. The process of recall begins from the perception of things or people. Depending on how the object or an individual relates to another entity, there is a notable retention of clear or fuzzy memory. The process of human memory involves the perception of various tastes, retention and retrieval of information. From tastes, sounds, smells or sight, human memory captures the distinct characteristic of the object and stores it unconsciously. The senses include various elements that make up perception. Since there is a lot of information in the environment and not everything is remembered, the human brain can classify different information and remember the most valuable ones. These bits of information constitute human memory. According to Farrell (2012), the distance in terms of time, relevance and sensitivity of events to an individual determines the length of time information will be retained. For example, the loss of a loved one will likely be remembered longer than a football game. The process of retrieving information from the memory compartment depends on how events impacted an individual. Some events are recalled instantly while others may take time because information is retained based on the magnitude of the effects it has on an individual. In short, the reliability of human memory depends on the health status of an individual. Except for the mentally ill, ordinary people will instantly remember all relevant information. Passing an exam, for example, demonstrates the ability to retrieve learned content and regurgitate it on paper. In addition to the exams, a, 62(3), 240–253.