Everybody has capacity to hold memories, whether it is the capacity resembling a

goldfish or an elephant, we all remember. My family always mockingly quotes me from my days
as a very young boy stating, I remember when I was in moms womb or I remember the day I
was born. Regardless of my familys sarcasm, my memory for certain things has been proven to
be very good. Broadly, memory can be broken down into two categories, short-term memory and
long-term memory. Short-term memory is defined as the memory stage in which information is
held in consciousness for 10 to 20 seconds (Palladino & Davis, 266). Information must be
processed in this stage before it can be transferred to more permanent storage in long-term
memory. Long-term memory is the stage that has a very large capacity and the capability to store
information relatively permanently (Palladino & Davis, 269). I will be focusing on long-term
memory and explaining how it can be broken down into explicit, implicit, semantic, episodic,
priming and procedural memory.
Long-term memory is composed of two major categories: explicit (declarative) and
implicit (non-declarative) memory. Explicit memories are ones that we are consciously aware of.
Think of it this way; with these memories, we are easily able to declare or explain them. From
my experiences, I can recall that my kindergarten teachers name was Mrs. High, or even more
specifically Marcie High. This information is stored away in my explicit memory. Implicit
memory is quite different in comparison. Implicit memories are ones we are not consciously
aware of, but can still influence our behavior and mental processes (Palladino & Davis, 275).
This type of memory can be harder to detect and study for psychologists. Implicit memories cant
simply be explained or recalled, which is why it is also known as non-declarative memory. In
high school I took an AP European History course. Several years before that, I had been

watching a TV show about the Roman Empire on the History Channel. Even though I wasnt
conscious of it at the time, the information that I received from the TV show helped when I
needed to learn about the Roman Empire in class. I didnt necessarily remember specific things
from the TV show, but it aided me in my learning when I heard some of the same terms again.
Once we understand the first two major categories of long-term memory, we can also break them
down a little bit further.
Explicit memory can be subdivided into two different types. The first type is semantic
memory which is memory for general knowledge. Semantic memory focuses more on facts
instead of specific dates or times that would directly involve people. Throughout my school
years, it has become very apparent that my brain operates in a very academic manner. I am
enthralled by facts about our world, animals, the human body, technology, etc. For the past five
years, I have worked at my dads architectural firm. During my time there, I have scanned in
thousands of blueprints. To keep myself sane during that mundane process, I would search
interesting facts on Google as I scanned in the drawings. Many times I would come across the
same facts. By seeing the same facts multiple times, they were processed and permanently
stored in my long-term semantic memory. I also really enjoy listening to music. Often times I
will be sitting at a cafe and a song comes on that I recognize, but I cant put a name to the artist
or song title. This would be an example of tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) phenomenon. In this
condition you are almost able to remember something, but not quite fully. This happens to me all
the time and I will relentlessly search for information until I find out the answer. Whether it is a
fact about a platypus, the name of a song or any general knowledge in between, they are all
stored in our semantic memory.

The second type of explicit memory is called episodic memory. Personal experiences
would be stored in our episodic memory. These involve events that occurred at certain times with
specific people, places and things (Palladino & Davis, 276). Just as my semantic memory seems
to be strong, I believe that my episodic memory capacity is even greater. If I am personally
experiencing an event, I tend to remember settings and words spoken by individuals very well.
At three and a half years old during the blizzard of 96, I vividly remember being very antsy as I
watched my brothers from the window play out in the snow as my mother helped dress me in my
snow clothes. I remember exactly where I was when my brothers were teasing me about liking
one of the neighborhood girls. These experiences are deeply rooted and stored in my episodic
memory. I believe that dreams can be stored in episodic memory as well. In my experiences,
some times a very vivid memory from a dream that happened years ago is triggered by some
situation in my every day life. I am able to recall snapshot details of that dream which I presume
would be stored in my episodic memory.
The last two types of memory fit under the implicit memory category. Priming is defined
as unconscious memory processing in which prior exposure to stimulus items may aid
subsequent learning (Palladino & Davis, 277). Putting this definition into very basic terms would
describe that we can learn something better when we were previously exposed to something of
the same or similar nature. Priming really focuses on identifying words and objects. If a person
with memory loss, dementia, amnesia or Alzheimer's studies a group of words, they will most
likely have trouble recalling the information minutes later. This doesnt mean that the patients
study of the words was completely useless. The patient was sensitized to these words and was
able to better learn the words during a second study session. Even though it may not always seem
like were learning, we always are. Present experiences will affect the way we perceive and learn

in future experiences. My great uncle developed Alzheimers when I was a little boy. Even
though it was hard for him to develop new memories, I believe his exposure to certain situations
subconsciously helped him to overcome situations through priming memory, even though he
may not have remembered certain recent events.
The final type of long-term memory is procedural memory. This memory is used for
making responses and performing skilled actions (Palladino & Davis, 278). At different times,
procedural could fit under explicit or implicit memory. You can consciously recollect the steps to
something (explicit) or you can do the task without conscious effort (implicit). In my example of
driving a stick-shift car, I will focus on implicit procedural memory. I learned how to drive stick
when I was back in high school. The fall after my high school graduation I sold my car and spent
six months in Australia and Mexico. When I got home, I was driving my parents automatic
transmission cars for a while. It was a year and half's time between selling my car and buying a
new manual car. I didnt have to go back and consciously recollect all the steps to driving stick,
because this information was stored in my implicit procedural memory. I just got in and got the
car moving without any problems. Without this type of implicit memory, we would waste a lot of
time relearning how to do things. What would society look like without implicit procedural
memory? Production in every sector would be so much lower and efficiency wouldnt really even
be a word. I think it is very amazing that our brain can function this way without having to
expend too much energy.
Long-term memory is involved in virtually every aspect of our lives. Instead of being
one-dimensional, long-term memory encompasses semantic, episodic, priming and procedural

memory. Without it we wouldnt be able to learn in school, perform multiple-step tasks, spew out
pointless facts or cherish beautiful memories from the past.