Why We Do What We Do

chapter threeOur Brain and Memory

‘Memory is a great artist. For every man and for every woman it makes the recollection of his or her life a work of art and an unfaithful record.’

ANDRÉ MAUROISAuthor (1885–1967)

ABOUT THIS CHAPTER

Our memory serves an important protective function in our life. It provides us with a reference guide that helps us respond quickly to events and experiences.

Our memory is effectively our brain's data-storage unit and filing system. We access this stored data to help us interpret and compare new information that we take in via our senses.

For this reason, memory is a critical resource for us, and without it we would be lost. Our collection of memories effectively makes us who we are.

But memories for the same events do vary from person to person – we all choose to remember different aspects of our life's experiences.

This chapter explains how memory works in our brain, the different types of memory that we create, where these memories are stored, why memory is not always a reliable reference point and how we can improve our capacity to remember.

Part 1: The science explained

How do we research memory?

Memory is very complex and personal – and it is not an easy topic to research. Studies using a laboratory setting have been criticised on the grounds of low ecological validity, meaning that they cannot always be applied to a real-world environment. In addition to this, the questions used by researchers to prompt participants' memories can ...