Encoding & Storage of Memories
The purpose of encoding is to assign a meaning to the information to be memorized. You might encode the word ‘lemon’ as a round, yellow, fruit. If you could not recall the word “lemon” spontaneously, then invoking one of the three encoded indexes should help you to retrieve it.
The effectiveness of this method depends on the depth of encoding and method of organization in your memory. The process of encoding refers not only to memorization, but also to its environmental, cognitive, and emotional context.
The use of mnemonic devices for linking ideas with images may assist in this process, although it can still be forgotten.
Storage can be seen as the active process of consolidation that makes memories less vulnerable to being forgotten. Consolidation differentiates memories of recent information from memories of older ones. Sleep, and in particular the (REM) Rapid-Eye-Movement phase of sleep, along with data reviewing plays a large role in consolidation.
One way to increase the storage capacity of short-term memory might be to increase the size of the info through a more effective encoding strategy, such as grouping, or organizing it in a more logical pattern.
