What Is Selective Memory?
Selective memory is a phenomenon that is popularly used to justify why a person can remember one thing very well and completely forget another.
Why can someone remember the perfume their grandmother used 20 years ago but be unable to remember what they had for dinner last Sunday? The answer to this question is simple. Memory works in a selective way. Choose what is useful.
Certain items can be stored very deeply in people's minds and remembered perfectly. On the other hand, other aspects may not be memorized well and are easily forgotten.
These characteristics of human memory show that selective memory is not a specific type of memory. Quite the opposite, the memory process is selective.
Why is memory selective?
Memory processes in human beings are in continuous operation. In the same way, the senses permanently capture an infinite number of stimuli. Whether through sight, smell, touch or hearing, the amount of information that reaches the brain during a day is uncountable.
This situation is explained and justified through the selectivity of memory. The human brain is incapable of storing and remembering all the elements it captures. Likewise, much of the information that is perceived is irrelevant to people's lives.
What color was the upholstery of the taxi you took this afternoon? What were the earrings of the saleswoman at the store where you went shopping? What pen did you use this morning in the office?
All of these examples are items that are easily forgotten due to selective memory. The brain interprets this information as irrelevant, so unless a stimulus appears that captures attention, it is not usually remembered. In this way, it is concluded that memory is selective because it has to sift and filter information to retain that which is especially important.
What is forgotten?
Memory is not a linear process that is executed directly and voluntarily. In other words, human beings do not forget those aspects that they do not want to remember.
In fact, the more you want to forget a certain type of information, the more likely it is that you will continue to remember it. This situation is explained by the operation of memory itself.
This does not work like a computer where you can enter and delete files voluntarily.
What determines whether something is forgotten?
Understanding the factors that determine the forgetting of information is highly complex. There is no single process or foolproof way to predict which items will be forgotten.
However, recent research on memory processes has revealed certain aspects that allow us to answer, to a certain extent, this question.
Perception by the senses
Firstly, it has been shown how, for information to be stored correctly and remembered reliably, it must be correctly captured through the senses.
This first characteristic of memory shows the importance of attention and perception. If these two cognitive abilities do not function correctly and you do not pay attention to the stimulus, it will be stored weakly and easily forgotten.
Perception plays a very important role in memory, which is why selective memory is closely related to selective attention. However, it is not the only element that predicts the information that is forgotten.
Information processing
Secondly, the work that is done on the stored information appears. If when you remember a certain element you think about it continuously, the memory is consolidated.
For example, if a person arrives at work every day and has to enter his or her username password to be able to turn on the computer, this information will be easily remembered. However, if you never type it, you will be more likely to forget it.
What is remembered?
The same factors that explain forgetting serve to explain the remembered elements. To remember certain information, it is important to make repetition efforts in its storage
This fact explains that during the study, reading the same information several times, making diagrams and mentally repeating the key words is essential to remember it later.
Once the information is stored, it is important to continue working and memorizing those elements to be able to keep them in memory.
These two main elements – attention and memorization – explain a good part of the things that are correctly structured in the mind and are easily remembered.
However, there are many other factors that go into choosing which items to remember. People can remember information in a more or less automatic way that is independent of cognitive effort.
For example, a person may remember what they got for their birthday 15 years ago or where they went to dinner for the first time with their wife. In these cases, multiple studies have revealed the importance of emotional processes in memory and recall.
Those events that are experienced in an intense way (gratifying or disturbing) are stored and remembered more easily in people's minds.
Can selective memory be trained and manipulated?
Selective memory works, on many occasions, automatically. Often the person is not aware of what they remember and much less what they forget.
This fact shows that selective memory cannot be manipulated directly. That is, people cannot consciously choose which elements they want to remember and which elements they want to forget.
However, there is a certain degree of voluntary action. People can choose which elements they want to pay attention to and which they don't.
For example, if a student wants to learn the content presented by the teacher, he will have to activate his attention and concentration during class. Otherwise, you will not be able to properly capture the information.
Likewise, if you want to remember the entire syllabus for the day of the exam, you will have to invest long hours of effort to memorize all the information.
On the other hand, when a person wants to forget a situation or a specific aspect, they have to try to avoid thinking about it. If you don't succeed, the memory will remain, but if you are able to not think about that element, the passage of time will cause you to end up forgetting it.
Selective memory and beliefs
Selective memory is closely linked to people's beliefs and mental structures. That is, an individual will be able to easily remember the information that fits with their thoughts, rather than that which is contrary.
In this way, selective memory is a cognitive process that plays a main role in the structural formation of thought.
People require a certain degree of organization in their beliefs. Otherwise, thinking would be diffuse, poorly organized and unproductive.
Selective memory contributes to these mental requirements of human beings, remembering information that allows us to organize and structure thoughts, and forgetting elements that play an opposite role.
Selective memory and identity
Selective memory not only intervenes in the formation of people's beliefs and thought structures, but is the basis of their identity.
The mind of individuals is a mixture of their genetic factors and the experiences they have lived. And the latter can only impact and become part of the person's way of being through memory.
In this way, memory defines the personality, as it modulates and manages the thoughts that originate within the mind.
Identity is not a compressed version of the events that an individual has experienced, mainly thanks to selective memory. This allows us to filter which experiences become part of the individual's thinking and way of being, and which become part of oblivion.
This important characteristic of selective memory once again highlights its close relationship with people's feelings and motivations.
Selective memory is responsible for storing those memories that are linked to the values, needs and motivations that define people and characterize their way of perceiving things.
What is selective memory in critical thinking?
Selective memory in critical thinking refers to the subconscious tendency of individuals to remember information that aligns with their existing beliefs, preferences, or biases while disregarding or downplaying conflicting information. This cognitive bias can significantly influence decision-making processes, as individuals may inadvertently ignore evidence that challenges their viewpoints or supports alternative perspectives.
In critical thinking, selective memory can hinder objectivity and rationality by creating an echo chamber effect, where individuals surround themselves with information that reinforces their preconceptions. This can lead to confirmation bias, where people seek out and interpret information in a way that confirms their existing beliefs, while dismissing contradictory evidence.
Recognizing and mitigating selective memory is crucial for effective critical thinking. By actively seeking out diverse perspectives, challenging assumptions, and being open to conflicting evidence, individuals can counteract the influence of selective memory and make more informed and rational decisions. Developing awareness of this cognitive bias is fundamental for fostering intellectual honesty and promoting sound reasoning in various aspects of life.
Selective memory and anxiety
Selective memory can play an important role in certain psychological disorders. Especially in anxiety disorders.
For example, in social phobia, both the fear of interaction with others and the anxiety experienced before, during and after social contact, lie in the remembered information.
People with this disorder pay excessive attention to their social behavior. In this way, after interacting with others, they remember and accurately review all the behaviors carried out.
The fact that selective memory focuses on these aspects motivates the person to find multiple defects or aspects to improve in their social behavior, which is why they perceive themselves as socially unskilled and experience anxiety.
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