Memory is a critical part of all the cognitive processes. It involves maintaining information over time. The information could be maintained for less than a half second or as long as a life time.
Memory involves both remembering and forgetting. Even though they are opposed to each other by nature, they play a very significant role in the life of an individual. Eg; remembering a pleasant moment of life makes a man very happy where as remembering an unpleasant moment makes his life miserable. Therefore, forgetting those unpleasant moments is very essential.
Remembering and forgetting act as tools to maintain physiological or physical homeostasis. The homeostasis is maintained by certain nerve cells of the brain which undergo certain changes and help to retain the information that we learned in the form of memory traces and any unpleasant experience will be ejected by the cells, such that forgetting occurs. Memory can also be defined as organism’s ability to store, retain and recall information and experiences.
This process of remembering and forgetting is sometimes conscious and sometimes unconscious. Some studies have revealed that this process is based upon 3 laws, namely;
- Law of contiguity
- Law of similarity
- Law of contrast
Law of Contiguity:
According to this law any 2 events or incidents which take place simultaneously at a particular time or at a particular place, tend to associate with each other either in terms of place or time. Thus association is formed between the 2 situations, as a result of this, recalling of event bring the other event automatically to our minds. Eg: if you have seen an accident near a particular circle, later when ever you go near that circle it will remember that accident. Similarly if the accident had occurred at 5 o’clock, later on everyday or more often at 5 o’clock you will remember that accident. Hence it is said that chains of ideas occur to our memory by a single stimulation.
Law of Similarity:
According to this law the event or experiences which are similar to each other tend to associate with each other, hence recalling of one experience makes the related experience to follow the suit automatically. Similarity of experience may be in terms of time, appearance, form, color or size. Eg: If someone resembles his or her friend in appearance he/she will immediately remembers his/her friend and the other associated ideas.
Law of Contrast:
According to this law, events, things or words which are opposite with each other tend to associate with each other and hence recalling of one makes the other to remember automatically. Eg: white and black, good and bad, honesty and dishonesty etc.
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