{"id":880,"date":"2024-02-10T11:41:25","date_gmt":"2024-02-10T16:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=880"},"modified":"2024-11-20T17:11:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-20T22:11:53","slug":"5-types-of-memory","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/chapter\/5-types-of-memory\/","title":{"raw":"Types of Memory","rendered":"Types of Memory"},"content":{"raw":"In this section, we will expand on the three types of memory introduced earlier: short-term, long-term, and working memory.\r\n\r\nIf you remember, when we covered theory in Chapter 2, we discussed information processing, which is a memory-based model developed by Western researchers that proposes the human mind as a sort of computer: input, processing, and output. To many people, this will seem like a very small part of the story, and for our purposes in this book, it is but one approach to thinking about memory and how it works. But we briefly consider it here and discuss how it is relevant to young children\u2019s thinking and learning.\r\n<h2>Short-Term Memory<\/h2>\r\nShort-term memory is typically information that is only held for a short time (e.g., within a day, week, or more) depending on how well a particular memory has been encoded (we will get to this term later) or, in simpler terms, how an event was experienced and if it was particularly noteworthy or not. For example, can you remember if it was raining in the morning on your way\u00a0to school?\r\n\r\nThere are many, many factors that relate to how well we can take information in and store it. However, we cannot possibly store all the information we come across in a day. So, some things are fleeting, but others will make their way into our short-term memory.\r\n<h2>Long-Term Memory<\/h2>\r\nLong-term memory is not only those items we store over many years.\u00a0 It is also not always the kinds of story-based memories that you might think \u2014 as in remembering the sequence of small events that make up a particular holiday you celebrate with your family, or a very enjoyable birthday party you had when you turned eight. In addition, long-term memory involves procedural knowledge, such as how to ride a bike, make speech sounds with your mouth or run down the stairs. You can read about the types of memory in either Siegler and Alibali (2020) or Fivush (2022).\r\n\r\nAccording to Tulving (1972), there are subtypes of long-term memory.\r\n<table class=\"grid\" style=\"height: 118px\"><caption>Types and subtypes of long-term memory<\/caption>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<th style=\"height: 15px;width: 212px\">Types<\/th>\r\n<th style=\"height: 15px;width: 340px\">Subtypes<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 88px\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 88px;width: 212.5px\">Declarative Memory\r\n(a.k.a. explicit memory)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 88px;width: 340.5px\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Semantic: information about the world<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Episodic: information about our specific experiences in the world<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;width: 212.5px\">Non-Declarative Memory\r\n(a.k.a. implicit memory)<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;width: 340.5px\">\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Procedural: information we are not conscious of remembering that we use everyday for things like brushing our teeth or riding a bike<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<h2>Working Memory<\/h2>\r\nThe last type of memory is the lesser-known one: working memory. In a way, it can be explained simply, but it is also quite complex. In simple terms, working memory involves holding something in short-term memory temporarily while you engage in some kind of additional processing, such as computation, sounding out a word, remembering sequences of a complex task, etc. This additional processing is the \u201cwork\u201d part of working memory. The reality of trying to distinguish working memory from short-term memory is more complicated.\r\n\r\nA classic task in the West to measure working memory is the \u201cspan task,\u201d in which a person is asked to repeat increasingly long sequences of items they hear auditorily. I have recorded a version of the task for you to complete. Trust me, this is possibly the best illustration I can give you to explain the difference between short-term memory and working memory.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<h3 class=\"textbox__title\">Exercise<\/h3>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\n<span>[h5p id=\"21\"]<\/span>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<h3 class=\"textbox__title\"><a id=\"reflection5.2\"><\/a>Reflection Journal<\/h3>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\n<strong>Reflection 5.2<\/strong>:\r\n\r\nIn your journal, write down your experience carrying out the first part of the exercise, \u201cDigits Part A.\u201d Did you find it difficult? Did you use any specific strategies?\r\n\r\nNext, write down how your experience with \u201cDigits Part B\u201d differed from that of Part A. Why did it differ, do you think? We will discuss this together as a group.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\nIn your experience of doing the digits task, you were primarily using short-term memory in Part A and working memory in Part B. This is not entirely clear cut because much of our thinking involves holding information briefly in mind, or our short-term memory, while we engage in \u201cwork\u201d on that information. But this happens to varying degrees.\r\n\r\nI have used the digits span task in my own research and have interesting experiences with it that I think help to illustrate this point. I administered the task to five-year-olds, and they had great difficulty in Part B (the backward version). You now know from doing the task yourself that it is much more difficult! Here\u2019s why:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I say \u201cseven, three, eight\u201d and you have to repeat back \u201cseven, three, eight\u201d you have just heard those numbers, and they are in your short-term memory.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">But if you have to reverse them to \u201ceight, three, seven,\u201d you are holding the three digits in short-term memory while you do the \u201cwork\u201d of reversing their order. This additional processing uses working memory and thus increases difficulty.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nIn my work with five-year-olds, even remembering the numbers in Part A in their original order required additional processing because they had to both remember the sequence and reproduce it. Likely, when we are older, numbers are so automatized that simple repetition does not require working memory, but for young children, it may.\r\n\r\nWorking memory is a complex construct that is not well-defined in many textboks, but has been the centre of Western research on children\u2019s thinking and learning for the last 30 or more years. So, while the definition is not always clear, consider the examples in the knowledge check below.\r\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\"><header class=\"textbox__header\">\r\n<h2 class=\"textbox__title\">Knowledge Check<\/h2>\r\n<\/header>\r\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\r\n\r\nDetermine if the following tasks require a child's working memory.\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"13\"]\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<p>In this section, we will expand on the three types of memory introduced earlier: short-term, long-term, and working memory.<\/p>\n<p>If you remember, when we covered theory in Chapter 2, we discussed information processing, which is a memory-based model developed by Western researchers that proposes the human mind as a sort of computer: input, processing, and output. To many people, this will seem like a very small part of the story, and for our purposes in this book, it is but one approach to thinking about memory and how it works. But we briefly consider it here and discuss how it is relevant to young children\u2019s thinking and learning.<\/p>\n<h2>Short-Term Memory<\/h2>\n<p>Short-term memory is typically information that is only held for a short time (e.g., within a day, week, or more) depending on how well a particular memory has been encoded (we will get to this term later) or, in simpler terms, how an event was experienced and if it was particularly noteworthy or not. For example, can you remember if it was raining in the morning on your way\u00a0to school?<\/p>\n<p>There are many, many factors that relate to how well we can take information in and store it. However, we cannot possibly store all the information we come across in a day. So, some things are fleeting, but others will make their way into our short-term memory.<\/p>\n<h2>Long-Term Memory<\/h2>\n<p>Long-term memory is not only those items we store over many years.\u00a0 It is also not always the kinds of story-based memories that you might think \u2014 as in remembering the sequence of small events that make up a particular holiday you celebrate with your family, or a very enjoyable birthday party you had when you turned eight. In addition, long-term memory involves procedural knowledge, such as how to ride a bike, make speech sounds with your mouth or run down the stairs. You can read about the types of memory in either Siegler and Alibali (2020) or Fivush (2022).<\/p>\n<p>According to Tulving (1972), there are subtypes of long-term memory.<\/p>\n<table class=\"grid\" style=\"height: 118px\">\n<caption>Types and subtypes of long-term memory<\/caption>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<th style=\"height: 15px;width: 212px\">Types<\/th>\n<th style=\"height: 15px;width: 340px\">Subtypes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 88px\">\n<td style=\"height: 88px;width: 212.5px\">Declarative Memory<br \/>\n(a.k.a. explicit memory)<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 88px;width: 340.5px\">\n<ul>\n<li>Semantic: information about the world<\/li>\n<li>Episodic: information about our specific experiences in the world<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px\">\n<td style=\"height: 15px;width: 212.5px\">Non-Declarative Memory<br \/>\n(a.k.a. implicit memory)<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;width: 340.5px\">\n<ul>\n<li>Procedural: information we are not conscious of remembering that we use everyday for things like brushing our teeth or riding a bike<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Working Memory<\/h2>\n<p>The last type of memory is the lesser-known one: working memory. In a way, it can be explained simply, but it is also quite complex. In simple terms, working memory involves holding something in short-term memory temporarily while you engage in some kind of additional processing, such as computation, sounding out a word, remembering sequences of a complex task, etc. This additional processing is the \u201cwork\u201d part of working memory. The reality of trying to distinguish working memory from short-term memory is more complicated.<\/p>\n<p>A classic task in the West to measure working memory is the \u201cspan task,\u201d in which a person is asked to repeat increasingly long sequences of items they hear auditorily. I have recorded a version of the task for you to complete. Trust me, this is possibly the best illustration I can give you to explain the difference between short-term memory and working memory.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<h3 class=\"textbox__title\">Exercise<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p><span><\/p>\n<div id=\"h5p-21\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-21\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"21\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Activity: Digit Span Task\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<h3 class=\"textbox__title\"><a id=\"reflection5.2\"><\/a>Reflection Journal<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p><strong>Reflection 5.2<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>In your journal, write down your experience carrying out the first part of the exercise, \u201cDigits Part A.\u201d Did you find it difficult? Did you use any specific strategies?<\/p>\n<p>Next, write down how your experience with \u201cDigits Part B\u201d differed from that of Part A. Why did it differ, do you think? We will discuss this together as a group.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>In your experience of doing the digits task, you were primarily using short-term memory in Part A and working memory in Part B. This is not entirely clear cut because much of our thinking involves holding information briefly in mind, or our short-term memory, while we engage in \u201cwork\u201d on that information. But this happens to varying degrees.<\/p>\n<p>I have used the digits span task in my own research and have interesting experiences with it that I think help to illustrate this point. I administered the task to five-year-olds, and they had great difficulty in Part B (the backward version). You now know from doing the task yourself that it is much more difficult! Here\u2019s why:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">If I say \u201cseven, three, eight\u201d and you have to repeat back \u201cseven, three, eight\u201d you have just heard those numbers, and they are in your short-term memory.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\">But if you have to reverse them to \u201ceight, three, seven,\u201d you are holding the three digits in short-term memory while you do the \u201cwork\u201d of reversing their order. This additional processing uses working memory and thus increases difficulty.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In my work with five-year-olds, even remembering the numbers in Part A in their original order required additional processing because they had to both remember the sequence and reproduce it. Likely, when we are older, numbers are so automatized that simple repetition does not require working memory, but for young children, it may.<\/p>\n<p>Working memory is a complex construct that is not well-defined in many textboks, but has been the centre of Western research on children\u2019s thinking and learning for the last 30 or more years. So, while the definition is not always clear, consider the examples in the knowledge check below.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox textbox--exercises\">\n<header class=\"textbox__header\">\n<h2 class=\"textbox__title\">Knowledge Check<\/h2>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"textbox__content\">\n<p>Determine if the following tasks require a child&#8217;s working memory.<\/p>\n<div id=\"h5p-13\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-13\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"13\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"Knowledge Check: Working Memory\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":512,"menu_order":2,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-880","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":809,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/512"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1263,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/880\/revisions\/1263"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/809"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/880\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=880"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=880"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.library.torontomu.ca\/childthink\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}