The Memory - Part I

Posted on August 11, 2008 by Madalin Szemkovics
Filed Under Basics |

The memory refers to the temporal dimension of our psychic structure. It reflects information of all kinds, about our past experiences. Our memory is also involved in the present, by delivering information to the thinking, helping our current actions, and by storing and updating plans of the actions to be accomplished, it is present in the future. Thanks to the memory, our Ego gains the continuity of our identity over time - we wouldn’t know who we are, if every situation would be new for us.

It’s proven that all matter has a physical memory, phenomenon known as hysteresis. If we fold a sheet of paper, a mark will remain on it. Just like that, along with the psychic memory, we also have a biological memory, specific to our entire body, not just to our brain. The psychic memory ensures the recording, keeping and updating of the content of our psychic processes.

Psychic memory presents itself in two forms: individual and collective. The first one reflects the past and personal experiences of the subject, and is transmitted genetically, and reflects the common experiences of the community / nation to which the person belongs. Collective memory is responsible for the existence of the affiliation and communion feelings, with an essential role in our mental health.

Unlike a computer’s hard drive, our memory is not a whole, being spread among the psychic processes that require it. If the memory is affected on certain areas, then the respective processes will not function properly. The relation works the other way as well; if a process that uses the memory (perception, thinking) is disturbed, serious disturbances will appear in the memory part that sustains it.

Tests for memory evaluation are based on the basic properties of the memory: the volume, durability, fidelity, completeness and premptitude. The volume consists of the number of retainable units after a single presentation of the material. Durability refers to the lasting of a memory in a reproducible state, and depends both of the physical accents of the individual and the characteristics of the memorized object.

Fidelity expresses the level of corespondence between the initial material stored, and the one reproduced. It may be absolute (when the subject remembers all the details of the memorized object) or partial (when elements from the initial representation are missing). Completeness is the same as fidelity, only that it refers to the amount of retained material, instead of its quality. The premptitude represents the speediness of the information recording and the time required for memories to be redeemed.

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