ABSTRACT
We are all aware that humans are able to store vast amounts of information—words, names, faces, places—permanently or semipermanently in long-term store. Without long-term store there would be nothing: no books, no television, no learning, no communication—for it is our ability to recall the past that allows us to interact with our environment in a dynamic way. Yet memory ranks high on the list of phenomena about which there are many unanswered questions: how does all this information get into long-term store to begin with? How can information be selectively and almost instantaneously recalled from long-term store when it is needed? Such questions have intrigued philosophers and scientists for more than 2000 years. In this chapter we discuss some of psychology’s steps toward answering these and related questions.
