Definition
Memory is not a unitary construct. There are many kinds of memory and, perhaps, many different memory systems. In the simplest sense, memory refers to a representation in the brain of facts, events, or other kinds of information that were acquired sometime in the past. Memory also refers to the processes that are involved in the acquisition of that information, the retention of that information over time, and its subsequent retrieval.
Historical Background
Although interest in the workings of memory dates back to the ancient Greek philosophers, the modern-day empirical study of memory traces its origins to the German psychologist, Hermann Ebbinghaus (1885/1964) who published a monograph entitled Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology, which shifted the focus of memory study from philosophical inquiry to scientific investigation. Ebbinghaus’ greatest contribution was probably his demonstration that memory, although a construct of the mind and therefore thought to...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References and Readings
Baddeley, A. (2007). Working memory, thought, and action. New York: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. A. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). New York: Academic.
Baddeley, A., Conway, M., & Aggleton, J. (Eds.). (2002). Episodic memory: New directions in research. New York: Oxford University Press.
Baddeley, A., Eysenck, M. W., & Anderson, M. C. (2015). Memory. London/New York: Psychology Press.
Bartlett, F. C. (1932). Remembering. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Berntsen, D., & Rubin, D. C. (Eds.). (2012). Understanding autobiographical memory. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Conway, A. R. A., Jarrold, C., Kane, M. J., Miyake, A., & Towse, J. N. (Eds.). (2007). Variation in working memory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Ebbinghaus, H. (1885/1964). Memory: A contribution to experimental psychology. New York: Dover.
Kliegel, M., McDaniel, M. A., & Einstein, G. O. (Eds.). (2008). Prospective memory. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schacter, D. L. (1996). Searching for memory. New York: Basic Books.
Tulving, E. (2002). Episodic memory: From mind to brain. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 1–25.
Tulving, E., & Craik, F. I. M. (Eds.). (2000). The Oxford handbook of memory. New York: Oxford University Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Glisky, E.L. (2018). Memory. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1134
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_1134
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences