In the activities of a person who manages people or technology, all basic types of memory are manifested to one degree or another.

Types of memory can be divided according to 3 main criteria:

1. According to the nature of mental activity in activity, memory is divided into:
   - motor
   - emotional
   - figurative
   - verbal-logical
2. Based on the duration of fixation and preservation of the material, the following are distinguished:
   - instant (sensory)
   - short-term
   - long-term
   - operational
3. Based on the nature of the goals, activities are divided into:
   - free
   - involuntary

Motor memory - is the basis for memorizing and reproducing movements (riding a bicycle, swimming, playing basketball, playing tennis, etc.). This type of memory forms the basis of labor skills and any motor acts.

Motor memory appears in a child already in the first months of life.

Emotional memory - this is a memory of feelings and emotions that a person once experienced (memory of fear, resentment, shame...). It begins to appear in a child after 6 months of life.

Figurative memory – memory for images, ideas, sounds, smells, tastes. Many researchers divide figurative memory into:
- visual (image loved one, native home),
- auditory (favorite song, mother’s voice),
- tactile (the softness of the fur of a beloved animal, the kiss of a loved one),
- olfactory (the smell of your favorite perfume, aroma favorite flowers),
- taste (taste of your favorite drink, taste of your favorite candies, lemon acidity).

Figurative memory begins to appear in children at 1.5-2 years (at the same time as ideas).

Verbal-logical memory - This is a memory for thoughts, judgments and conclusions. It is also called semantic memory, because. it contains information in the form of verbal concepts and numbers.

Verbal-logical memory manifests itself in 2 cases:
1) only the meaning of the given material is remembered and reproduced, and precise preservation of the original expressions is not required;
2) not only the meaning is remembered, but also the literal verbal expression of thoughts (memorization of thoughts).

Both of these types of memory may not coincide with each other. For example, there are people who remember well the meaning of what they read, but cannot always accurately and firmly memorize the material. Along with this, there are people who easily learn by heart, but cannot reproduce the text in their own words.

The development of both types of verbal-logical memory also does not occur parallel to each other. Children sometimes learn by heart more easily than adults.

Instantaneous (sensory) memory is a memory that retains information perceived by the senses for several seconds without processing it. Managing this memory is almost impossible.

Short-term memory – a type of memory characterized by a relatively short information storage time (up to 30 seconds). To remember some information, a person makes volitional efforts.

Volume short term memory determined by simple exercise: a person is asked to remember a certain number of words (or numbers, or pictures) in a minute. Then the person immediately reproduces what he remembers. People differ in the number of words they remember, i.e. have different amounts of short-term memory. The volume of short-term memory characterizes a person’s natural memory and remains throughout life.

Short-term memory plays a very important role in human life. Thanks to it, a significant amount of information is processed, unnecessary information is immediately eliminated and potentially useful remains. As a result, long-term memory is not overloaded.

Most of the information from short-term memory is erased, but some goes into working memory. This process is facilitated by certain conditions: the importance of information for the subject, constant repetition of information, the presence of emotions when memorizing, etc.

RAM – this is the memorization of certain information for the time necessary to perform a particular action; The storage duration is determined by the time the action is performed.

In RAM, information is stored from several minutes to several hours (days), most often one day - from awakening to sleep, after which one part of it goes into long-term memory, and the other is erased. The storage period of information in RAM is related to the task facing a person. In this case, the logical processing of information received during the day occurs during “slow” sleep, and its translation into long-term memory occurs during “rapid” sleep.

Without good short-term memory, normal functioning of long-term memory is impossible. Transfer from short-term memory to long-term memory is carried out through volitional effort. Moreover, much more information can be transferred into long-term memory than the individual capacity of short-term memory allows. This is achieved by repeating the material that needs to be memorized. As a result, the total volume of memorized material increases.

Long-term memory - this is a memory for images, “calculated” for long-term preservation of their traces in consciousness and subsequent repeated use in future life activities. It forms the basis of solid knowledge. Long-term memory contains everything we know about the world.

Long-term memory has an almost limitless capacity. Most important information remains in a person's long-term memory for life.

Arbitrary memory - intentional (volitional) memorization of an image, associated with some purpose and carried out using special techniques. For example, a student remembering certain information to pass an exam.

Involuntary memory is the memorization of information without the intention of remembering. A person most often remembers what he does (and not what he thinks about); what is also well remembered is that which is related to the person’s range of knowledge and interests.

Memory as a system of processes for organizing information for the purposes of remembering, preserving and reproducing can also be considered as a substructure of intelligence - a systemic interaction between cognitive abilities and the knowledge available to an individual. Being the most important characteristic of all mental processes, memory ensures the unity and integrity of the human personality.

Irina Bazan

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What is memory

What we sense and perceive does not disappear without a trace; everything is remembered to one degree or another. Excitations coming into the brain from external and internal stimuli leave “traces” in it that can persist for many years. These “traces” (combinations of nerve cells) create the possibility of excitation even when the stimulus that caused it is absent. Based on this, a person can remember and save, and subsequently reproduce his feelings, perceptions of any objects, thoughts, speech, actions.

Just like sensation and perception, memory is a process of reflection, and not only what acts directly on the senses is reflected, but also what took place in the past.

Memory- this is the remembering, preservation and subsequent reproduction of what we previously perceived, experienced or did. In other words, memory is a reflection of a person’s experience by remembering, preserving and reproducing it.

Memory is an amazing property of human consciousness, it is the renewal in our consciousness of the past, images of what once impressed us.

In old age I live again, The past passes before me. How long has it been full of events, worrying like a sea-ocean?

Now it is silent and calm, Not many faces have been preserved in my memory, Few words reach me, But the rest has perished irrevocably...

A.S. Pushkin."Boris Godunov"

No other mental function can be carried out without the participation of memory. And memory itself is unthinkable outside of other mental processes. THEM. Sechenov noted that without memory, our sensations and perceptions, “disappearing without a trace as they arise, would leave a person forever in the position of a newborn.”

Let's imagine a person who has lost his memory. The student was woken up in the morning and told to have breakfast and go to class. Most likely he would not have come to the institute, and if he had come, he would not have known what to do there, he would have forgotten who he was, what his name was, where he lived, etc., he would have forgotten his native language and could not say a word . The past would no longer exist for him, the present is hopeless, since he cannot remember anything, cannot learn anything.

When remembering any images, thoughts, words, feelings, movements, we always remember them in a certain connection with each other. Without establishing certain connections, neither memorization, nor recognition, nor reproduction is possible. What does it mean to memorize a poem? This means remembering a series of words in a certain connection, sequence. What does it mean to remember some foreign word, for example the French “la table”? This means establishing a connection between this word and the object that it denotes, or the Russian word “table”. The connections that underlie memory activity are called associations. Association is a connection between separate representations in which one of these representations causes another.

Objects or phenomena that are connected in reality are also connected in human memory. To remember something means to connect what is being remembered with something, to weave what needs to be remembered into a network of existing connections, to form associations.

There are a few types of associations:

- by adjacency: perception or thought about one object or phenomenon entails the recall of other objects and phenomena adjacent to the first in space or time (this is how a sequence of actions is remembered, for example);

- by similarity: images of objects, phenomena or their thoughts evoke memories of something similar to them. These associations underlie poetic metaphors, for example, the sound of waves is likened to the talking of people;

- by contrast: sharply different phenomena are associated - noise and silence, high and low, good and evil, white and black, etc.

Various associations are involved in the process of memorization and reproduction. For example, we remember the surname of a person we know, a) passing near the house in which he lives, b) meeting someone similar to him, c) calling another surname, which comes from a word opposite in meaning to the one from which the surname comes a friend, for example, Belov - Chernov.

In the process of memorization and reproduction, semantic connections play an extremely important role: cause - effect, the whole - its part, the general - the particular.

Memory connects a person’s past with his present and ensures the unity of personality. A person needs to know a lot and remember a lot, more and more with every year of life. Books, records, tape recorders, cards in libraries, computers help a person remember, but the main thing is his own memory.

In Greek mythology, there is the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne (or Mnemosyne, from the Greek word for "memory"). By the name of its goddess, memory in psychology is often called a mnemonic activity.

In scientific psychology, the problem of memory is “the same age as psychology as a science” (P.P. Blonsky). Memory is a very complex mental process, therefore, despite numerous studies, a unified theory of memory mechanisms has not yet been created. New scientific evidence shows that memory processes involve complex electrical and chemical changes in the brain's nerve cells.

Types of memory

The forms of manifestation of memory are very diverse, since it is associated with various spheres of a person’s life, with his characteristics.

All types of memory can be divided into three groups:

1) What a person remembers (objects and phenomena, thoughts, movements, feelings).

Accordingly, they distinguish: motor, emotional, verbal-logical And aboutdifferent memory;

2) How a person remembers (accidentally or intentionally). Here they highlight arbitrary And involuntary memory;

3) how long the memorized information is saved.

This short-term, long-term And operational memory.

Motor (or motor) memory allows you to remember abilities, skills, various movements and actions. If it were not for this type of memory, then a person would have to learn to walk, write, and perform various activities all over again.

Emotional memory helps to remember the feelings, emotions, experiences that we experienced in certain situations. Here's how A.S. talks about it. Pushkin:

I thought my heart had forgotten the ability to suffer easily, I said: what happened will never happen! It won't happen! Delights and sorrows are gone, And gullible dreams...

But here we are again in awe of the powerful power of beauty.

K.S. Stanislavsky wrote about emotional memory: “Since you are able to turn pale and blush at the mere memory of what you have experienced, since you are afraid to think about a misfortune experienced long ago, you have a memory for feelings, or emotional memory.”

Emotional memory is of great importance in the formation of a person’s personality, being the most important condition for his spiritual development.

Semantic, or verbal-logical memory is expressed in the memorization, preservation and reproduction of thoughts, concepts, reflections, and verbal formulations. The form of thought reproduction depends on the level speech development person. The less developed speech is, the more difficult it is to express the meaning in your own words.

Figurative memory.

This type of memory is associated with our sense organs, thanks to which a person perceives the world. In accordance with our senses, there are 5 types of figurative memory: auditory, visual, olfactory, gustatory, tactile. These types of figurative memory are developed unevenly in humans; one is always predominant.

Arbitrary memory presupposes the presence of a special goal to remember, which a person sets and applies appropriate techniques for this, making volitional efforts.

Involuntary memory does not imply a special goal to remember or recall this or that material, incident, phenomenon; they are remembered as if by themselves, without the use of special techniques, without volitional efforts. Involuntary memory is an inexhaustible source of knowledge. In the development of memory, involuntary memorization precedes voluntary memorization. It is very important to understand that a person involuntarily remembers not everything, but what is connected with his personality and activities. What we involuntarily remember, first of all, is what we like, what we noticed by chance, what we are actively and enthusiastically working on.

Therefore, involuntary memory also has an active character. Animals already have involuntary memory. However, “the animal remembers, but the animal does not remember. In man, we clearly distinguish both of these phenomena of memory” (K. Ushinsky). The best way remember and retain in memory for a long time - apply knowledge in practice. In addition, memory does not want to retain in consciousness what contradicts the attitudes of the individual.

Short-term and long-term memory.

These two types of memory differ in the duration of retention of what a person remembers. Short-term memory has a relatively short duration - a few seconds or minutes. It is sufficient for accurate reproduction of events that have just occurred, objects and phenomena that have just been perceived. After a short time, the impressions disappear, and the person usually finds himself unable to remember anything from what he perceived. Long-term memory ensures long-term retention of material. What is important here is the attitude to remember for a long time, the need for this information for the future, and its personal significance for a person.

They also highlight operational memory, which is understood as remembering some information for the time necessary to perform an operation, a separate act of activity. For example, in the process of solving any problem, it is necessary to retain in memory the initial data and intermediate operations, which may later be forgotten, until the result is obtained.

In the process of human development, the relative sequence of formation of types of memory looks something like this:

All types of memory are necessary and valuable in themselves; in the process of a person’s life and growing up, they do not disappear, but are enriched and interact with each other.

Memory processes

The basic processes of memory are memorization, reproduction, storage, recognition, forgetting. The quality of operation of the entire memory apparatus is judged by the nature of reproduction.

Memory begins with remembering. Memorization- this is a memory process that ensures the preservation of material in memory as the most important condition for its subsequent reproduction.

Memorization can be unintentional or intentional. At unintentional memorization a person does not set a goal to remember and does not make any effort for this. Memorization happens “by itself.” This is how one remembers mainly that which vividly interests a person or evokes in him a strong and deep feeling: “I will never forget this!” But any activity requires that a person remember many things that are not remembered by themselves. Then comes into effect deliberate, conscious remembering, i.e. the goal is to remember the material.

Memorization can be mechanical and semantic. Rote is based mainly on the consolidation of individual connections and associations. Semantic memorization associated with thinking processes. To remember new material, a person must understand it, comprehend it, i.e. find deep and meaningful relationships between this new material and existing knowledge.

If the main condition for mechanical memorization is repetition, then the condition for semantic memorization is understanding.

Both mechanical and semantic memorization are of great importance in a person’s mental life. When memorizing proofs of a geometric theorem or analyzing historical events or a literary work, semantic memorization comes to the fore. In other cases, remember the house number, telephone number, etc. - the main role belongs to mechanical memorization. In most cases, memory must rely on both comprehension and repetition. This is especially evident in academic work. For example, when memorizing a poem or any rule, you cannot get by with understanding alone, just as you cannot get by with mechanical repetition alone.

If memorization is of a special nature organized work associated with the use of certain techniques for the best assimilation of knowledge, it is called by memorization.

Memorization depends:

a) on the nature of the activity, on the processes of goal setting: voluntary memorization, based on a consciously set goal - to remember, is more effective than involuntary;

b) from installation - remember for a long time or remember for a short time.

We often set out to memorize some material knowing that, in all likelihood, we will only use it on a certain day or until a certain date and that it will not matter then. Indeed, after this period we forget what we have learned.

Emotionally charged material is better learned when a person approaches it with interest and is personally significant to him. This kind of memorization is motivated.

This is very convincingly shown in the story by K. Paustovsky “The Glory of the Boatswain Mironov”:

“...And then an unusual story happened with the boatswain Mironov in the Mayak editorial office...

I don’t remember who - the People’s Commissariat for Foreign Affairs or Vneshtorg - asked the editors to report all the information about Russian ships taken abroad. You need to know that the entire merchant fleet was taken away to understand how difficult it was.

And when we sat through the hot Odessa days over ship lists, when the editorial office was sweating from tension and remembering the old captains, when exhaustion from the confusion of new ship names, flags, tons and “deadweights” reached its highest tension, Mironov appeared in the editorial office.

Give it up,” he said. - So you won't succeed.

I will speak, and you write. Write! The steamer "Jerusalem". Now sailing under the French flag from Marseille to Madagascar, chartered by the French company "Paquet", the crew is French, captain Borisov, the boatswains are all ours, the underwater part has not been cleaned since nineteen seventeen. Write further. The steamer "Muravyov-Apostol" has now been renamed "Anatol". Sails under the English flag, carries grain from Montreal to Liverpool and London, chartered by the Royal Mail Canada Company. The last time I saw him was last year in the fall in New Port Newos.

This lasted three days. For three days from morning to evening, smoking cigarettes, he dictated a list of all the ships of the Russian merchant fleet, calling out their new names, captains' names, voyages, condition of the boilers, crew composition, cargo. The captains just shook their heads. Marine Odessa became agitated. The rumor about the monstrous memory of the boatswain Mironov spread like lightning..."

An active attitude to the learning process is very important, which is impossible without intense attention. For memorization, it is more useful to read the text 2 times with full concentration than to reread it 10 times inattentively. Therefore, trying to memorize something in a state of severe fatigue, drowsiness, when you cannot concentrate properly, is a waste of time. The worst and most uneconomical way to memorize is to mechanically reread the text while waiting for it to be remembered. Reasonable and economical memorization is active work on the text, which involves the use of a number of techniques for better memorization.

V.D. Shadrikov, for example, offers the following methods of random or organized memorization:

Grouping - dividing material into groups for some reason (by meaning, associations, etc.), highlighting strong points (thesis, titles, questions, examples, etc., in this sense, compiling cheat sheets is useful for memorizing ), plan - a set of support points; classification - distribution of any objects, phenomena, concepts into classes, groups based on common characteristics.

Structuring the material is the establishment of the relative arrangement of the parts that make up the whole.

Schematization is an image or description of something in its main features.

Analogy is the establishment of similarities, similarities between phenomena, objects, concepts, images.

Mnemonic devices are certain techniques or methods of memorization.

Recoding - verbalization or pronunciation, presentation of information in figurative form.

Completing the memorized material, introducing new things into memorization (using words or intermediary images, situational features, etc. For example, M.Yu. Lermontov was born in 1814, died in 1841).

Associations establishing connections by similarity, contiguity or opposition.

Repetition consciously controlled and not controlled processes of material reproduction. It is necessary to begin attempts to reproduce the text as early as possible, since internal activity strongly mobilizes attention and makes memorization successful. Memorization occurs more quickly and is more durable when repetitions do not immediately follow each other, but are separated by more or less significant periods of time.

Playback- an essential component of memory. Reproduction can occur at three levels: recognition, reproduction itself (voluntary and involuntary), remembering (in conditions of partial forgetting, requiring volitional effort).

Recognition- the simplest form of reproduction. Recognition is the development of a feeling of familiarity when experiencing something again.

Involuntarily, an unknown force draws me to these sad shores.

Everything here reminds me of the past...

A.S. Pushkin."Mermaid"

Playback- a more “blind” process, it is characterized by the fact that images fixed in memory arise without relying on the secondary perception of certain objects. It's easier to learn than to reproduce.

At unintentional reproduction thoughts, words, etc. are remembered by themselves, without any conscious intention on our part. Unintended playback may be caused by associations. We say: “I remembered.” Here thought follows association. At deliberate reproduction we say: “I remember.” Here associations already follow thought.

If reproduction is associated with difficulties, we talk about recollection.

Recall- the most active reproduction, it is associated with tension and requires certain volitional efforts. The success of recall depends on understanding the logical connection between the forgotten material and the rest of the material, which is well preserved in memory. It is important to evoke a chain of associations that indirectly help to remember what is needed. K.D. Ushinsky gave the following advice to teachers: do not impatiently prompt a student trying to remember the material, since the process of remembering itself is useful - what the child himself managed to remember will be remembered well in the future.

When remembering, a person uses various techniques:

1) intentional use of associations - we reproduce in memory various kinds of circumstances directly related to what needs to be remembered, in the hope that they will, by association, evoke forgotten things in our consciousness (for example, where did I put the key? Did I turn it off? I iron when leaving the apartment, etc.);

2) reliance on recognition (we have forgotten the exact patronymic of a person - Pyotr Andreevich, Pyotr Alekseevich, Pyotr Antonovich - we think that if we accidentally find the correct patronymic, we will immediately recognize it, experiencing a feeling of familiarity.

Recall is a complex and very active process that requires persistence and resourcefulness.

The most important of all the qualities that determine the productivity of memory is its readiness - the ability to quickly extract from the stock of remembered information exactly what is needed in the process. this moment. Psychologist K.K. Platonov drew attention to this. that there are families who know a LOT, but all their baggage lies in their memory as dead weight. When you need to remember something, what you need is always forgotten, and what you don’t need just pops into your head. Others may have less luggage, but they have everything at hand, and exactly what they need is always reproduced in their memory.

K.K. Platonov gave useful tips for memorization. You can’t first learn something in general and then develop memory readiness. The readiness of memory itself is formed in the process of memorization, which must necessarily be semantic and during which connections are immediately established between memorization and those cases when this information may be needed. When memorizing something, we need to understand why we are doing it and in what cases this or that information may be needed.

Saving and Forgetting- these are two sides of a single process of long-term retention of perceived information. Preservation - this is retention in memory, and forgetting - it is a disappearance, a loss from the memory of what has been memorized.

IN at different ages, in different life circumstances, in various types activities various material it is forgotten, as it is remembered, in different ways. Forgetting isn't always such a bad thing. How overloaded our memory would be if we remembered absolutely everything! Forgetting, like memorizing, is a selective process that has its own laws.

When remembering, people willingly resurrect the good and forget the bad in their lives (for example, a memory of a hike - difficulties are forgotten, but everything fun and good is remembered). What is forgotten first of all is that which is not of vital importance to a person, does not arouse his interest, and does not occupy a significant place in his activity. What excited us is remembered significantly better than that, which left us indifferent, indifferent.

Thanks to forgetting, a person clears space for new impressions and, freeing memory from a pile of unnecessary details, gives it new opportunity serve our thinking. This is well reflected in popular proverbs, for example: “Whoever needs someone is remembered by him.”

At the end of the 1920s, forgetting was studied by German and Russian psychologists Kurt Lewin and B.V. Zeigarnik. They proved that interrupted actions are retained in memory more firmly than completed ones. An unfinished action leaves a person with subconscious tension and it is difficult for him to concentrate on something else. At the same time, simple monotonous work like knitting cannot be interrupted, it can only be abandoned. But when, for example, a person writes a letter and is interrupted in the middle, a disturbance in the tension system occurs, which does not allow this unfinished action to be forgotten. This interruption of unfinished action is called the Zeigarnik effect.

But forgetting, of course, is not always good, so we often struggle with it. One of the means of such struggle is repetition. Any knowledge that is not consolidated by repetition is gradually forgotten. But for better preservation, variety must be introduced into the repetition process itself.

Forgetting begins soon after memorization and at first proceeds at a particularly rapid pace. In the first 5 days, more is forgotten after memorization than in the next 5 days. Therefore, you should repeat what you have learned not when it has already been forgotten, but while forgetting has not yet begun. To prevent forgetting, a quick repetition is enough, but to restore what has been forgotten requires a lot of work.

But this doesn't always happen. Experiments show that reproduction is often most complete not immediately after memorization, but after a day, two or even three days. During this time, the learned material is not only not forgotten, but, on the contrary, is consolidated in memory. This is observed mainly when memorizing extensive material. This leads to a practical conclusion: you should not think that you can best answer in an exam what you learned immediately before the exam, for example, on the same morning.

More favorable conditions for reproduction are created when the learned material “rests” for some time. It is necessary to take into account the fact that subsequent activities, which are very similar to the previous one, can sometimes “erase” the results of previous memorization. This sometimes happens if you study literature after history.

Forgetting can be a consequence of various disordersmemory:

1) senile, when old man remembers early childhood, but doesn’t remember all the upcoming events,

2) with a concussion, the same phenomena are often observed as in old age,

3) split personality - after sleep a person imagines himself to others, forgets everything about himself.

It is often difficult for a person to remember anything specifically. To make memorization easier, people came up with different ways, they are called memorization techniques or mnemonics. Let's list some of them.

1. Rhyme technique. Any person remembers poetry better than prose. Therefore, it will be difficult to forget the rules of behavior on the escalator in the subway, if you present them in the form of a humorous quatrain:

Don’t put canes, umbrellas and suitcases on the steps, don’t lean on the railings, stand on the right, pass on the left.

Or, for example, in the Russian language there are eleven exception verbs that are not easy to remember. What if we rhyme them?

See, hear and offend, persecute, endure and hate,

And turn, look, hold,

And depend and breathe,

Look, -it, -at, -yat write.

Or, so as not to confuse the bisector and the median in geometry:

A bisector is a rat that runs around the corners and divides the corner in half.

The median is the kind of monkey that jumps to a side and divides it equally.

Or, to remember all the colors of the rainbow, remember the funny sentence: “How Jacques the bell-ringer once broke a lantern with his head.” Here, each word and color begins with one letter - red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.

2. A number of mnemonic techniques are used when memorizing the dates of birth of famous people or significant events. For example, I.S. Turgenev was born in 1818 (18-18), A.S. Pushkin was born one year earlier than the 19th century (1799), M.Yu. Lermontov was born in 1814 and died in 1841 (14-41).

3. To remember which is the organ of daytime vision and which is the organ of night vision - rods or cones, you can remember the following: it is easier to go with a rod at night, but in the laboratory they work with cones during the day.

Memory qualities

What is good and bad memory?

Memory starts with memorization the information that our senses receive from the world around us. All images, words, impressions in general must be retained, remain in our memory. In psychology this process is called - preservation. When necessary, we reproduce previously seen, heard, experienced. It is by reproduction that the quality of operation of the entire memory apparatus is judged.

Good memory is the ability to remember quickly and a lot, to reproduce accurately and on time.

However, all a person’s successes and failures, his victories and losses, discoveries and mistakes cannot be attributed to memory alone. No wonder the French thinker F. La Rochefoucauld wittily remarked: “Everyone complains about their memory, but no one complains about their mind.”

So, memory qualities:

1) speed of memorization. However, it acquires value only in combination with other qualities;

2) preservation strength;

3) memory accuracy - absence of distortions, omissions of essential things;

4) memory readiness- the ability to quickly retrieve from memory reserves what is needed at the moment.

Not all people quickly memorize material, remember for a long time and accurately reproduce or remember exactly at the very moment when it is needed. Yes, and this manifests itself differently in relation to different materials, depending on a person’s interests, his profession, and personal characteristics. Some people remember faces well, but poorly remember mathematical material; others have a good musical memory, but poor memory for literary texts, etc. In schoolchildren and students, poor memorization of material often does not depend on bad memory, but from poor attention, from lack of interest in a given subject, etc.

Performance

One of the main manifestations of memory is reproduction of images. Images of objects and phenomena that we do not perceive at the moment are called presentations. Ideas arise as a result of the revival of previously formed temporary connections; they can be evoked through the mechanism of associations, using words or descriptions.

Representations are different from concepts. The concept has a more generalized and abstract character, the representation has a visual character. A representation is an image of an object, a concept is a thought about an object. Thinking about something and imagining something are not the same thing. For example, a thousandgon - there is a concept, but it cannot be imagined. The source of ideas are sensations and perceptions - visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic.

Representations are characterized by clarity, i.e. direct similarity with the corresponding objects and phenomena (we internally or mentally “see”, “hear”, “smell”, “feel” touch, etc.).

I see Pavlovsk as hilly. The round meadow, lifeless water, The most languid and the most shady, After all, it will never be forgotten.

A. Akhmatova

But ideas are usually much poorer than perceptions. Representations never convey with equal brightness all the features and characteristics of objects; only individual features are clearly reproduced.

Ideas are very unstable and fickle. The exception is people who have highly developed ideas related to their profession, for example, musicians have auditory ones, artists have visual ones, tasters have olfactory ones, etc.

Representations are the result of processing and generalization of past perceptions. Without perceptions, ideas could not be formed: those born blind have no ideas about colors and colors, those born deaf have no ideas of sound.

Representation is more accurately called memory representation, since it is associated with the work of figurative memory. The difference between ideas and perceptions is that ideas give a more generalized reflection of objects. The representations generalize individual perceptions, emphasize the constant signs of things and phenomena, and omit the random signs that were previously present in individual perceptions. For example, we see a tree - an image of perception, we imagine a tree - the image is duller, more vague and inaccurate.

Representation is a generalized reflection of the surrounding world. We say “river” and imagine it: two banks, flowing water. We saw many different rivers; the presentation reflects visual signs characteristic of objects and phenomena. We can only perceive a specific river - the Volga, Moscow River, Kama, Yenisei, Oka, etc., the image of perception is accurate.

To imagine means to mentally see or mentally hear something, and not just to know. Representation is a higher level of cognition than perception, they are a stage of transition from sensation to thought, it is a visual and at the same time generalized image, reflecting the characteristic features of an object.

We can imagine the sound of a steamboat, the taste of lemon, the smell of gasoline, perfume, flowers, touching something, or a toothache. Of course, anyone who has never had toothache cannot imagine this. Usually, when telling something, we ask: “Can you imagine?!”

In the formation of general ideas, speech plays a crucial role, naming a number of objects in one word.

Ideas are formed in the process of human activity, therefore, depending on the profession, one type of ideas predominantly develops. But the division of ideas by type is very arbitrary.

There are several main approaches to memory classification. Currently, as the most general basis for distinguishing different types of memory, it is customary to consider the dependence of memory characteristics on the characteristics of memorization and reproduction activities. At the same time, individual types of memory are distinguished in accordance with three main criteria: 1) according to the nature of mental activity prevailing in the activity, memory is divided into motor, emotional, figurative and verbal-logical; 2) according to the nature of the goals of the activity - involuntary and voluntary; 3) according to the duration of consolidation and preservation of the material (in connection with its role and place in the activity) - short-term, long-term and operational (Fig. 3).

Rice. 3. Classification of main types of memory

The classification of types of memory according to the nature of mental activity was first proposed by P.P. Blonsky. Although all four types of memory he identified (motor, emotional, figurative and verbal-logical) do not exist independently of each other, and moreover, are in close interaction, Blonsky was able to determine the differences between individual types of memory.

Let's look at the characteristics of these four types of memory.

Motor (or motor) memory - this is memorizing, preserving and reproducing various movements. Motor memory is the basis for the formation of various practical and work skills, as well as the skills of walking, writing, etc. Without memory for movements, we would have to learn to carry out the appropriate actions every time. True, when reproducing movements, we do not always repeat them exactly in the same form as before. There is undoubtedly some variability in them, a deviation from the initial movements. But the general character of the movements is still preserved. For example, such stability of movements, regardless of the circumstances, is characteristic of writing movements (handwriting) or some of our motor habits: how we shake hands when greeting a friend, how we use cutlery, etc.

Movements are most accurately reproduced under the conditions in which they were performed previously. In completely new, unusual conditions, we often reproduce movements with great imperfection. It is not difficult to repeat movements if we are accustomed to performing them using a certain instrument or with the help of certain people, but in new conditions we were deprived of this opportunity. It is also very difficult to repeat movements if they were previously part of some complex action, but now they must be reproduced separately. All this is explained by the fact that we reproduce movements not in isolation from what they were previously connected with, but only on the basis of previously formed connections.

Motor memory develops very early in a child. Its first manifestations date back to the first month of life. Initially, it is expressed only in motor conditioned reflexes developed in children already at this time. Subsequently, memorization and reproduction of movements begin to take on a conscious character, closely connecting with the processes of thinking, will, etc. It should be especially noted that by the end of the first year of life, the child’s motor memory reaches a level of development that is necessary for the acquisition of speech.

It should be noted that the development of motor memory is not limited to infancy or the first years of life. Memory development occurs in more late time. Thus, motor memory in children before school age reaches a level of development that allows them to perform finely coordinated actions associated with mastering written language. Therefore, at different stages of development, the manifestations of motor memory are qualitatively heterogeneous.

Emotional memory - this is a memory for feelings. This type memory lies in our ability to remember and reproduce feelings. Emotions always signal how our needs and interests are satisfied, how our relationships with the outside world are carried out. Therefore, emotional memory is very important in the life and activities of every person. Feelings experienced and stored in memory act as signals that either encourage action or deter actions that caused negative experiences in the past.

It should be noted that reproduced, or secondary, feelings may differ significantly from the original ones. This can be expressed both in a change in the strength of feelings, and in a change in their content and character.

The strength of the reproduced feeling may be weaker or stronger than the primary one. For example, grief is replaced by sadness, and delight or intense joy is replaced by calm satisfaction; in another case, the resentment suffered earlier is aggravated by the memory of it, and anger intensifies.

Significant changes can also occur in the content of our feelings. For example, what we previously experienced as an annoying misunderstanding can, over time, be reproduced as a funny incident, or an event that was spoiled by minor troubles, over time begins to be remembered as very pleasant.

The first manifestations of memory in a child are observed towards the end of the first six months of life. At this time, the child can rejoice or cry at the mere sight of what previously gave him pleasure or pain. However, the initial manifestations of emotional memory differ significantly from later ones. This difference lies in the fact that if at the early stages of a child’s development emotional memory is conditioned reflex in nature, then at higher stages of development emotional memory is conscious.

Figurative memory - this is a memory for ideas, pictures of nature and life, as well as for sounds, smells, tastes, etc. The essence of figurative memory is that what was previously perceived is then reproduced in the form of ideas. When characterizing figurative memory, one should keep in mind all those features that are characteristic of ideas, and above all their pallor, fragmentation and instability. These characteristics are also inherent in this type of memory, so the reproduction of what was previously perceived often diverges from its original. Moreover, over time, these differences can deepen significantly.

The deviation of ideas from the original image of perception can take two paths: confusion of images or differentiation of images. In the first case, the image of perception loses its specific features and what the object has in common with other similar objects or phenomena comes to the fore. In the second case, the features characteristic of this image, in the memory intensify, emphasizing the originality of the object or phenomenon.

Particular attention should be paid to the question of what determines the ease of reproducing an image. In answering this question, two main factors can be identified. Firstly, the nature of reproduction is influenced by the content features of the image, the emotional coloring of the image and the general state of the person at the moment of perception. Thus, even a hallucinatory reproduction of what was seen can cause a strong emotional shock. Secondly, the ease of reproduction largely depends on the state of the person at the time of reproduction. Recall of what has been seen is observed in a vivid figurative form, most often during quiet rest after severe fatigue, as well as in a drowsy state preceding sleep.

The accuracy of reproduction is largely determined by the degree to which speech is involved in perception. What was named during perception, described in a word, is reproduced more accurately.

It should be noted that many researchers divide figurative memory into visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory. Such a division is associated with the predominance of one or another type of reproduced ideas.

Figurative memory begins to manifest itself in children at approximately the same time as ideas, i.e., at one and a half to two years. If visual and auditory memory are usually well developed and play a leading role in people's lives, then tactile, olfactory and gustatory memory in a certain sense can be called professional types memory. Like the corresponding sensations, these types of memory develop especially intensively in connection with specific conditions of activity, reaching an amazingly high level in conditions of compensation or replacement of missing types of memory, for example, in the blind, deaf, etc.

Verbal-logical memory is expressed in remembering and reproducing our thoughts. We remember and reproduce the thoughts that arose in us during the process of thinking, thinking, we remember the content of a book we read, a conversation with friends.

The peculiarity of this type of memory is that thoughts do not exist without language, which is why memory for them is called not just logical, but verbal-logical. In this case, verbal-logical memory manifests itself in two cases: a) only the meaning of the given material is remembered and reproduced, and precise preservation of the original expressions is not required; b) not only the meaning is remembered, but also the literal verbal expression of thoughts (memorization of thoughts). If in the latter case the material is not subject to semantic processing at all, then its literal memorization turns out to be no longer logical, but mechanical memorization.

Both of these types of memory may not coincide with each other. For example, there are people who remember well the meaning of what they read, but cannot always accurately and firmly memorize the material, and people who easily memorize, but cannot reproduce the text “in their own words.”

The development of both types of verbal-logical memory also does not occur parallel to each other. Children sometimes learn by heart more easily than adults. At the same time, adults, on the contrary, have significant advantages over children in remembering meaning. This is explained by the fact that when memorizing the meaning, first of all, what is most essential, the most significant is remembered. In this case, it is obvious that identifying the essential in the material depends on understanding the material, so adults remember the meaning more easily than children. Conversely, children can easily remember details, but remember the meaning much less well.

In verbal-logical memory, the main role is given to the second signaling system, since verbal-logical memory is a specifically human memory, in contrast to motor, emotional and figurative memory, which in their simplest forms are also characteristic of animals. Based on the development of other types of memory, verbal-logical memory becomes leading in relation to them, and the development of all other types of memory largely depends on the level of its development.

We have already said that all types of memory are closely related to each other and do not exist independently of each other. For example, when we master any motor activity, we rely not only on motor memory, but also on all its other types, since in the process of mastering an activity we remember not only movements, but also the explanations given to us, our experiences and impressions. Therefore, in each specific process, all types of memory are interconnected.

There is, however, a division of memory into types that is directly related to the characteristics of the activity itself. So, depending on the goals of the activity, memory is divided into involuntary And arbitrary . In the first case, we mean memorization and reproduction, which is carried out automatically, without volitional efforts of a person, without control by consciousness. In this case, there is no special goal to remember or remember something, i.e., no special mnemonic task is set. In the second case, such a task is present, and the process itself requires volitional effort.

Involuntary memory is not necessarily weaker than voluntary memory. On the contrary, it often happens that involuntarily memorized material is reproduced better than material that was specifically memorized. For example, an involuntary heard phrase or perceived visual information is often remembered more reliably than if we specifically tried to remember it. Material that is in the center of attention is involuntarily remembered, and especially when certain mental work is associated with it.

There is also a division of memory into short-term And long-term . Short-term memory is a type of memory characterized by very brief retention of perceived information. From one point of view, short-term memory is somewhat similar to involuntary memory. As in the case of involuntary memory, short-term memory does not use special mnemonic techniques. But unlike involuntary memory, with short-term memory we make certain volitional efforts to remember.

A manifestation of short-term memory is the case when the subject is asked to read words or is given very little time to memorize them (about one minute), and then is asked to immediately reproduce what he remembers. Naturally, people differ in the number of words they remember. This is because they have different amounts of short-term memory.

The capacity of short-term memory varies from person to person. It characterizes a person’s natural memory and is preserved, as a rule, throughout life. The volume of short-term memory characterizes the ability to mechanically, i.e., without the use of special techniques, remember perceived information.

Short-term memory plays a very important role in human life. Thanks to it, a significant amount of information is processed, unnecessary information is immediately eliminated and potentially useful remains. As a result, long-term memory is not overloaded. In general, short-term memory is of great importance for organizing thinking, and in this it is very similar to working memory.

Concept RAM denote mnemonic processes that serve actual actions and operations directly carried out by a person. When we perform any complex operation, such as arithmetic, we carry it out in parts. At the same time, we keep some intermediate results “in mind” as long as we are dealing with them. As we move towards the final result, specific “worked out” material may be forgotten. We observe a similar phenomenon when performing any more or less complex action. The parts of the material with which a person operates may be different (for example, a child begins to read by folding letters). The volume of these parts, the so-called operational memory units, significantly affects the success of performing a particular activity. Therefore, for memorizing material, the formation of optimal operational memory units is of great importance.

Without good short-term memory, normal functioning of long-term memory is impossible. Only what was once in short-term memory can penetrate into the latter and be deposited for a long time, therefore short-term memory acts as a kind of buffer that passes only the necessary, already selected information into long-term memory. At the same time, the transition of information from short-term to long-term memory is associated with a number of features. Thus, short-term memory mainly contains the last five or six units of information received through the senses. Transfer from short-term memory to long-term memory is carried out through volitional effort. Moreover, much more information can be transferred into long-term memory than the individual capacity of short-term memory allows. This is achieved by repeating the material that needs to be memorized. As a result, the total volume of memorized material increases.

Elena Sycheva
Development of figurative memory in children of senior preschool age

Development of figurative memory in children of senior preschool age

Memory can be determined like remembering, storing, reproducing (forgetting) past experience. Figurative memory associated with remembering and reproducing sensory images of objects and phenomena. Their properties and visually given connections and relationships between them. Images may be of varying degrees difficulties: images individual objects and generalized representations, in which certain abstract content can be fixed. Figurative memory is flexible, spontaneous and ensures long-term storage of the trace.

Figurative memory- a direct consequence of evolution. For millions of years man lived in the wild. From the state of its signal systems: sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell depended on life itself. The feeling of constant readiness for a dangerous situation organized thinking, reaction, attention, memory. After all, this is a storehouse of experience experienced by a person and something valuable to him. So way, figurative memory has developed in humans through the process of natural selection. Further development person has already been determined development of verbal memory.

Everyone knows the state of insight, when it seems that you understand everything to such depths, everything is accessible to your thoughts, such sharpness and clarity imagination. And all this looks so pale and dull when you translate it into words. It's easy to imagine a fork, and to describe it in words, you have to work hard. The simplicity here is apparent. First you need to perceive, then understand, then - find the words. Not everyone is able to describe something well, but in everyone is brilliant in the imagination. Everyone dreams, but these are internal works of art. And for the description it is necessary to select mnemonic supports that will allow you to remember what is not entirely clear. Therefore, mnemonists introduce elements figurative memory, saying that the meaning must first be understood. Man with words memory falls into a vicious circle. To improve memory- you need to study and train specially all the time. By the age of twenty-five, verbal memory becomes overwhelmed with perceived information - most of it unnecessary - and the ability to remember new things drops sharply. And along with her, the already useless and without memory ability.

Mechanism figurative memory completely opposite. First, a person perceives events, numbers, letters, words through the previously mentioned insight, which is translated not into a small circle of knowledge expressed by a limited stock of words, but into that unlimited stock images, which the world around us generously supplies. Abstract (verbal) thinking is a scheme. AND images inserted into it like pages into a book. They are stored as long as necessary. When necessary, they appear in the mind's eye. And if so, then our abstract thinking is free and can do with flipping images of anything: make amendments to the diagram, think out any missing details.

What gives us figurative memory? A certain circle of words and concepts are united around a certain sphere of professional activity - a relatively closed part of the real world. In order to prepare children to perception and activities, it is necessary to restore the destroyed child’s integrity, bright, figurative perception of the world.

Peculiarities development of figurative memory in children of senior preschool age

Memory development in childhood least of all can be imagined as a process of gradual quantitative growth or maturation.

In his memory development undergoes a dramatic history, full of deep qualitative restructuring and fundamental changes in both its structure and relationships with other mental processes.

There are many reasons to assume that the ability to imprint and preserve traces in the first years of life is no weaker, but even stronger, than in subsequent years, and that visual memory is developed a child has much more than an adult; L.N. Tolstoy repeatedly said that almost half of all the memories he had were formed in the first years of his life.

However memory a child of the third and fourth year of life, along with strength, also has its own weaknesses: it is difficult to organize, to make selective, it is not yet in any way arbitrary memory, for which it is possible to purposefully remember what is needed, selecting imprinted traces from all the others.

Such a contradictory character development, some reduction in the possibility of direct visual figurative memory along with increasing controllability of mnestic processes is the first distinctive feature memory development in childhood.

Another distinguishing feature memory development is gradual development mediated memorization and the transition from direct, natural to mediated, verbal-logical forms memory.

This basic fact memory development was once studied in detail by L. S. Vygodsky and his colleagues (A. N. Leontiev and L. V. Zankov).

Vygotsky's experiments made it possible to establish that a child's memorization preschool age in its predominant part is not yet arbitrary (and therefore difficult to manage) character. A different picture emerged when researchers carried out the same experiments on the younger ones, and then on senior schoolchildren. Children of this age Naturally, they had better control over their memorization processes and therefore performed better in the experiment with direct memorization of the series of words proposed to them. However, the most significant shift observed in school age, was that children were now able to use external auxiliary means for the memorization process, to establish auxiliary connections that gave them the opportunity to use pictures as reference signs for memorizing the desired word.

Experiments clearly showed that school age was a stage, when along with the immediate memory the child develops processes of indirect memorization, and the transition to research in memory of elders schoolchildren and adults made it possible to describe the next stage of its development.

Process memory development in childhood turns out to be, so way, a process of radical psychological restructuring, the essence of which boils down to the fact that natural immediate forms of memorization turn into complex, social in origin "higher psychological processes", decisive way distinguishing human psychological processes from animal psychological processes.

Let us consider the main provisions of P. P. Blonsky’s theory about development of the main types of memory in ontogenesis. The main thing in this concept is the provision that 4 types memory(motor, emotional, figurative and verbal) these are genetically determined stages of it development, appearing in exactly this sequence. Figurative memory there is an earlier and lower level memory development compared to verbal (verbal).

Most early view- motor or motor memory finds its initial expression in the first motor conditioned reflexes children, first of all in that a kind of conditioned reaction, which occurs when the baby is picked up in the feeding position. This reaction is observed already in the first month after birth. The beginning of an emotional or affective reaction before the direct action of the stimulus that causes it is attributed by P. P. Blonsky to the first six months of a child’s life.

The first rudiments of free memories, with which, according to Blonsky, it would perhaps be most cautious to associate the beginning figurative memory, refers to them in the second year of life. At the same time, other data indicate the possibility of an earlier or, conversely, more late appearance figurative memory. So, if we allow participation images in the so-called"messenger" memory, when a child remembers something associated with a present stimulus, then the beginning of this participation should be considered age from 6 months. On the contrary, if we proceed from the study of a child’s dreams and consider the so-called "night terror" children, it can be assumed, that images, at least in dreams, are available starting from the age of two age. The terms indicated by Blonsky do not contradict each other, since we are talking about different indicators of availability images. However, the difference between the terms is still very significant, and which of the indicated indicators is sufficiently reliable remains unclear. Therefore, we should recognize to a certain extent correct Blonsky’s statement that we do not yet know when children images. The most careful thing to do under such conditions is to do the following: conclusion: figurative memory appears somewhat earlier than the verbal-logical one, but much later than the motor and emotional one.

Earlier appearance figurative memory does not mean its subsequent disappearance and replacement by verbal memory. However figurative memory, according to Blonsky, continues to be more low level memory compared to verbal. This also applies to the most developed - visual memory images, which arises most easily when a person’s consciousness is at a lower level than when he is completely, completely awake. According to Blonsky, due to the relative poverty of visual memory another, higher type is incomparably more beneficial for a child memory - memory-story.

Memory- the story is, according to P. P. Blonsky, a genuine verbal memory, which must be distinguished from memorizing and reproducing speech movements, for example, when memorizing meaningless verbal material.

Representing the highest level memory, memory-story, in turn, does not immediately appear in the most perfect forms. She goes through a path characterized by the main stages story development. Initially, a story is only a verbal accompaniment of an action, then it is words accompanied by an action, and only then does a verbal story appear on its own, as a living and figurative message.

At the same time, one cannot discount figurative memory. In fact, exactly figurative memory remains the leading species memory in preschool age in general and in older preschool age in particular. Representation memory in children of senior preschool age very lively and visual, often children can describe with almost photographic accuracy the pictures they have seen, the furnishings of the rooms, toys, etc. In adults memory images usually less bright and less stable, which is due to the predominance of their second signaling system.

A number of works by domestic psychologists are devoted to the study of memorization of problematic figurative and verbal material.

Effective ways to organize nature observation while walking in development of figurative memory in work with children of senior preschool age

Aesthetic perception is provided by direct "alive" communication children with nature. Observing the beauty of natural phenomena is an inexhaustible source of aesthetic impressions. It is important to show children the aesthetic qualities of natural phenomena, teach them to feel beauty, and evoke evaluative judgments associated with experiencing the beauty of observed phenomena.

The surrounding life and nature provide an opportunity to organize interesting and various observations. A special role here is played by a walk, which allows you to observe nature in natural conditions without distorting its natural course.

The kids are working in the flower garden - planting flowers, watering them, loosening the soil. They are taught hard work, love and respect for nature. They learn to notice its beauty. The abundance of colors, shapes, sounds in nature, their combination, repetition, variability, rhythm and dynamics - all this causes joyful experiences even in the smallest ones.

Co seniors children can take targeted walks outside the site twice a week - to other streets, to a park or to the forest. On targeted walks, children receive many direct impressions of their surroundings, their horizons expand, their knowledge and ideas deepen, develops observation and curiosity.

The teacher reveals to the children the world of nature, helps them see its beauty in a drop of dew on a bud, and in the interweaving of herbs, and in the colors of the sunset. You just need to see this beauty for yourself and find words that are accessible to the child’s heart. Works of art about nature, which he should know well and skillfully use, will provide him with invaluable assistance in this.

The most important condition for the aesthetic perception of natural objects and development of figurative memory is to enrich the process of observing nature by using various senses. It is important to give the child the opportunity to carefully examine the surrounding objects, touch them, and smell them. It is necessary to monitor the emotional attitude children to natural objects, to promote their feelings of joy or sadness. Needs to be encouraged children show one or another attitude towards each object, learn to describe it psychological condition (gentle sun, gloomy clouds, joyful stream, etc.).

Further, development of figurative memory in children facilitates use in the observation process figurative expressions, comparisons, epithets that can be found in poetic works. Bright poetic lines can be pick up to many objects and pictures of nature, which inspired the work of many poets and writers. No less important means figurative memory is the use of riddles. At the same time, analyze each riddle, pay attention to children on the epithets used, ask questions.

The teacher must thoroughly prepare for conducting excursions, during which children receive and accumulate the sensory experience they need. Excursions at proper preparation and carrying out expand one's horizons preschoolers, teach them to see, compare, generalize, which forms the basis for development of creative imagination and abilities. During targeted observations and excursions, the teacher draws children's attention not only on the essential features of this or that phenomenon, but also on the beauty of coordinated work, transforming nature, on the nobility of relationships between people, built on mutual assistance, camaraderie and care for each other. Something that will truly excite you children, will definitely be reflected in their games, drawings, and stories.

So way, a walk is an important routine moment in a preschool educational institution, providing opportunities development of figurative memory in preschoolers. Based on the purposeful observation of natural phenomena and processing of received ideas, active figurative material. Development of figurative memory must be based on a practically effective basis through constant repetition of aesthetic experiences, creating children fixed attitude towards the perception of aesthetically expressive forms and natural phenomena.

Types of memory

Based on the nature of the participation of the will in the processes of memorizing and reproducing material, memory is divided into involuntary and voluntary. In the first case, we mean such memorization and reproduction that occurs automatically and without special effort on the part of a person, without setting himself a special mnemonic task (for memorization, recognition, preservation or reproduction). In the second case, such a task is necessarily present, and the process of memorization or reproduction itself requires volitional efforts.

Involuntary memorization is not necessarily weaker than voluntary; in many cases in life it is superior to it. It has been established, for example, that it is better to involuntarily remember material that is the object of attention and consciousness, acts as a goal, and not a means of carrying out an activity. Involuntarily, one also remembers better material that involves interesting and complex mental work and that is of great importance to a person. It is shown that in the case when significant work is carried out with the memorized material on its comprehension, transformation, classification, and the establishment of certain internal (structure) and external (associations) connections in it, it can be remembered involuntarily better than voluntarily. This is especially typical for children of preschool and primary school age.

There is a division of memory according to the analyzer that predominates in the processes of memorizing, storing and reproducing material. In this case, we talk about motor, emotional, figurative and verbal types of memory.

Motor memory

Motor memory is the memorization and preservation, and, if necessary, reproduction with sufficient accuracy of a variety of complex movements. It participates in the formation of motor, in particular labor and sports, skills and abilities. Improving human manual movements is directly related to this type of memory.

There are people with a pronounced predominance of this type of memory over other types. One psychologist admitted that he was completely unable to reproduce a piece of music in his memory, and could only reproduce an opera he had recently heard as a pantomime. Other people, on the contrary, do not notice their motor memory at all. Usually a sign of good motor memory is a person’s physical dexterity, dexterity in work, “golden hands”.

memory forgetting emotional motor

Figurative memory

Figurative memory - memory for ideas, pictures of nature and life, as well as sounds, smells, tastes. It can be visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, gustatory.

Visual memory is associated with the storage and reproduction of visual images. It is extremely important for people of any profession, especially for engineers and artists. Good visual memory is often possessed by people with eidetic perception, who are able to “see” the perceived picture in their imagination for quite a long time after it has ceased to affect the senses. In this regard, this type of memory presupposes a person’s developed ability to imagine. In particular, the process of memorizing and reproducing material is based on it: what a person can visually imagine, he, as a rule, remembers and reproduces more easily.

Auditory memory is good memorization and accurate reproduction of a variety of sounds, such as music and speech. It is necessary for philologists, people who study foreign languages, acousticians, musicians. A special type of speech memory is verbal-logical, which is closely related to word, thought and logic. This type of memory is characterized by the fact that a person who has it can quickly and accurately remember the meaning of events, the logic of reasoning or any evidence, the meaning of a text being read, etc. He can convey this meaning in his own words, and quite accurately. This type of memory is possessed by scientists, experienced lecturers, university teachers and school teachers.

Tactile, olfactory, gustatory and other types of memory do not play a special role in human life, and their capabilities are limited compared to visual, auditory, motor and emotional memory. Their role mainly comes down to satisfying biological needs or needs related to the safety and self-preservation of the body.

Tactile, olfactory and gustatory memory, in a certain sense, can be called professional types. Like the corresponding sensations, these types of memory develop especially intensively in connection with specific conditions of activity, reaching an amazingly high level in conditions of compensation or replacement of missing types of memory, for example, in the blind, deaf, etc.

Emotional memory

Emotional memory is the memory of experiences and feelings. It is involved in all types of memory, but is especially evident in human relationships. The strength of memorizing material is directly based on emotional memory: what causes emotional experiences in a person is remembered by him without much difficulty and for a longer period.

Emotions always signal how our needs and interests are satisfied, how our relationships with the outside world are carried out. Emotional memory is therefore very important in the life and activities of every person. Feelings experienced and stored in memory act as signals that either encourage action or deter actions that caused negative experiences in the past. The ability to sympathize with another person, to empathize with the hero of a book, is based on emotional memory.

Verbal-logical memory

Verbal-logical memory - memory for knowledge in speech form, logical schemes, mathematical symbols. Man with good development This type of memory easily remembers words, ideas, and logical structures. The memorized material often does not evoke visual associations. In life, such a person makes no effort to remember last names, first names and patronymics, but the figurative identification of people is carried out with great effort. The verbal-logical type of memory is associated with the mentality of a person prone to philosophical generalizations and theoretical reasoning.

The content of verbal-logical memory is our thoughts. Thoughts do not exist without language, which is why memory for them is called simply logical, but verbal-logical. Since thoughts can be embodied in various linguistic forms, their reproduction can be oriented towards conveying either only the basic meaning of the material, or its literal verbal design. If in the latter case the material is not subject to semantic processing at all, then its literal memorization turns out to be no longer logical, but mechanical memorization.

In verbal-logical memory, the main role belongs to the second signaling system. Verbal-logical memory is a specifically human memory, in contrast to motor, emotional and figurative memory, which in their simplest forms are also characteristic of animals. Based on the development of other types of memory, verbal-logical memory becomes leading in relation to them, and the development of all other types of memory depends on its development. Verbal-logical memory plays the main role in the assimilation of knowledge by students in the learning process.