Marketing Management, 16th Edition

Memory

Memory—the brain’s ability to record, store, and retrieve information and events—also plays a role in consumers’ purchasing decisions. The different types of memory and the way memory processes work are described in the following sections.

Memory Models

Cognitive psychologists distinguish between short-term memory—a temporary and limited repository of information—and long-term memory—a more permanent, potentially unlimited repository. All the information and experiences we encode as we go through life can end up in our long-term memory.

Researchers distinguish three types of long-term memory: episodic, semantic, and procedural.

• Episodic memory is responsible for storing information about events (i.e., episodes) that we have experienced ...