Wisen's notes

# Three ways information is being represented in memory

In cognitive psychology, the ways information is being represented in our memory is called coding (Information in memory is being represented not stored). There are three types of coding:

  1. Visual coding Example: In LTM this is when I'm visualising the school computer lab I was in when I won the typing game competition. In STM, this is when, for example, we're looking at a certain art piece.
  2. Auditory coding Example: In LTM this is when we can remember songs. In STM, this is what facilitates conversations.
  3. Semantic coding Example: In LTM this is when you're recollecting a concept you've read from a book last week. In STM. Placing words in a category in the current task.

All these type of codings are applicable to Long-term memory and Short-term memory.

# References

Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology (p. 167).

Coding refers to the form in which stimuli are being represented. [...] In this section however, we will be taking a mental approach to coding by asking how a stimulus or an experience is represented in the mind. [...]

Goldstein, Cognitive Psychology (p. 170).

We have seen that information can be represented in both short-term and long-term memory in terms of vision (visual coding), hearing (auditory coding) and meaning (semantic coding) (Table 6.1).