Our discussion up to this point has centred around the phase of memory called impression.
We have described some of the conditions favorable to impression and have seen that certain and accurate memory depends upon adherence to them. The next phase of memory--Retention--cannot be described in psychological terms. We know we retain facts after they are once impressed, but as to their status in the mind we can say nothing. If you
were asked when the Declaration of Independence was signed, you would reply instantly. When asked, however, where that fact was five minutes ago, you could not answer. Somewhere in the recesses of the mind, perhaps, but as to immediate awareness of it, there was none. We may try to think of retention in terms of nerve cells and say that at the time when the material was first impressed there was some modification made in certain nerve cells which persisted. This trait of nerve modifiable is one factor which accounts for greater retentive power in some persons than in others. It must not be concluded, however, that all good memory is due to the inheritance of this trait. It is due partly to observance of proper conditions of impression, and much can be done to overcome or offset innate difficulty of modification by such observance. We are now ready to examine the third phase of memory--Recall. This is the stage at which material that has been impressed and retained is recalled to serve the purpose for which it was memorized. Recall is thus the goal of memory, and all the devices so far discussed have it for their object. Can we facilitate recall by any other means than by faithful and intelligent impressions? For answer let us examine the state of mind at time of recall. We find that it is a unique mental state. It differs from impression in being a period of more active search for facts in the mind accompanied by expression, instead of a concentration upon the external impression. It is also usually accompanied by motor expressions, either talking or writing. Since recall is a unique mental state, you ought to prepare for it by means of a rehearsal. When you are memorizing anything to be recalled, make part of your memorizing a rehearsal of it, if possible, under same conditions as final recall. In memorizing from a book, first make impression, then close the book and
practise recall. When memorizing a selection to be given in a public speaking class,
intersperse the periods of impression with periods of recall. This is especially necessary
in preparation for public speaking, for facing anaudience gives rise to a vastly different
psychic attitude from that of impression. The sight of an audience may be embarrassing
or exciting. Furthermore, unforeseen distractions may arise. Accordingly, create those
conditions as nearly as possible in your preparation. Imagine yourself facing the audience.
Practise aloud so that you will become accustomed to the sound of your own voice. The
importance of the practice of recall as a part of the memory process can hardly be
overestimated. One psychologist has advised that in memorizing significant material
more than half the time should be spent in practising recall.
There still remains a fourth phase of memory--Recognition. Whenever a remembered fact
is recalled, it is accompanied by a characteristic feeling which we call the feeling of
recognition. It has been described as a feeling of familiarity, a glow of warmth, a sense of
ownership, a feeling of intimacy. As you walkdown the street of a great city you pass
hundreds of faces, all of them strange. Suddenly in the crowd you catch sight of some one
you know and are instantly suffused with a glowof feeling that is markedly different
from your feeling toward the others. That glowrepresents the feeling of recognition. It is
always present during recall and may be used ingreat advantage in studying. It derives its
virtue for our purpose from the fact that it isa feeling, and at the time of feeling the
bodily activities in general are affected. Changes occur in heart beat, breathing; various
glandular secretions are affected, the digestive organs respond. In this general quickening of bodily activity we have reason to believe that the nervous system partakes, and things
become impressed more readily. Thus the feeling of recognition that accompanies recall
is responsible for one of the benefits of reviews. At such a time material once memorized
becomes tinged with a feelingful color different from that which accompanied it when
new. Review, then, not merely to produce additional impressions, but also to take
advantage of the feeling of recognition.
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