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There are 3 processes of memory: Encoding (gets info into memory), Storage (retains info in memory), & Retrevial (gets info out of memory).

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There are 3 different types of memory. Sensory Memory (brief, initial, coding of sensory), Short Term Memory (contains info ur conciously aware of), & Long Term Memory (permanent and limitless storehouse of memory).

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(short term anecdote) Yesterday, I calculated how many hours a week I spend playing a week (52.27 hours, thanks for asking)

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(long term anecdotes) One time, I was at a waterpark with my parents when me and my dad got seperated from my mom. I went one way, dad thought it was stupid, yet I found mom. And another time, I played hide and seek with a bunch of kids in grade school and I got a pokemon card for doing it. I don't know why I remember these, I just do.

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(trial and error) Trial and error is the process of repeatedly doing the same action until you get it right. I had to fight a boss in a video game, but I kept dying. So, I changed my weapon and miraculously beat the boss.

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(algorithm) Algorithm is a fixed set of rules that will guarantee a solution. Every morning I say to myself the things I typically bring to school (ipad, id, water bottle) to make sure I remembered to bring them, and it works.

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(mental set) Mental set is the tendency to only see solutions that have worked in the past. I typically shy to new options because im unaware of what they entail.

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(conformation bias) Conformation Bias is favorting info that conforms to your beliefs. People often argue each other on the internet because their opinions are different, and they refuse to accept new ideas.

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I'm a memory researcher - here's how to never forget someone's name

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Two cognitive psychology researchers are debunking common misconceptions about human memory while sharing easy ways to recall different types of information. Getty Images/iStockphoto

It's time to forgive yourself for forgetting.

Two cognitive psychology researchers are debunking common misconceptions about human memory while sharing easy ways to recall different types of information.

Dr. Megan Sumeracki and Dr. Althea Need Kaminske say that some forgetfulness is natural because it allows the brain to remember more stuff. Memory is "more like a Wiki page" than a recording device because details can be edited, the pair write in their book "The Psychology of Memory," out May 16.

"Because we are most aware of our memory when we have trouble remembering something, our intuitions about how memory works might be a little biased," notes Kaminske, the senior director of student academic support and achievement at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

"For example, I spend an embarrassing amount of time looking for my phone, water bottle and keys," Kaminske explained. "You may be unsurprised to learn that our memory systems are not necessarily designed to remember where we put our phones. Or keys. Or water bottles."

Doctors say that some forgetfulness is natural because it allows the brain to remember more stuff. Getty Images

Memory is "more like a Wiki page" than a recording device because details can be edited, the researchers write in "The Psychology of Memory," out May 16. Routledge

For soon-to-be parents or those who have small children, the psychologists recommend leaving a purse in the back seat of their car as a cue to remember to take your child out of their car seat. This technique is known as "event-based" recall.

In the US, 29 children died last year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle, according to the National Safety Council.

Another strategy is "retrieval practice" - pulling facts from memory.

Kaminske and Sumeracki, an associate professor at Rhode Island College, suggest deliberately addressing a new colleague by their name every time you see them, which will help you remember the name.

"Anyone who has studied knows that regular practice is essential," the authors added. "But to become an expert in a field of learning, people need to employ deliberate practice."

Memory tends to decline as people age - and it can be affected by alcohol, medication, sleep deprivation, caffeine and head injuries.

The National Institute on Aging advises seeking medical attention if people find themselves asking the same question repeatedly, getting lost in places that were once familiar, having trouble following recipes or directions, or becoming confused about time, people and places.

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I'm a memory researcher - here's how to never forget someone's name

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"You may be unsurprised to learn that our memory systems are not necessarily designed to remember where we put our phones. Or keys. Or water bottles," Dr. Althea Need Kaminske said.

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The best way to retain memories may depend on the content

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New experiments by psychologists at the University of Pittsburgh and Temple University suggest varying what we study and spacing out our learning over time can both be helpful for retaining memories - it just depends on what we're trying to remember. The work provides new insight into how we learn and remember our real-world experiences.

"Lots of prior research has shown that learning and memory benefit from spacing study sessions out," said Benjamin Rottman, an associate professor of psychology and director of the Causal Learning and Decision-Making Lab at Pitt. "For example, if you cram the night before a test, you might remember the information the next day for the test, but you will probably forget it fairly soon. In contrast, if you study the material on different days leading up to the test, you will be more likely to recall it for a longer period of time."

This "spacing effect" is one of the most replicated findings in psychological research, but much of that work has been predicated on the idea that what you are trying to learn repeats identically each time. Yet that is rarely the case in real life, when some features of our experiences may stay the same while others are likely to change.

For example, imagine repeat trips to your local coffee shop. You might see the same tables, seats and decorations, but a new barista may be serving you. It's not clear that the spacing effect would work the same way in the face of such changes.

In two experiments, the researchers asked participants to repeatedly study pairs of items and scenes that were either identical on each repetition or where the item stayed the same, but the scene changed each time.

One of the experiments asked participants to learn these pairings and then test their memory via their smartphones - an unusual approach for learning and memory research. This enabled researchers to ask participants to learn pairs at various times of the day across 24 hours, more accurately representing how people actually learn information than in prior lab experiments.

In the second experiment, researchers collected data online in a single session. The team published their results in the March 12 online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The setup allowed the team to study the effects of memorizing both across different timescales and the content of what's being memorized, explained Emily Cowan, lead author on the paper and a postdoctoral fellow in Temple's Adaptive Memory Lab. "With this, we were able to ask how memory is impacted both by what is being learned - whether that is an exact repetition or instead, contains variations or changes - as well as when it is learned over repeated study opportunities."

As in prior experiments, researchers found that spaced learning helped participants remember the items. But they also found the participants' memory was better for the items that had been paired with different scenes compared to items shown with the same scene repeatedly. For example, if you want to remember a new person's name, repeating the name but associating it with different information about the person can be helpful.

On the other hand, Rottman said, stability appeared to aid the type of memory that pairs items and scenes. "Spacing only benefited memory for the pairs that were repeated exactly, and only if there were pretty long gaps, hours to days, between study opportunities," he said. "For example, if you are trying to remember the new person's name and something about them, like their favorite food, it is more helpful to repeat that same exact name-food pairing multiple times with spacing between each."

The Pitt-Temple experiments represent basic memory research, and so the research may not necessarily apply to some types of real-world memorizing tasks. "Because of how nuanced memory is, it is hard to provide clear advice for things like studying for a test because the sort of material can be so different," Rottman said. "But in theory our findings should be broadly relevant to different sorts of tasks, like remembering someone's name and things about them, studying for a test and learning new vocabulary in a foreign language."

Cowan continued: "Our work suggests that both variability and spacing may present methods to improve our memory for isolated features and associative information, respectively, raising important applications for future research, education and our everyday lives."

In addition to Cowan and Rottman, study investigators included Vishnu "Deepu" Murty, principal investigator of Temple's Adaptive Memory Lab, and Yiwen Zhang, a graduate student in cognitive psychology at Pitt.
- Bruce Steele, photography by Tom Altany

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The best way to retain memories may depend on the content

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New Pitt and Temple research tests approaches for spacing out and memorizing different types of material.

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The respective concepts of memory, thinking, and problem solving, are utterly crucial to humanity living their life. Simply put: It's important! We need memory so that we can remember how to do things like eat, breathe, and socialize with the rest of society. We need thinking so that we can decide the best choice of action for moments, and triumph. And finally, we need problem solving to... well... solve problems and progress with life. Thats why these 3 things are important. The end.

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(selective attention) Selective attention is where you focus onto a specific thing. I have a friend with some scars on her arm. I try not to look at them, but the scars have the subtlety of a cinderblock to the forehead.

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(chunking) Chunking is the process of organizing memories into manageable chunks. Whenever someone gives me a long speech about something, I chunk down what they were saying into a single sentence that gets their point.