Article
Article
Memory
Article By:
Schooler, Jonathan Learning, Research, and Development Center, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Loftus, Elizabeth F. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Last reviewed:July 2022
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.414300
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- Memory, published January 2020:Download PDF
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- Memory, published January 2016:Download PDF
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The mental ability to store and access information that has been acquired through experience. Memory (Fig. 1) is a critical component of practically all aspects of human thinking, including perception, learning, language, and problem solving. Through its elaborate mechanisms for sorting, organizing, and storing information, memory provides people with the building blocks necessary to structure their knowledge of the world and, ultimately, of themselves. See also: Cognition; Information processing (psychology); Learning; Perception; Problem solving (psychology); Psychology
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