Do You Remember?

Bad at remembering numbers but it's important for your job? Maybe there are different ways you can think about numbers based on other memory skills. Always misplacing things around the house, which makes you chronically late? Understanding different memory tricks can probably help you beat that problem, too.

Memory is more than just the romanticized idea of "making memories." It's how you remember specific information that helps you function in the world — whether on an emotional or more practical scale. If you know how you best process information, you can improve your chances of retaining pertinent information, and retrieving that information when you need to.

Research shows there's a lot you can do to improve your memory. And if you do, it can help you function in more ways than you'd think. There are 6 main types of memory which help us interpret and store different types of information. Visual memory, numeric memory, spatial memory, object-oriented memory, reading comprehension, and delayed-recall memory work in their own ways to help you store information. Most people are stronger in some forms of memory than in others. And that, in turn can tell you something about the way you personally tend to process information and turn it into long-term knowledge.

Visual Memory

Your Visual Memory allows you to remember visual clues and details, such as what someone looks like once you're no longer around them. When you see a word, picture, or symbol, you might find yourself forming a corresponding image in your mind; your Visual Memory is what allows you to recall that image once the object is no longer in sight. If you have a strong visual memory, this visual memorization technique can help you store and retrieve non-visual information, such as the meaning and spelling of vocabulary words.

Numeric Memory

Numeric Memory allows you to recall series of numbers, such as phone numbers, numeric passwords, combinations, and various account numbers. This memory technique can be tough for some to master, because strings of numbers are somewhat abstract and don't naturally correspond with one another in the same ways that letters of a word or images do.

Spatial MemoryYour

Spatial Memory allows you to recall the details of stationary objects that occupy physical space. Specifically, it relates to your ability to recall the physical relationship of objects to one another, including the distance between them, and/or their orientation to each other. Remembering how to get around town, recalling where you've put things, and being able to visualize the layout of a room are all examples of how you use this aspect of memory.

Object-Oriented Memory

Your Object-Oriented Memory allows you to visualize an object's movement and its ultimate destination and location in space. It involves being able to form a mental image of an object, rotating that image mentally, comparing it to the initial image, and judging whether or not the two objects are the same. This type of memory is used in various sports, as well as in everyday activities like packing a tight suitcase or organizing a closet full of various sized objects.

Interestingly, researchers have found that men tend to do better than women in this area, while women tend to have better skills when it comes to more verbal fluency. It's controversial whether these results can be explained more by biological differences between the sexes, or by the fact that men and women are socialized differently — taught to think, see, and participate in different activities that would foster, or discourage, this type of memory development.

Reading Comprehension

Your Reading Comprehension is a form of memory that allows you to read a passage or sentence, interpret its meaning, then store the general sense of its meaning for later use. As you read a passage, even this passage, you layer the meaning of the next sentence on to the meaning of the previous sentence — building on your initial sense of the meaning, and integrating new information to form a higher-level understanding and interpretation of the text as a whole. In general, your Reading Comprehension memory allows you to construct meaning based on the information you identify as important in the material. It also allows you to remember specific details from a passage and the specific ordering of information within the text.

Delayed Recall

Your Delayed Recall memory refers to your ability to transfer information from your short-term memory to your longer-term memory and then to recall it when you want to. Short-term memory technically lasts no longer than 30 seconds. After 30 seconds, the you either commit that that information to long-term memory or the information slips away from your brain. Delayed Recall memory allows you to remember information several minutes, hours, or days, or even years after first learning it.

In order to preserve the information stored in your mind with Delayed Recall, you'll likely need to continue using or reviewing that information, or associating it with other existing memories. By doing so, you may be able to remember things for the rest of your life.