Retention and Comprehension of Information
Robert W. Proctor, Trisha Van Zandt · 2008
Human memory is intricate and diverse. Over a lifetime, you will learn vast amounts of information and retain it for various lengths of time. The important role played by memory in virtually all aspects of human life is evident when one considers the severe consequences of memory deficits characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease (Lee et al., 2004). This disease is characterized in its late stages by victims becoming lost in familiar environments and failing to recognize immediate family members. Memory is involved not only in identification and recognition of places and people but also in remembering task goals and maintaining a ‘‘set,’’ or appropriate readiness, to perform particular tasks. It is also involved in maintaining information in a readily available form for comprehending new information, solving problems, and retrieving facts and procedures that one has learned in the past.