Memory and attention are components of mental health. Recommendations for memory optimization b) A.R. Luria and A.N. Leontyev

Memory- an integrated mental reflection of a person’s past interaction with reality, the information fund of his life activity.

The ability to store information and selectively update it and enter it into the regulation of behavior is the main property of the brain that ensures the interaction of the individual with the environment. Memory integrates life experience, ensures the continuous development of human culture and individual life. Based on memory, a person navigates the present and anticipates the future.

Depending on the characteristics of the material being remembered, there are special ways of codifying, archiving and retrieving it. The spatial organization of the environment is encoded in the form of schematic formations from semantic reference points that characterize our physical environment.

Consistently occurring phenomena are imprinted in the linear structures of memory. Formally organized structures are imprinted by associative memory mechanisms, which ensure the grouping of phenomena and objects according to certain characteristics (household items, labor items, etc.). All semantic meanings categorized- refer to different groups of concepts that are hierarchically dependent.

Many people complain about a bad memory, but no one complains about a bad mind. Meanwhile, the mind, the ability to establish relationships, is the basis of memory. The possibility of its rapid updating and retrieval depends on the organization of material in memory; Information is reproduced in the connection in which it was originally formed.

Extracting learned material from memory for the purpose of using it in recognition, recollection, recollection is called actualization (from lat. actualis- real, real). We look for the necessary material in memory in the same way as the necessary thing in the pantry: by objects located in the neighborhood. Figuratively speaking, in our memory fund everything is hung on the hooks of associations. The secret of a good memory is establishing strong associations. People remember best what is related to their everyday concerns and professional interests. Encyclopedic erudition in one area can be combined with ignorance in other areas of life. Some facts are retained in our consciousness by the force of other facts well known to us. Mechanical memorization, cramming, is the most ineffective way of memorizing.

A person’s possibilities for actualization are much wider than he imagines. Memory difficulties are difficulties of retrieval rather than difficulties of retention. Absolute oblivion of impressions does not exist.

The fund of human memory is plastic - with the development of the individual, changes occur in the structural formations of his memory. It is also inextricably linked with the activities of the individual - what is included in the active life of a person, his life strategy, is firmly remembered.

Memory, intellect, feelings and the operational sphere of the individual are a single systemic formation. The operational system of human behavior and activity - his skills and abilities - images of optimal, adequate actions imprinted in memory. By repeating the necessary actions multiple times, unnecessary, unnecessary movements are eliminated, the image of the optimal action is fixed in memory, and individual operations are integrated into a single functional complex.

The physiological mechanism of memory is the formation, consolidation, excitation and inhibition of nerve connections. This physiological process corresponds to memory processes: imprinting, storing, reproducing and forgetting.

The condition for the successful development of neural connections is importance influencing stimulus, its entry into the field of orienting activity, reflection in the focus of optimal excitation of the cerebral cortex.

Along with individual memory, there are specific memory structures in the brain. This hereditary memory is stored in thalamo-hypothalamic complex. Here are the centers of instinctive behavior programs - food, defensive, sexual - centers of pleasure and aggression, deep biological emotions (fear, melancholy, joy, anger). The standards of those images are stored here, the real sources of which are instantly assessed as harmful, dangerous or useful and favorable. The motor memory of this zone contains codes of emotional and impulsive reactions (postures, facial expressions, defensive and aggressive movements).

The zone of an individual’s subconscious-subjective experience is limbic system- a connecting structure between the archecortex (the oldest brain) and the neocortex - the cerebral cortex. All acquired behavioral automatisms during life are transferred and stored here: the emotional attitudes of a given individual, his stable assessments, habits and all kinds of psychoregulatory complexes. Here the long-term behavioral memory of the individual is localized, everything that determines his intuition.

Everything related to conscious-voluntary activity is stored in neocortex, various zones of the cerebral cortex, projection zones of various receptors. Frontal lobes of the brain- the sphere of verbal-logical memory. Here sensory information is transformed into semantic information. From a huge array of long-term memory, the necessary information is extracted in certain ways - they depend on the methods of storing this information, its systematization, and conceptual ordering.

According to modern ideas, the formation engram(nerve connections) goes through two phases. In the first phase, excitation is retained. In the second phase - its consolidation and preservation due to biochemical changes in the cells of the cerebral cortex and in synapses- intercellular formations.

Currently, the physiological basis of memory is being especially widely studied. biochemical level. Traces of immediate impressions are not recorded instantly, but over a certain period of time necessary for biochemical processes—corresponding changes at the molecular level.

The number of specific changes in ribonucleic acid (RNA) contained in one cell is estimated at 10 15. Consequently, at the level of a single cell, a huge number of connections can be developed. Changes in RNA molecules are associated with RAM. Changes in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecules - with long-term memory (including species-specific). The physiological basis of memory is both a change in the activity of individual neurons and the formation of neural ensembles.

Each hemisphere and each zone of the brain contributes to the system of mnemonic (from the Greek mnema - memory) activity. It is assumed that first there is an isolation and ultra-short-term imprinting of individual features of an object (sensory memory), then a complex, symbolic encoding of it - the formation of engrams, their inclusion in the categorical system of a given individual.

The basic prerequisite for the functioning of memory processes is the optimal tone of the cortex, provided by the subcortical formations of the brain. Modulation of cortical tone is provided by the reticular formation and the limbic region of the brain. Subcortical formations, forming an orienting reflex and attention, thereby create the prerequisites for memorization.

The final, synthesizing function of memory is carried out by the frontal lobes of the brain and, to a large extent, by the frontal lobe of the left hemisphere. Damage to these brain structures disrupts the entire structure of mnemonic activity.

So, the process of imprinting and preserving material is determined by its significance, the optimal state of the brain, the increased functioning of the orientation reflex, the systematic inclusion of the material in the structure of purposeful activity, the minimization of side interfering (opposing) influences, the inclusion of the material in the semantic, conceptual field of consciousness of a given individual. Reproduction and updating of the necessary material requires the establishment of those systems of connections against the background of which the material to be reproduced was remembered.

The problem of remembering borders on the problem of forgetting. Forgetting mainly occurs due to interference - the counteracting influence of other stimuli. The process of forgetting is not limited to the spontaneous extinction of engrams. Mostly, secondary, insignificant material that is not included in the constant activity of the subject is forgotten. But the inability to remember the material does not mean that its traces have been completely erased. It depends on the current functional state of the brain. (In a hypnotic state, a person can remember something that seemed completely forgotten.)

Classification of memory phenomena

There are different memory processes - remembering, storing, reproducing and forgetting and forms of memory- involuntary (unintentional) and voluntary (intentional).

Depending on the type of analyzers, the signaling system or the participation of subcortical areas of the brain, there are types of memory: figurative, logical and emotional.

Figurative memory - representation- classified by types of analyzers(visual, auditory, motor).

By method of memorization differentiate direct(direct) and indirect(indirect) memory.

The trace of each impression is associated with many traces of accompanying impressions. Indirect memorization and reproduction - memorization and reproduction of a given image according to the system of connections in which the image is included - by association. This indirect, associative emergence of images is much more psychologically meaningful than direct memorization; it brings the phenomena of memory closer to the phenomena of thinking.

The main work of human memory consists of memorizing and reproducing traces by association. There are three types of associations.

1. Association by contiguity- an elementary type of communication without significant processing of information.
2. Association by contrast- a connection between two opposing phenomena. This type of connection is based on the logical technique of opposition.
3. Associations by similarity. Perceiving one situation, a person by association remembers another, similar situation. Associations by similarity require complex processing of the received information, highlighting the essential features of the perceived object, generalizing it and comparing it with what is stored in memory. Objects of association by similarity can be not only visual images, but also concepts, judgments, and inferences. Associations by similarity are one of the essential mechanisms of thinking, the basis of logical memory.

Thus, according to the method of memorization, memory can be direct (mechanical) and associative (semantic).

Memory systems

In any type of activity, all memory processes are realized. But different levels of activity are associated with the functioning of various mechanisms and memory systems. The following four interconnected memory systems are distinguished: 1) sensory - a direct sensory imprint of the influencing object; 2) short-term; 3) operational; 4) long-term.

Sensory memory- direct imprinting of sensory influences - preservation of visual images in the form of a clear, complete imprint of the sensory influences of reality for a very short period of time (0.25 seconds). These are the so-called afterimages. They are not associated with the fixation of traces and quickly disappear. This type of memory ensures continuity and integrity of perception of dynamic, rapidly changing phenomena.

Short-term memory- direct capture of a set of objects during a single-act perception of a situation, fixation of objects that simultaneously fell into the field of perception. Short-term memory provides primary orientation during immediate perception of the situation.

The functioning time of short-term memory is short (no more than 10 seconds). The capacity of short-term memory is limited to 5 - 7 objects. However, when recalling short-term memory images, additional information can be extracted from them.

RAM— selective preservation and updating of information necessary only to achieve the goal of this activity. The duration of working memory is limited by the time of the corresponding activity. So, we remember the elements of a phrase in order to comprehend it as a whole, we remember the conditions of the problem we are solving, intermediate figures in complex calculations.

The productivity of RAM is determined by a person’s ability to organize memorized material, to create integral complexes - RAM units. Thus, reading letters, syllables, whole words or complexes of words are examples of the use of different operational units. RAM functions at a high level if a person sees not specific, but general properties of various situations, combines similar elements into larger blocks, and recodes material into a uniform system. (So, it is easier to remember the number of ABD 125 in the form: 125125, that is, by recoding the letters into numbers according to the place of the letters in the alphabet.)

The functioning of RAM is associated with significant neuropsychic stress, since it requires the simultaneous interaction of a number of competing excitation centers. When operating with objects whose state changes, no more than two variable factors can be stored in RAM.

Long-term memory- long-term memorization of content that is of great significance. The selection of information included in long-term memory is associated with a probabilistic assessment of its future applicability and prediction of future events.

The capacity of long-term memory depends on the individual relevance information, that is, on what meaning the information has for a given individual.

Memory types

Types of memory - individual typological features of memory. They differ in the following qualities, found in various combinations (see table below “Classification of memory phenomena”): volume and accuracy memorization; speed and strength memorization; leading role one or another analyzer(predominance of visual, auditory or motor memory in a given person); features of the interaction of the first and second signaling systems(figurative, logical and middle types).

Various combinations of individual typological features give a variety of individual types of memory.

There are large individual differences in the speed of memorizing material and the duration of its retention in memory.

Thus, in psychological experiments it was found that to memorize 12 syllables, one person needs 49 repetitions, and another only 14.

An essential individual feature of memory is focus on memorizing specific material.

The famous criminologist Hans Gross talked about his father’s exceptionally poor memory for people’s names. The father could not accurately say the name of his only son, but at the same time he memorized various statistical and economic material very accurately and for a long time.

Some people remember material directly, while others tend to use logical means. For some people, memory is close to perception, for others - to thinking. The higher the level of mental development of a person, the more his memory approaches thinking. An intellectually developed person remembers primarily using logical operations. But the development of memory is not directly related to intellectual development. In many cases of life, for example, in the activities of an operational worker or an artist, figurative memory is necessary.

Classification of memory phenomena.

Processes and forms of memory	Types of memory	Memory systems	Memory types
Memory Processes: Imprint Preservation Playback Forgetting Memory forms: Involuntary free	Figurative Logical Emotional The types of sensory memory are determined by the types of sensations. Types of figurative memory: visual, auditory, tactile	Touch (iconic) Short-term (organic with momentary, simultaneous perception) Operational (serving intermediate tasks of activity) Long-term (preservation of conceptually significant material for a long time)	They are formed by various combinations of the following memory qualities: volume, speed of memorization, accuracy, duration of storage. dominant analyzer predominance of figurative or logical memory, personally determined selective orientation

Patterns of memory and its individual typological features

Patterns of memory processes (conditions for successful memorization and reproduction) associated with forms of memory. As already noted, there are two forms of memory: involuntary and voluntary. What is best remembered and retained in memory if a person does not set a special goal - to remember? The following can be listed here:

• strong and significant physical stimuli (the sound of a gunshot, bright spotlight); everything that causes increased orienting activity (cessation or resumption of an action, process, unusualness of the phenomenon, its contrast in relation to the background, etc.);
• stimuli that are most significant for a given individual (for example, professionally significant objects);
• stimuli that have a special emotional connotation;
• that which is most closely related to the needs of a given person, that is the object of active activity (thus, the conditions of a problem that we have been solving for a long time are remembered involuntarily and firmly).

But in human activity, more often there is a need to specifically remember something and reproduce it under appropriate conditions. This - voluntary memorization, in which the task is always set - to remember, that is, a special mnemonic, specifically human form of activity is carried out. In the process of human development, voluntary memorization is formed relatively late (mainly at the beginning of schooling). This type of memorization develops intensively in learning and work.

The conditions for successful voluntary memorization are:

• awareness of the significance and meaning of the memorized material;
• identification of its structure, logical relationship of parts and elements, semantic and spatial grouping of material;
• identifying the plan in verbal and textual material, supporting words in the content of each part, presenting the material in the form of a diagram, table, diagram, drawing, visual image;
• the content and accessibility of the memorized material, its correlation with the experience and orientation of the subject of memorization;
• emotional and aesthetic richness of the material;
• the possibility of using this material in the subject’s professional activities;
• installation on the need to reproduce this material under certain conditions.

The material that is successfully remembered is that it acts as a means of achieving significant goals, plays a significant role in solving life problems, and acts as an object of active mental activity.

When memorizing material, a rational distribution of it over time and active reproduction of the memorized material are essential.

If it is impossible to establish semantic connections in heterogeneous material, artificial methods are used to facilitate memorization - mnemonics(from Greek mnema- memory and techne- art, that is, the art of memorization), the creation of auxiliary artificial associations, the mental placement of memorized material in a well-known space, a familiar pattern, and an easy-to-remember rhythmic tempo. Since school years, everyone has known the mnemonic technique for memorizing the sequence of colors of the light spectrum: “Every Hunter Wants to Know Where the Pheasant Sits.”

Research shows that a person can easily hold and reproduce only 3-4 isolated objects (with their simultaneous perception). The limited scope of simultaneous retention and reproduction of material is due to retroactive and proactive inhibition (inhibition arising from previous and subsequent influences). If a subject is given a series of 10 syllables, then the first and last syllables are remembered more easily, and the middle ones - worse.

What explains this fact? The first elements do not experience inhibition from previous impressions, and the last members of the series do not experience inhibition from subsequent elements. The middle members of the series experience inhibition both from the preceding members of the series (proactive inhibition) and from subsequent elements (retroactive, backward-acting inhibition). The indicated pattern of memory (better memorization of extreme elements) is called ““.

When moving from memorizing one complex material to memorizing another, it is necessary to take breaks (at least 15 minutes), which prevent retroactive inhibition.

The assumption that traces do not disappear at all, but are only slowed down under the influence of other influences, is confirmed by the phenomenon reminiscences(from lat. reminiscentia- memory). Often, when reproducing material immediately after perceiving it, the number of elements retained in memory is less than the amount that a person can reproduce after a pause. This is explained by the fact that during the rest period the effect of braking is removed.

To expand the volume of voluntary memory, it is necessary to give the memorized material a certain structure and group it. It is unlikely, for example, that anyone will be able to quickly memorize a series of 16 isolated numbers: 1 00 111 01 0 111 O OH. If you group this series in the form of two-digit numbers: 10 0111010111 00 11, then they are easier to remember. In the form of four-digit numbers, this series is remembered even easier, since it no longer consists of 16 elements, but of four enlarged groups: 1001 1101 0111 0011. Combining elements into groups reduces the number of those elements that experience pro- and retroactive inhibition and allows comparison them, that is, to include intellectual activity in the process of memorization.

The most productive is meaningful voluntary memory, based on the establishment of semantic connections (25 times higher than mechanical memory). Establishing connections, structure, principle, and patterns of constructing an object is the main condition for its successful memorization. It is difficult to mechanically remember the numbers 24816326 4128256, but it is very easy to remember these same numbers if you establish a certain pattern in this series of numbers (doubling each subsequent digit). The number 123-345-678 is easy to remember by finding the principle of its construction.

Remember and reproduce this series of figures in the same sequence (the task can only be completed once the principle of arrangement of the figures has been established).

Voluntary memorization of figurative material is also facilitated by identifying the principle of its organization (Fig.).

In experimental studies, it is sometimes found that subjects recall more information than what they were presented with to remember. If, for example, the sentence “Ivanov chopped sugar” is given for memorization, then when reproducing it, subjects often reconstruct this material as follows: “Ivanov chopped sugar with tongs.” This phenomenon is explained by the involuntary connection to memorization of an individual’s judgments and conclusions.

So, memory is not a repository of static information. It is organized by systematizing processes of perception and thinking (see table “Objective and subjective factors of memory”).

When reproducing material, one should use as support those objects that structurally organized the field of perception and regulated the activity of the subject of memorization.

A special type of reproduction is memory- the individual’s attribution of figurative ideas to a specific place and moment in his life. Localization of memories is facilitated by the reproduction of complete behavioral events and their sequence.

Reproduction associated with overcoming difficulties is called recollection. Overcoming difficulties in remembering is facilitated by the establishment of various associations.

Objective and subjective factors of productive memory are characterized by:

1. volume of memorized material per unit of time,
2. speed of memorization,
3. duration of storage,
4. speed and accuracy of reproduction.

Reproducible images of objects or phenomena are called representations. They are divided into types corresponding to the types of perceptions (visual, auditory, motor).

The peculiarity of memory representations is their generalization and fragmentation. Representations do not convey with equal brightness all the features and characteristics of objects. If certain ideas are connected with our activity, then in them those aspects of the object that are most significant for this activity are brought to the fore.

Representations are generalized images of reality; they retain constant signs of things and discard random ones. Therefore, ideas are a higher level of cognition than sensation and perception. They are a transitional step from sensations to thoughts.

But ideas are always paler, less complete than perceptions. When you imagine an image of a familiar object, such as the front of your house, you will find that the image of the image is fragmented and somewhat reconstructed. The past is restored by thinking in a generalized and personal way. Consciousness of reproduction inevitably leads to a categorical, current conceptual embrace of the past. And only specially organized control activities - comparison, critical assessment - bring the reconstructed picture closer to the real events. The material of reproduction is a product not only of memory, but also of the entire mental uniqueness of a given person.

A person’s memory functions intensively even beyond the threshold of his consciousness; it is a constantly self-organizing process.

Some people may have complete, vivid ideas after a single and even involuntary perception of an object. Such living images of representation are called (from the Greek. eidos- image). Sometimes there is an involuntary, obsessive, cyclical emergence of images - perseveration(from lat. perseveratio- perseverance).

So, memory is based on those mental processes that occur during the initial meeting with the memorized material. Accordingly, during reproduction, the main role is played by updating the material according to the functional connections of its elements, their semantic context, and the structural relationship of its parts. And for this, the material in the process of imprinting must be clearly analyzed (divided into structural and semantic units) and synthesized (conceptually united). Structuring of memorized material is possible for various reasons - according to the meaning, spatial and temporal organization of the material. Material is remembered better in the context of human activity. It is better to remember what was most relevant and significant in human activity, where this activity began and how it ended, what obstacles arose in the process of its implementation. At the same time, some people better remember favorable, while others remember hindering factors of activity.

In interpersonal interactions, what affects the most significant personal characteristics of an individual is more firmly remembered.

Memory is not a warehouse of finished products. There are also personal tendencies towards the reconstruction of material stored in memory, which can manifest themselves in: distortion of the semantic content of the source material, illusory detail of the reproduced event, combination of disparate elements, separation of related Elements, replacement of content with other similar content, spatial and temporal displacement of events or their fragments, exaggeration, emphasizing personally significant aspects of an event, displacement of functionally similar objects.

The degree of discrepancy between ideas and real events varies from person to person. It depends on the type of higher nervous activity of the individual, the structure of individual consciousness, value systems, motives and goals of activity.

The reserves of human memory are great.

According to the calculations of the famous cyberneticist John Neumann, the human brain can accommodate the entire amount of information stored in the largest libraries in the world. Alexander the Great knew by sight and name all the soldiers of his huge army. Alekhine could play from memory (blind) with forty partners at the same time. A certain E. Gaop knew by heart all 2,500 books he had read in his life and could reproduce any passage from them. There are numerous cases of outstanding figurative memory of people of the artistic type. Mozart could record a large piece of music after listening to it only once. Glazunov and Rachmaninov had the same musical memory. Artist N.N. Ge could accurately depict from memory what he had once seen.

A person remembers everything that “orchestrates” his life: the captivating colors and smells of spring evenings, the graceful outlines of ancient cathedrals, the joyful faces of people close to him, the smells of the sea and pine forest - everything that organizes his existence. These numerous images form the foundation of his psyche.

Every person has the opportunity to significantly expand their memory. At the same time, it is necessary to discipline the intellect and one’s mnemonic activity - to highlight the essential from the background of the secondary, to alternate passive perception with active reproduction of the necessary material, to distribute memorization over time. The habit of remembering what you need is reinforced, like any other
another skill. School folklore about “Pythagorean pants” and “every hunter who wants to know where the pheasant sits” testifies to the ineradicable desire of our mind to find a pattern, an association, even where it is impossible to establish logical connections.

Each person has characteristics of his memory - some people have weak or strong verbal-logical memory, others have figurative memory, some remember quickly, others need more careful processing of the memorized material. But in all cases, what causes proactive and retroactive inhibition should be avoided. And at the first difficulties of reproduction, one should rely on the phenomenon of reminiscence.

Memory impairment

Severe memory impairment - amnesia(from Greek a is a negative particle and mneme- memory, recollection) occur in two forms: retrograde amnesia- memory impairment for events preceding the disease; And anterograde amnesia- memory impairment for events that occurred after the disease. Described in detail by a Russian psychiatrist, these memory disorders are called. They also differ post-hypnotic amnesia(forgetting events that occur during a hypnotic session) and protective amnesia(forgetting through the mechanism of repressing unpleasant, traumatic events).

In certain mental states, with extreme fatigue, phenomena occur paramnesia- memory deception; pseudoreminiscence (memory illusions). Possible phenomena deja vu ("already seen")- the appearance of the impression of repeated perception of those phenomena that are actually perceived for the first time, as well as various confabulation(from lat. confabulation- with fiction) - false memories. The content of confabulations can be not only fictitious events, but also real ones, only transferred to a closer time (cryptomnesia).

In persons with vascular diseases, with some intoxications, temporary amnestic relapses and episodic instability of mental performance are possible. Various speech disorders are associated with memory defects, in particular amnestic aphasia— impossibility of verbal definition of a recognizable object.

Analysis of memory phenomena. Memory is knowledge about a past mental state after it has ceased to be directly conscious of us, or, more precisely, it is knowledge about an event or fact that we were not thinking about at the moment and which we are now aware of as a phenomenon that took place in our past. The most important element of such knowledge is, apparently, the revival in consciousness of the image of a past phenomenon, its copy. And many psychologists argue that the memory of a past event comes down to a simple copy of it coming to life in the mind. But whatever such revival may be, it is in any case not memory; it is simply a duplicate of the first event, some second event that has no connection with the first and is only similar to it. The clock strikes today, struck yesterday, and can strike a million more times before it breaks down. The rain is pouring through the drainpipe, it poured the same way last week and will pour the same way tomorrow, in a year... But is the clock, with each new blow, aware of the previous blows, or is the flow of water now flowing aware of yesterday, because they are similar to each other? and repeat? Obviously not. One cannot object to our remark by saying that the examples are inappropriate, that they are not talking about mental, but about physical phenomena, because mental phenomena (for example, sensations), following one another and repeating themselves, in this respect are no different from combat hours. In the simple fact of reproduction there is no memory at all. The sequential repetition of sensations represents a series of events independent of each other, each of which is closed in itself. Yesterday's feeling has died and been buried - the presence of today does not yet provide any grounds for yesterday's to be resurrected along with it. One more condition is necessary for the image contemplated in the present to be a substitute for the past original.

This condition lies in the fact that we must attribute the image we contemplate to the past - think of it in the past. But how can we think of a certain thing as if in the past, if we do not think about this thing, and about the past, and about the relationship between both? How can we even think about the past? In the chapter "The Sense of Time" we saw that intuitive or immediate awareness of the past is only a few seconds away from the present moment. More distant dates are not perceived directly, but are thought of symbolically, as names, for example: “last week”, “1850”, or are presented in the form of images and events associated with them, for example: “the year in which we visited what some educational institution,” “the year in which we suffered some kind of loss.”<...>To fully remember the past, it is necessary to think about both – both the symbolic date and the corresponding past events. To “attribute” a known fact to a past time means to think of it in connection with the names and events that characterize its dates—in short, to think of it as a member of a complex set of elements of association.

But this is not yet a mental phenomenon called memory. Memory represents something more than the simple attribution of a fact to a known moment in the past. In other words, I must think that I was the one who experienced it. It should be colored by that feeling of warmth and intimacy in relation to our personality, a feeling that we had to talk about more than once in the chapter “Personality” and which is a characteristic feature of all phenomena that are part of our individual experience. A general sense of direction into the depths of the past, a certain date lying in this direction and characterized by an appropriate name or content, an imaginary event attributable to this date, and the recognition of it as belonging to my personal experience - these are the constituent elements in every object of memory.

Memorization and recall. If the phenomena of memory are such as the analysis we have just shown them to be, then can we observe memory processes more closely and find out their causes?

The memory process includes two elements: 1) remembering a known fact; 2) recall, or reproduction, of the same fact. The reason for memorization and recollection is the law of habituation of the nervous system, which plays the same role here as in the association of ideas.

Recall is explained by association. Associationists have long explained recall in this way. J. Mill expresses considerations on this matter that seem to me to require no amendments, only I would replace the word “idea” with the expression “object of thought.”

“There is,” he says, “a state of consciousness that is well known to everyone—remembering. In this state, we obviously do not have in our consciousness the idea that we want to remember. How, in further attempts to remember what we have forgotten, we finally come across him? If we are not aware of the idea we are looking for, we are aware of some ideas associated with it. We go through these ideas in our minds in the hope that one of them will remind us of the forgotten, and if any of them really reminds us of the forgotten, then always due to the fact that she is connected with him by a common association.

I met an old acquaintance on the street, whose name I don’t remember, but I wish I could remember. I run through a series of names in my mind, hoping to come across a name that has an association with what I'm looking for. I remember all the circumstances under which I saw him, the time when I met him, the persons in whose presence I met him; what he did, what he had to experience. And if I happen to come across an idea connected by a common association with his name, I immediately remember the forgotten name; otherwise all my attempts will be in vain. There is another group of phenomena that are quite similar to those just described and can serve as a clear illustration for them. Often we try not to forget something. What technique do we resort to in order to recall this fact at will? All people use the same method for this purpose. One usually tries to form associations between the object one wishes to remember and a sensation or idea which one knows will be present at or near the time one wishes to recall the given object of thought. If an association has been formed and one of its elements catches our eye, then this sensation or idea evokes the desired object of thought by association.

Here is a hackneyed example of such an association. A man receives an order from a friend and, in order not to forget it, ties a knot in a handkerchief. How to explain this fact? First of all, the idea of ​​an assignment was associated with the idea of ​​tying a knot in a scarf. Then it is known in advance that the handkerchief is such a thing that one very often has to have it in front of one’s eyes, and, therefore, the handkerchief will probably happen to be seen around the time when it is necessary to carry out the errand. When we see a handkerchief, we notice the knot, and it also reminds us of the task due to the association deliberately formed between them.”

In short, we search in memory for a forgotten idea in exactly the same way as we search for a lost thing in the house. In both cases, we first examine what, apparently, is in the vicinity of the desired object: we turn over things in the house, near which, under which and inside of which it can be located, and if it is really located near them, then we soon come across on the eyes. In searching for the object of thought instead of objects, we are dealing with elements of association. The mechanism of recall is identical to the mechanism of association, and the latter, as is known, comes down to the elementary law of habituation in nerve centers.

Association also explains memorization. The same law of habituation also constitutes the mechanism of memorization. It means the ability to remember - and nothing more. The only indication of the existence of memorization in this case is the presence of recollection. Remembering a known phenomenon, in short, is another name for the ability to think about it again or for the tendency to think about it again in connection with the situation relating to the time of its first occurrence. Whatever random occasion turns this possibility into reality, in any case, the constant basis for this possibility is the paths in the nervous tissue through which external stimulation causes a remembered phenomenon, past associations, the consciousness that our “I” was associated with this phenomenon, the belief that all this really happened in the past, etc. When recollection is fully prepared, the desired image comes to life in the mind immediately after the appearance of a reason for it. Otherwise, the image appears only after some time. But in both cases, the main condition that makes memorization generally possible is the neural pathways in which an association of the memorized object of thought with the reasons that evoke it in memory is formed. In a state of latent tension, these pathways determine memorization, and in a state of activity, recall.

Physiological scheme. The phenomenon of memory can be finally clarified with the help of a simple diagram. Let n there will be a past event, o – the environment surrounding it (neighboring events, date, connection with our personality, warmth and intimacy, etc.), and m- some thought or fact in the present, which can easily become a reason for recall. Let the nerve centers acting during thoughts m, n And O, will be expressed through M, N And ABOUT, then the existence of paths symbolically indicated by lines between M And N, And N And ABOUT, will express the fact of “delaying the event n in memory", and excitation of the brain in the direction of these pathways is a condition for remembering the event n. It should be noted that the detention of the event n is not the mystical acquisition of an idea by an unconscious means. It is not a mental phenomenon at all. This is a purely physical phenomenon, a morphological feature, namely the presence of pathways in the deepest depths of the brain tissue. At the same time, remembering is a psychophysical process that has both physical and mental sides; the bodily side of it is the stimulation of nerve pathways, the mental side is the conscious representation of a past phenomenon and the belief that it belongs to our past.

In short, the only hypothesis for which the phenomena of internal experience give support here is that the neural pathways excited by the perception of a known fact and its recollection are not completely identical. If we could evoke a past event in consciousness independently of any elements of association, then any possibility of memory would be excluded: seeing before us the phenomenon of a past experience, we would take it for a new image. In fact, when we remember an event without its surroundings, we can hardly distinguish it from a simple product of the imagination. But the more elements of association are associated with it in our consciousness, the more easily we recognize in it the object of our own past experience.

For example, I enter a friend's room and see a picture on the wall. At first I feel some strange feeling. "I must have seen this picture!" - I say, but where and when, I can’t remember; at the same time, I feel something familiar in the picture; Finally, I exclaim: “I remember! This is a copy of a painting by Fra Angelico in the Florence Academy, I saw it there.” Only in order to remember what kind of picture this was, it was necessary to remember the academy building.

Conditions for good memory. If we remember the fact - n, then the way N-O(Fig. 14) constitutes physiological conditions that evoke in consciousness the environment surrounding n, and do n an object of memory, not mere fantasy. At the same time the way M-N gives reason to remember n. Thus, due to the fact that human memory is entirely determined by the properties of neural pathways, its value in a given individual depends partly on the number, and partly on the stability of these pathways.

The stability or constancy of nerve pathways is an individual physiological property of the nervous tissue of each person, but their number depends entirely on personal experience. Let us call the stability of neural pathways innate physiological susceptibility. This susceptibility is very different at different ages and in different individuals. Some minds are like wax under the pressure of a seal: not a single impression, no matter how incoherent, disappears without a trace for them. Others resemble jelly, trembling at the mere touch, but under normal conditions incapable of perceiving stable imprints. Recent minds, recalling a fact, inevitably have to delve for a long time into the stock of their stable knowledge. They do not have fragmentary memory. On the contrary, persons who retain in memory without any effort names, dates, addresses, anecdotes, gossip, poems, quotations and all kinds of facts, have a fragmentary memory to the highest degree and, of course, owe this to the extraordinary receptivity of their brain matter for each newly formed there is no way.

In all likelihood, individuals who are not gifted with such physiological sensitivity are not capable of broad, multifaceted activities. Both in practical life and in the scientific field, a person whose mental acquisitions are immediately fixed in him always progresses and achieves goals, while others, spending most of their time in relearning what they once learned but have forgotten, they barely move forward. Charlemagne, Luther, Leibniz, W. Scott, any of the great geniuses of mankind must certainly have had an amazing sensitivity of a purely physiological nature. People who are not gifted with it may differ to one degree or another in the quality of their work, but will never be able to create such masses of works or have such a huge influence on their contemporaries.

There comes a period in the life of each of us when we can only preserve what we previously acquired, when the pathways previously laid out in the brain disappear at the same speed with which new ones are formed, and when we forget exactly as much as we acquire new knowledge in the same period of time. This state of equilibrium can last for many, many years. In extreme old age, it begins to break down: the amount of what is forgotten begins to outweigh the amount of what is acquired again, or, better said, there are no new acquisitions. Brain pathways become so unstable that, for example, within a few minutes the same question is asked and the answer is forgotten six times in a row. During this period, the extraordinary stability of the pathways formed in childhood becomes obvious; a very old man retains the memories of his early youth, having lost all others.

That's all I wanted to say about the stability of brain pathways. Now a few words about their number. Obviously, the more pathways in the brain such as M-N, and the more favorable reasons for remembering n, the sooner, generally speaking, the more durable the memory of n, and the more often we remember n, the more it will be possible to always remember n optional.

Speaking in the language of psychology, the more facts we associate a given fact with, the more firmly it is retained in our memory. Each of the elements of association is a hook on which a fact hangs and with the help of which it can be fished out when it, so to speak, has sunk to the bottom. All elements of the association form the tissue with which this fact is fixed in the brain. The secret of a good memory is, therefore, the art of forming numerous and varied associations with any fact that we wish to retain in memory. But what else is this formation of associations with a given fact, if not persistent thinking about it?

In short, of two persons with the same external experience and the same degree of native receptivity, the person who reflects more on his impressions and puts them into systematic connection with each other will be the owner of the better memory. Examples can be seen at every step. Most people have a good memory for facts relevant to their life goals. A schoolboy who displays the ability of an athlete, while remaining extremely dull in his studies, will amaze you with his knowledge of the facts about the activities of athletes and will turn out to be a walking reference book on sports statistics. The reason for this is that the boy constantly thinks about his favorite subject, collects facts related to it and groups them into known classes. For him they form not a disordered mixture, but a system of concepts - to such an extent he has assimilated them deeply.

In the same way, a merchant remembers the prices of goods, a politician - the speeches of his colleagues and the results of voting in such abundance that the outside observer is amazed at the richness of his memory, but this richness is quite understandable if we take into account how much each specialist reflects on his subject. It is quite possible that the amazing memory exhibited by Darwin and Spencer in their writings is quite compatible with the average degree of physiological susceptibility of the brain of both scientists. If a person from early youth sets out to actually substantiate the theory of evolution, then the corresponding material will quickly accumulate and remain firmly in his memory. Facts will be related to each other by their relation to theory, and the more the mind is able to distinguish between them, the more extensive will be the erudition of the scientist. Meanwhile, theorists may have a very weak fragmentary memory and even not have it at all. Facts that are useless for his purposes may not be noticed by the theorist and forgotten immediately after their perception. Encyclopedic erudition can be combined with almost equally “encyclopedic” ignorance, and the latter can, so to speak, hide in the interstices of its fabric. Those who have had much to do with schoolchildren and professional scientists will understand the type I mean.

In the system, each fact of thought is connected with another fact by some kind of relationship. Thanks to this, each fact is retained by the combined force of all other facts of the system and oblivion is almost impossible.

Why is rote learning such a bad way to learn? After what has been said above, this is self-evident. By rote learning I mean that method of preparing for exams when facts are consolidated in the memory over the course of a few hours or days through increased brain strain, memorized for the duration of the test, while during the school year the memory was almost not exercised at all in the area of ​​​​subjects required for the exam . Objects learned in this way, on a separate occasion, temporarily, cannot form strong associations in the mind with other objects of thought. The brain points corresponding to them pass along few paths and are renewed with great difficulty. Knowledge acquired through simple rote learning is almost inevitably forgotten completely without a trace. On the contrary, material acquired by memory gradually, day after day, in connection with different contexts, illuminated from different points of view, connected by associations with other events and repeatedly subjected to discussion, forms such a system, enters into such a connection with the rest of our intellect, is easily renewed in memory with such a mass of external reasons that it remains a durable acquisition for a long time. This is the rational basis for establishing supervision in educational institutions over the continuity and uniformity of classes throughout the academic year. Of course, there is nothing morally reprehensible about cramming.

If it led to the desired goal - the acquisition of solid knowledge, then, undoubtedly, it would be the best pedagogical technique. But in reality this is not the case, and students themselves must understand why.

The innate sensitivity of human memory is unchanged. Now it will be quite clear to the reader if we say that the whole improvement of memory consists in the formation of a series of associations with those numerous objects of thought that need to be retained in the head. No amount of development seems to be able to improve the general sensibility of man. It represents a physiological property given to man once and for all along with his organization, a property that he will never be able to change. Without a doubt, it varies depending on the state of health of the person; observations show that it is better when a person is fresh and alert, and worse when he is tired or sick. Thus, what is good for health is also good for memory. We can even say that any intellectual exercise that enhances the nutrition of the brain and increases the general tone of its activity will also be useful for general receptivity. But nothing more can be said than this, and this is obviously much less comforting compared to the current views on the receptivity of the brain.

It is usually believed that systematic exercise strengthens in a person not only the ability to remember the facts included in these exercises, but also the susceptibility to memorization in general. They say, for example, that prolonged memorization of words facilitates their further memorization. If this were true, then everything I just said was wrong and the entire theory of the dependence of memory on the formation of nerve pathways in the brain would need to be revised again. But I am inclined to think that the facts against this theory do not actually exist.

I have questioned many experienced actors in detail, and they all unanimously claim that memorizing roles makes things very little easier. According to them, this only develops the ability to learn roles systematically. Experience gave the actors a rich store of intonation, expression and gestures; this makes it easier to learn new roles in which it is possible to use the stock accumulated in the same way as a merchant accumulates his knowledge about the value of goods, or an athlete accumulates his knowledge of gymnastic dexterity; Thanks to practice, new roles are learned more easily, but at the same time, the innate receptivity does not improve at all, but, on the contrary, weakens over the years.

Here memorization is made easier by thoughtfulness. In the same way, when schoolchildren improve in memorization, I am sure that in practice the reason for improvement will always be the way of learning individual things that are of relatively greater interest, a greater analogy with something already familiar, perceived with greater attention, etc. but by no means strengthening the physiological power of receptivity. The misconception I have in mind permeates the otherwise useful and interesting book How to Strengthen Memory by Holbrook of New York. The author does not distinguish between general physiological susceptibility and susceptibility to certain phenomena and argues as if both should be improved using the same means.

“I am now treating,” he says, “an old man suffering from memory loss, who did not notice that his memory was rapidly weakening until I paid attention to it. He is currently making vigorous efforts to restore his memory, and not without some success The method of treatment is to exercise memory for two hours every day - an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. the next morning. He should write down every name he hears and try to remember it in his mind from time to time. Every week he should memorize up to ten names of statesmen. Every day he should memorize verses from poetic works and from the Bible. time, a page number in some book where an interesting fact is reported. With the help of these exercises and some other techniques, the patient’s weakened memory begins to come to life again.”

I am inclined to think that if the memory of this unfortunate old man improved, it was only in relation to the particular facts that the doctor forces him to remember, and in some other respects: in any case, these intolerable exercises did not increase his general sensitivity.

Memory improvement. So, all memory improvement consists of improving the habitual methods of remembering facts. There are three such methods: mechanical, rational and technical. The mechanical method is to increase the intensity, increase and frequency of impressions to be remembered. The modern method of teaching children to read and write by writing on the blackboard, in which each word is imprinted on the mind through the four pathways of the eyes, ears, voice and hands, is an example of improved rote memorization. The rational method of memorization is nothing more than a logical analysis of perceived phenomena, grouping them into a certain system by class, dividing them into parts, etc. Any science can be an example of such a method.

A lot of technical, artificial methods for memorization have been invented. With the help of artificial systems, it is often possible to retain in memory such a mass of completely incoherent facts, such long series of names, numbers, etc., that it is impossible to remember naturally. The method consists of mechanically memorizing a group of symbols that must be firmly retained in memory forever. Then what is to be learned is connected by deliberately invented associations with some of the memorized symbols, and this connection subsequently facilitates recall. The most famous and commonly used artificial mnemonics technique is the digital alphabet. It is intended for memorizing series of numbers. Each of the ten numbers corresponds to one or more letters. The number that needs to be remembered is expressed in letters, from which it is easy to make words; the words, if possible, are selected so that they somehow remind you of the object to which the number refers. Thus, the word will remain in memory even when the number is completely forgotten. The recently invented Loisette method is not so mechanical, it is based on the formation of a series of associations with an object that it is desirable to remember.

Recognition. If we encounter a well-known phenomenon often and in connection with too many and varied surrounding elements, then, despite its correspondingly easy reproduction, we cannot connect such a phenomenon with a specific situation and, therefore, attribute it to some date in the past . We recognize it, but do not remember it: the associations associated with it are too numerous and vague. The same result occurs when localization in the past is too vague. We feel that we saw this object somewhere, but we don’t remember where and when, although it seems to us that just now we will remember it. That nascent, weak excitations of the brain can cause something in consciousness can be observed for yourself when you try to remember a name. In this case, it is, as they say, on the tip of the tongue, but does not come to mind. A similar feeling accompanies "recognition", when the associations associated with a given object of thought make it familiar to us, but we do not know why.

There is a curious state of mind that probably everyone has had to experience. This is that feeling when it seems that what is being experienced at this moment in its entirety was experienced once before, once upon a time we said literally the same thing in the same place, to the same persons, etc. This sense of the “pre-existence” of mental states has long seemed extremely mysterious and has given rise to numerous interpretations. Vigan saw its cause in the dissociation of the activity of the cerebral hemispheres. According to Vigan's assumption, one of them began to become aware of external impressions a little later, lagging behind the other, so to speak. In my opinion, such an explanation does not in any way eliminate the mystery of the phenomenon. Having repeatedly observed it in myself, I came to the conclusion that it represented a vague recollection in which some elements were renewed before consciousness and others were not. Elements of a past state that are not similar to the present do not first come to life so much that we can attribute this state to a specific past. We are only aware of the present connected with some general allusion to the past. An accurate observer of psychological phenomena, Lazarus interprets this phenomenon in the same way as I do. It is worthy of note that the present seems to be a repetition of the past only until the associations associated with a similar past become quite distinct.

Oblivion. For our intellect, forgetting is as important a function as remembering. Complete reproduction, as we have seen, is a relatively rare case of association. If we remembered absolutely everything, we would be in the same hopeless situation as if we remembered nothing. Recalling a fact would require the same amount of time as it actually took from the appearance of this fact to the moment of recall. Thus, we would never move forward in our thinking. Time during recall undergoes what Ribot calls shortening. It is due to the omission of a huge number of facts that filled a given time period.

“Thus,” says Ribot, “we come to a paradoxical conclusion: oblivion is one of the conditions for remembering. Without complete oblivion of a huge number of states of consciousness and without temporary oblivion of a very significant number of impressions, we could not remember at all. Oblivion, with the exception of some of it forms, is not a disease of memory, but a condition of its health and vitality."

Pathological conditions. Persons subjected to hypnosis forget everything that happened to them during the trance. But in subsequent such states, they often remember what happened to them the previous time. Here we observe something similar to a split personality, in which coherence exists only between the individual states of each of the personalities, but not between the personalities themselves. In these cases, the sensitivity is often different for one and the other person: in the “secondary” state the patient is often as if under anesthesia. Janet proved that his patients recalled in a state of normal sensitivity those facts that they did not remember in a state of anesthesia. For example, he temporarily restored their sense of touch using electric current, passes, etc. and forced the patients to pick up various objects: keys, pencils, or make certain movements, such as crossing themselves. When the anesthesia returned, they had absolutely no memory of it. “We didn’t take anything into our hands, we didn’t do anything” - this is the usual answer from patients. But the next day, when their normal sensitivity was restored, they perfectly remembered what they did while under anesthesia and what things they picked up. All these pathological phenomena show that the area of ​​possible recollection is much wider than we think, and that in some cases apparent oblivion does not yet give the right to say that recollection is absolutely impossible. However, this is not yet a basis for the paradoxical conclusion that there is no absolute oblivion of impressions.

- an integrated mental reflection of a person’s past interaction with reality, the information fund of his life activity.

The ability to store information and selectively update it and use it to regulate behavior is the main property of the brain that ensures the interaction of the individual with the environment. Memory integrates life experience, ensures the continuous development of human culture and individual life. Based on memory, a person navigates the present and anticipates the future.

The experimental study of memory began at the end of the 19th century. research by the German psychologist G. Ebbinghaus (1850-1909), summarized in his work “On Memory” (1885). This was the first time that a psychological experiment went beyond sensory processes. G. Ebbinghaus derived a “forgetting curve”, graphically illustrating the highest percentage of forgetting in the period immediately following the learning of new material. Currently, in connection with the actualization of the problem of machine accumulation and retrieval of information, memory is becoming an object of interdisciplinary research. But human memory differs from machine and electronic memory in the active-reconstructive preservation of material. Human memory is influenced by socio-cultural factors.

In the process of development, the individual increasingly focuses on the semantic, semantic connections of the remembered structures. The same material is stored in memory differently depending on the personality structure and its need-motivational characteristics. The memory of a machine is mechanical memory. Human memory is a value-integrated storage of information. The accumulation of material in memory (archiving) is carried out in two blocks: in the block episodic and in the block semantic(semantic) memory. Episodic memory is autobiographical - it stores various episodes from the life of an individual. Semantic memory is aimed at categorical structures formed in the cultural and historical environment. All the historically formed rules of the logic of mental actions and the construction of language are stored here.

Features of human memory

Depending on the characteristics of the material being remembered, there are special ways of codifying, archiving and retrieving it. The spatial organization of the environment is encoded in the form of schematic formations from semantic reference points that characterize our physical and social environment.

Consistently occurring phenomena are imprinted in linear memory structures. Formally organized structures are imprinted associative memory mechanisms, providing grouping of phenomena and objects according to certain characteristics (household items, labor items, etc.). All semantic meanings are categorized - they belong to different groups of concepts that are in hierarchical interdependence.

The possibility of its rapid updating and retrieval depends on the organization of material in memory. Information is reproduced in the connection in which it was originally formed.

Many people complain about a bad memory, but do not complain about a bad mind. Meanwhile, the mind, the ability to establish relationships, is the basis of memory.

Retrieval of learned material from memory for the purpose of use in recognition, recollection, recollection is called updating(from Latin actualis - valid, real). We look for the necessary material in memory in the same way as the necessary thing in the pantry: by objects located in the neighborhood. Figuratively speaking, in our memory fund everything is hung “on hooks” of associations. The secret of a good memory is establishing strong associations. That is why people remember best what is related to their everyday concerns and professional interests. Encyclopedic erudition in one area of ​​life can be combined with ignorance in other areas. Some facts are retained in our consciousness by the force of other facts well known to us. Mechanical “cramming” or “cramming” is the most ineffective way of memorizing.

A person’s possibilities for actualization are much wider than he imagines. Memory difficulties are more likely to be difficulties of retrieval than difficulties of retention. Absolute oblivion of impressions does not exist.

The fund of human memory is plastic - with the development of the individual, changes occur in the structural formations of his memory. Memory is inextricably linked with the activities of the individual - what is firmly remembered is what is included in a person’s active activity and corresponds to his life strategy.

Operating behavior system and human activity, i.e., his skills and abilities are images of optimal, adequate actions imprinted in memory. By repeating the necessary actions many times, unnecessary, unnecessary movements are eliminated from them, and the image of optimal action, individual operations are integrated into a single functional complex.

Memory, intellect, feelings and the operational sphere of the individual are a single systemic formation.

Memory- a mental mechanism of human orientation both in the external and in the internal, subjective world, a mechanism for localizing events in time and space, a mechanism for the structural self-preservation of the individual and his consciousness. Memory disorders mean personality disorders.

Classification of memory phenomena

Vary memory processes- memorization, preservation, reproduction and forgetting and forms of memory - involuntary (unintentional) and voluntary (intentional).

Depending on the type of analyzers, the signaling system or the participation of subcortical formations of the brain, there are types of memory:figurative, logical And emotional.

Figurative memory - representations - classified by type of analyzer: visual, auditory, motor, etc.

Based on the method of memorization, a distinction is made between immediate (direct) and indirect (indirect) memory.

Relationship between memory and recall

The trace of each impression is associated with many traces of accompanying impressions. Indirect memorization and reproduction is the memorization and reproduction of a given image according to the system of connections in which the image is included - by associations. The indirect, associative emergence of images is much more psychologically meaningful than direct memorization; it brings the phenomena of memory closer to the phenomena of thinking. The main work of human memory consists of memorizing and reproducing traces by association.

There are three types of associations.

Association by contiguity. This is an elementary type of communication without significant processing of information.

Association by contrast. This is a connection between two opposing phenomena. This type of connection is based on the logical method of opposition.

Association by similarity. Perceiving one situation, a person by association remembers another similar situation. Associations by similarity require complex processing of the received information, highlighting the essential features of the perceived object, generalization and comparison with what is stored in memory. Objects of association by similarity can be not only visual images, but also concepts, judgments, and inferences. Associations by similarity are one of the essential mechanisms of thinking, the basis of logical memory.

Thus, according to the method of memorization, memory can be mechanical and associative (semantic).

Human memory systems

Let's consider memory systems. In any type of activity, all memory processes are involved. But different levels of activity are associated with the functioning of various mechanisms and memory systems.

The following four interconnected memory systems are distinguished: 1) sensory; 2) short-term; 3) operational; 4) long-term.

Sensory memory- direct sensory imprint of the influencing object, direct imprinting of sensory influences, i.e. preservation of visual images in the form of a clear, complete imprint of the object’s sensory influences for a very short period of time (0.25 sec). These are the so-called afterimages. They are not associated with the fixation of traces and quickly disappear. This type of memory ensures continuity and integrity of perception of dynamic, rapidly changing phenomena.

Short-term memory- direct capture of a set of objects during a single-act perception of a situation, fixation of objects that fall into the field of perception. Short-term memory provides primary orientation during immediate perception of the situation.

The operating time of short-term memory is no more than 30 seconds. Its volume is limited to five to seven objects. However, when recalling short-term memory images, additional information can be extracted from them.

RAM— selective preservation and updating of information necessary only to achieve the goal of this activity. The duration of working memory is limited by the time of the corresponding activity. So, we remember the elements of a phrase in order to comprehend it as a whole, we remember certain conditions of the problem we are solving, we remember intermediate figures in complex calculations.

The productivity of RAM is determined by a person’s ability to organize memorized material and create integral complexes - units of RAM. Examples of the use of different blocks of operational units include reading letters, syllables, whole words or complexes of words. RAM functions at a high level if a person sees not specific, but general properties of various situations, combines similar elements into larger blocks, and recodes material into a single system. Thus, it is easier to remember the number ABD125 in the form 125125, i.e., by recoding the letters into numbers according to the place of the letters in the alphabet.

The functioning of RAM is associated with significant neuropsychic stress, since it requires the simultaneous interaction of a number of competing excitation centers. When operating with objects whose state changes, no more than two variable factors can be stored in RAM.

Long-term memory- long-term memorization of content that is of great significance. The selection of information included in long-term memory is associated with a probabilistic assessment of its future applicability and prediction of future events.

The capacity of long-term memory depends on relevance information, i.e., on what meaning the information has for a given individual and his leading activity.

Types of memory - individual typological features of memory

They differ in the following qualities, found in various combinations: volume and accuracy of memorization; memorization speed; memorization strength; the leading role of one or another analyzer (the predominance of visual, auditory or motor memory in a given person); peculiarities interaction of the first and second signaling systems(figurative, logical and middle types).

Various combinations of individual typological features give a variety of individual types of memory (Fig. 1).

There are large individual differences in the speed of memorizing material and the duration of its retention in memory. Thus, in the course of psychological experiments it was found that to memorize 12 syllables, one person needs 49 repetitions, and another - only 14.

An essential individual feature of memory is the focus on remembering certain material. The famous criminologist G. Gross talked about his father’s extremely poor memory for people’s names. The father could not accurately say the name of his only son, but at the same time he memorized various statistical material very accurately and for a long time.

Some people remember material directly, while others tend to use logical means. For some, memory is close to perception, for others - to thinking. The higher the level of mental development of a person, the more his memory approaches thinking. An intellectually developed person remembers primarily using logical operations. But the development of memory is not directly related to intellectual development. Some people have a very developed figurative (eidetic) memory.

Rice. 1. Classification of memory phenomena

I. According to the degree of activity of the course allocate unintentional(involuntary) and deliberate(voluntary) memorization.

Involuntary memorization- this is memorization without a predetermined goal, without the use of any techniques and the manifestation of volitional efforts. This is an imprint of what affected us and retained a trace in the cerebral cortex. We remember a lot every day, although we don’t put any effort into it.

What is better remembered is what is related to a person’s activities, his goals and needs, therefore even involuntary memorization is selective and determined by our attitude to the environment.

Voluntary memorization characterized by the fact that a person sets a specific goal - to remember some information and uses special techniques for memorizing.

Thus, in order to remember the material, it is important not only to read or listen to it and understand it, but also to set a goal for yourself.

For effective memorization, it is important not only to set a general memorization task, but also to clarify a special task: remember only the essence of the perceived material, remember only the main thoughts and basic facts, or remember verbatim.

For voluntary memorization, special mnemonic actions are used, which constitute the essence of memorization - repeated repetition of material until it is completely memorized.

Thus, voluntary memorization is a special mental activity.

II. According to the degree of comprehension of the material There are two types of memorization: meaningful ( logical) and meaningless ( mechanical).

Rote- this is memorization without awareness of the logical connection between various parts of the perceived material. For example, memorizing historical dates, multiplication tables, etc. The basis of mechanical memorization is associations by contiguity, that is, one part of the material is associated with another only because it follows it in time. To establish such a connection, repeated repetition of the material is necessary.

Meaningful (logical) memorization based on understanding the internal logical connections between individual parts of the material. Meaningful memorization is always associated with thinking processes.

Meaningful memorization is more effective than mechanical memorization: with mechanical memorization, after 1 hour 40% of the material remains in the memory, after another 1 hour - only 20%; in the case of meaningful memorization, 40% of the material remains in memory even after 30 days.

These two types of memorization are closely related: on the one hand, when memorizing even meaningless material, we try to establish logical connections between its elements with each other or with past experience (window). On the other hand, even meaningful material (a poem) requires rote memorization for accurate memorization.

Meaningful memorization techniques:

1. Isolating main ideas and grouping them in the form of a plan.

2. Identification of semantic reference points, in this case, each semantic part is replaced by some word or concept that reflects the main idea of ​​the memorized material, then a plan is drawn up. Each point of the plan is a generalized heading of a certain part of the text. It has been established that students who make a plan while memorizing learn the material better than those students who do not make plans while memorizing.

3. Comparison- finding similarities and differences between objects, phenomena and events. An option is to compare the material being studied with what has already been learned.

4. Specification of material- explanation of general provisions and rules with examples, solving problems, conducting laboratory work.

5. Repetition is a consciously controlled or uncontrolled process of information circulation. Repetition is a universal method of memorization.

The most commonly used type of repetition for mastering knowledge, skills and abilities is the process memorization. In order to make memorization effective, it is necessary to take into account a number of principles:

1. Learning is uneven. Given this fact, you need to repeat the material after some time. Repeated learning, as a rule, improves the result of memorization.

2. Memorization in the process of memorization has a spasmodic character (there is a kind of “accumulation” of traces from the perceived material). Therefore, memorization should be distributed over time with a gradual increase in time intervals: for example, after 5 minutes, after 30 minutes, after 2 hours, after several hours.

3. If the material as a whole is quite easy, then good memorization results can be achieved with a small number of repetitions.

In experimental studies by V.D. Shadrikov and L.V. Cheremoshkina, 13 mnemonic memorization techniques were identified that involve mental processing of the memorized material. Let us list them: 1) grouping; 2) identification of strongholds; 3) plan; 4) classification; 5) structuring; 6) schematization; 7) analogy; 8) mnemonic techniques; 9) recoding; 10) completion of construction; 11) serial organization of material; 12) associations; 13) repetition.

2. Saving

The information that a person receives from the outside world, he not only remembers, but also saves.

Definition. Preservation is the process of retaining memorized material in memory.

Depending on the nature of the material used There are two types of storage in memory: dynamic And static.

Dynamic saving manifests itself in RAM, while the stored material changes little.

Static saving manifests itself in long-term memory, while the stored information undergoes significant processing and reconstruction. Reconstruction of information stored in long-term memory occurs mainly due to new information coming from the external world, as well as under the influence of a person’s past experience. Reconstruction of information stored in memory manifests itself in the following phenomena:

– disappearance of some unimportant details;

– replacement of some information elements with others;

– changing the sequence of presentation of the material;

– increasing the degree of its generalization (specific details go away, general ideas remain).

The strength of retention of the material will depend on the quality of memorization.

The presence of interest in the memorized material also ensures its longer retention.

3. Playback

Retrieving material from memory occurs using playback

Definition. Playback is the process of updating (recreating) previously stored material.

The process of updating information can occur with varying degrees of difficulty or ease.

Depending on the degree of difficulty, the following types of playback are distinguished:recognition, actual reproduction, recollection, recollection.

1. Recognition - This is the reproduction of an object under conditions of repeated perception.

Recognition is important in human life: without it, we would always perceive familiar objects as completely new. Recognition connects our experience with the perception of surrounding objects and thereby ensures correct orientation in the surrounding reality.

Recognition varies in degree of certainty, clarity and completeness. If recognition is complete, clear, definite, then a person, without any effort and imperceptibly for himself in the process of perception, recognizes a previously perceived object. In this case there is involuntary recognition.

Recognition can be incomplete and vague, for example, when we see a person, we experience a “feeling of familiarity”, but we cannot remember who he is or in what situation we encountered him. In order to clarify recognition, we are forced to make certain efforts, recalling the circumstances of the perception of a given object or person. Recognition becomes arbitrary.

2. Playback itself, in contrast to recognition, is carried out without repeated perception of the object that is being reproduced.

Reproduction, like memorization, can be involuntary or voluntary. When involuntary reproduction certain ideas emerge independently of the will of a person, as if by themselves. For example, when we find ourselves in a room familiar to us, we involuntarily remember the people and events that took place here. At random playback a person sets a conscious goal to remember something from his past experience. For example, when the need arises to remember a well-learned poem.

3. Recall. Sometimes it is necessary to make significant efforts to reproduce information stored in memory, in this case they speak of recall.

Remembering is a rather complex mental activity aimed at solving a reproductive problem. The ability to remember needs to be learned. To increase the efficiency of recall, special recall techniques:

– drawing up a plan of recalled material;

– active recall of images of corresponding objects in memory;

– deliberate selection of associations that can help remember the necessary information.

Research shows that a well-understood and precisely formulated reproductive task (reproduction task) greatly facilitates recall. Self-confidence and interest in the result are of great importance for the success of recall.

4. Memory- reproduction of images of the past, localized in time and space. Memory is the historical memory of a person. When remembering, a person not only reproduces objects and events of the past, but also relates them to a certain place and time, remembers where, under what circumstances, these events occurred, their temporal sequence. Memories, one way or another, relate to a person’s personal life, so they are always accompanied by emotional experiences.

4. Forgetting

Definition. Forgetting is expressed in the inability to restore previously perceived information.

The process of forgetting can be more or less profound. Failure to recall any material does not mean that it is completely lost. Most often, specific and insignificant details are forgotten, while essential and generalized information is firmly included in various knowledge and forms of human behavior and is reproduced in them in an integrated form. Science knows facts about the reproduction of long-forgotten information, for example, one person in a painful state began to speak German, which he had once studied and then forgotten.

Inclusion in activity is a reliable means of connecting material with human needs and, therefore, combating forgetting. What is included in the activity becomes significant for the individual and is not forgotten.

Forgetting is a useful, expedient process for the body. If we remembered everything we perceive, our brain would very quickly be overloaded with information and would not be able to function normally.

Depending on the ease of reproduction and the degree of forgetting, they are distinguished three memory levels:

Level 1- reproducing memory (error-free reproduction of material without external support);

Level 2- recognition memory (a person cannot remember what has been memorized, but easily recognizes the material visually or auditorily);

Level 3- facilitating memory (a person can neither remember on his own nor recognize information, but when learning again, it takes him less time to fully reproduce it than the first time).

Forgetting occurs unevenly over time: most information is lost immediately after perception, and then forgetting proceeds more slowly.

In order to slow down the process of forgetting, you need to regularly repeat the material. When organizing periodic repetition, information is retained in greater volume and for a sufficiently long time.

When studying the process of forgetting, facts were also revealed erroneous recall And misidentification. While being stored in a person’s memory, information undergoes significant changes, as a result of which he remembers something completely different from what actually happened and what was actually perceived by him.

The speed of forgetting depends on the following features of the material:

Obscure material is forgotten faster;

Uninteresting material is also quickly forgotten;

Information that is not related to a person’s practical needs and professional activities is quickly forgotten;

The larger the volume of material and the more difficult it is to perceive, the faster it is forgotten.

Forgetting can also occur in other ways. reasons:

1. The negative impact of activities following memorization has also been established. This phenomenon is called - retroactive inhibition . Retroactive inhibition is more pronounced when the subsequent activity is similar to the previous one, and also when the subsequent activity is more difficult than the previous one.

2. The speed of forgetting has a significant impact age person. With age, memorizing material becomes much more difficult, and forgetting accelerates.

3. The speed of forgetting is influenced some diseases of the nervous system, and severe mental and physical trauma(stress, brain contusions). In these cases, the phenomenon is observed retrograde amnesia. Its essence lies in the fact that a person forgets the events that preceded the injury. Depending on the severity of the injury, what was forgotten may be restored to memory or lost completely.

4. Forgetting is influenced mental and physical fatigue.

5. Forgetting may be caused by strong external stimuli, complicating the playback process.

Abstract topics

1. Individual characteristics of memory.

2. The connection between memory and emotions.

3. Language and memory.

Questions for independent work

1. Patterns of memory and their research.

2. Factors influencing memory development.

3. Techniques and means of improving memory.

4. Interaction of different types of human memory.

5. Human mnemonic abilities.

6. Development of memory in ontogenesis.

7. Pathology of memory.

Self-test questions

1. Define the basic processes of memory.

2. List the types of memorization depending on the method of forming connections between elements.

3. What types of reproduction are there?

4. What phenomena of distortion of stored material in memory do you know?

5. What role does the process of forgetting play in a person’s mental life?

Main literature

1. Gamezo, M. V., Domashenko, I. A. Atlas of Psychology. - M., 2003.

2. Maklakov, A. G. General psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2004.

additional literature

1. Atkinson, R. Human memory and the learning process. - M., 1980.

2. Gippenreiter, Yu. B. Introduction to general psychology: a course of lectures. - M.: CheRo, 1997.

3. Zintz, R. Learning and memory. - Minsk, 1984.

4. Klatsky, R. Human memory: structures and processes. - M., 1978.

5. Nemov, R. S. Psychology: in 3 books. - M., 1998. - Book. 1.

6. Norman, D. A. Memory and learning. - M., 1985.

7. General psychology: course of lectures / comp. E. I. Rogov. - M.: Vlados, 1995.

8. Reader on general psychology: Psychology of memory / ed. Yu. B. Gippenreiter, V. Ya. Romanova. - M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1979.

Topic 6. Thinking

1. Concept, basic signs of thinking.

2. Types of thinking.

3. Basic forms of thinking.

4. Mental operations.

5. Functions of thinking.

6. Physiological foundations of thinking.

1. Concept, basic signs of thinking

Our knowledge of objective reality begins with sensations and perception, but does not end with these processes. From sensations and perception it moves to thinking.

Definition. Thinking - the highest cognitive mental process, expressed in an active, purposeful, generalized and indirect reflection of reality, as well as in the generation of new knowledge based on the creative transformation of sensory experience.

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1. Genetically, memory is considered primary.
motor
figurative
emotional
verbal

2. The type of memory based on the establishment of semantic connections in the memorized material is called ... memory.
mechanical
logical
emotional
auditory

3. Are not a form of imagination
dreams
dreams
illusions
hallucinations

4. An increase or decrease in an object, a change in the number of its parts or their displacement is known as...
hyperbolization
schematization
typing
agglutination

5. Creative activity based on the creation of new images is called...
perception
thinking
imagination
attention

6. The fact that unfinished actions are remembered better expresses the effect...
halo
placebo
B.V. Zeigarnik
recency

7. Characters such as Thumbelina, Zmey-Gorynych, and giants were created using the technique...
hyperbolization
schematization
typification
agglutination

8. “Gluing together” various qualities, properties, parts that are not connected in everyday life is called...
hyperbolization
schematization
typification
agglutination

9. The basis for the division of memory into motor, emotional, figurative and verbal is...
lead analyzer
object of perception
subject activity
Kind of activity

10. The amount of information stored in short-term memory...
7±2
is not limited
limit unknown
on average 10

11. The retention of material depends on the process of memorization....
only completeness
only accuracy
only strength
completeness, accuracy and strength

12. The highest type of memory is... memory.
motor
figurative
emotional
verbal-logical

13. The basis for the division of memory into involuntary and voluntary is...
lead analyzer
subject of reflection
subject activity
Kind of activity

14. The type of memory in which memory representations are as close as possible to the images of perception is called....
eidetic
visual-figurative
emotional
verbal-logical

15. Memory based on repeating material without comprehending it is called...
long-term
emotional
arbitrary
mechanical

16. Two opposite phenomena are connected by the association of...
adjacency
speed
contrast
meaning

17. For the first time, ideas about associations were formulated....
Socrates
Aristotle
Democritus
R. Descartes

18. Such images as sphinxes, garkulyi, centaurs were created by the following method of imagination….
hyperbolization
schematization
typing
agglutination

19. Two phenomena related in time or space are united by an association ...
adjacency
speed
contrast
meaning

20. The type of memory in which the feelings experienced by a person are primarily preserved and reproduced is known as memory...
visual-figurative
phenomenal
emotional
verbal-logical

21. A type of memory that includes the processes of remembering, storing and reproducing information processed during the execution of an action and necessary only to achieve the goal of this action is called memory...
operational
iconic
short-term
echonic

22. The type of memory in which a person remembers visual images, colors, faces, etc. especially well is memory...
eidetic
visual-figurative
phenomenal
emotional

23. The early genetic form of memory is ... memorization.
involuntary
arbitrary
post-voluntary
operational

24. Indirect and direct memory differ in...
lead analyzer
the use of aids in the process of memorization
degree of activity of the subject
types of activities