Cognitive Psychology
February 12, 2025
Insurance marketplaces are just like other markets. They are full of buyers and sellers i.e. cedant insurance companies as well as reinsurers who have very different objectives. There might be some cedant insurers who might be very conservative whereas there might be others who might be reckless when it comes to risk-taking. The same thing […]
There are several organizations in the world that follow their very own risk management practices. However, there are some practices that are better than others. An international body has been formed to collate and codify such risk management practices. This international body is called the International Risk Governance Committee (IRGC). The International Risk Governance Committee […]
Merely creating a model which calculates the value at risk (VaR) i.e. the greatest possible loss that a company can face in a particular time period is not enough. In order for risk management to be effective, the results provided by the model should actually correlate with reality. Otherwise, the model will make predictions that […]
The study of human memory since ages has been a topic of interest for the school of cognitive psychology. Human memories of all individuals can never be same. Human memory refers to a process of acquisition, storage, retention and retrieval of information. Human memory has the ability to store and recall the previously learnt information, […]
Leadership When Faced with a Perfect Storm of Collapsing World It would not be an exaggeration to say that we are in the midst of a slow motion collapse of our systems and the world in general. Whether it is climate change that is threatening our way of life or excessive debt and extreme inequality […]
Long term memories last for a longer period of time as it has the capacity to store information for a relatively longer period of time and retrieve the same whenever required. Some of the important facts related to long term memory which should be known are provided below:
Information present in the short term memory can be transformed into long term memory by way of association process and rehearsal. Though long term memories can last for days, to several decades or sometimes even the entire lifetime, still it is very much susceptible to forgetting process. The retention capacity or recalling abilities of long term memory depends upon a gamut of factors.
The information processing in human memory takes place exactly like a computer. The information firstly is temporarily stored in the Short Term Memory and then some of the information moves to the Long Term Memory which has relatively a permanent storage capacity just like the way in which information is stored in the computer hard disk. Whenever the information is required, it is retrieved or called out from the long term memory store by using certain environmental cues, which is quite similar to the process of accessing the saved information from a computer.
Memory Consolidation is the process by way of which the brain converts the short term memories to long term memories with the help of synapses. Synapses function like an electrical transmission in the brain which passes from one neuron to another neuron through neurotransmitters. If the frequency of this transfer of electrical signals in the brain would be high, then stronger will be the synapses and this process is called as the process of Potentiation which plays a major role in memory and learning processes. Memory consolidation takes place because of communication which takes place between various parts of the brain like the cerebellum, the hippocampus and the amygdala. Though the hippocampus itself does not store the memories but plays an integral role in consolidation of memories.
The neural networks become much stronger by way of repetition of the same experience and rehearsal. For example, a course which is revised for several times over a period of time can be recalled much easily. Because of the repeat firing of same set of neurons, it becomes much likely that the same set of neurons will be able to repeat the same exercise in the future too if required. As a result, remembrance will be much stronger and the information can be recalled with much accuracy and ease in future too.
Memory Consolidation process can be influenced by multiple factors, prime one being sleep. Sleep helps in processing and consolidation of information, which we have acquired while being awake. Memories should be reconsolidated once the same is recalled as there is always of possibility of forgetting or losing the consolidated information unless it is reconsolidated. By reconsolidating and recalling, memory can be strengthened for a longer period of time. Memories are required to be reconsolidated each time it is being accessed. The memory consolidation process can be enhanced by way of repetition of exposures, rehearsals and by following certain memorization techniques.
Though long-term memories exist for a longer duration, such memories are quite highly susceptible to various kinds of change, interference or misinterpretation of information or trigger some false information. Various factors like brain injuries, trauma, and lesions can adversely affect the long term memory storage capacity. In several cases, old memories interfere with the new memory formation process thus adding difficulties in the entire process of recall. Long term memories can be made stronger or improved by following the below steps:
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