Evaluating memory encoding processes and mechanisms

Memory Encoding

Long-Term Memory Encoding

The card trick shown on page 265 in Coon and Mitterer (2013) provides a demonstration of how human memory works. An individual is first presented with six face cards from a deck of cards and told to focus on a single card of their choice, so that the person will be able to remember it later. The cards are removed from sight and the individual is presented with five face cards that do not include any of the face cards presented initially. If the individual remained focused on only one card in the first set of cards then he or she would be unaware that all of the cards were changed, resulting in the individual believing the trickster could read minds. This card trick reveals how attention is required for memory encoding. Coon and Mitterer (2013) call the failure of the individual to remember any of the other cards 'encoding failure.'

A widely-used and accepted screening tool for cognitive impairment, including short-term memory, is the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) developed by Folstein and colleagues in 1975. Since then the MMSE has gone through revisions and been translated into at least 16 other languages (Steis & Schrauf, 2009). The primary intended patient population is the elderly, who tend to suffer from cognitive problems at a much higher rate than the rest of the population; however, it can also be used to track cognitive improvements in patients who are being treated for head trauma or mood disorders (Folstein, Folstein, and McHugh, 1975).

The MMSE consists of 11 questions and takes is less than 10 minutes (Malloy et al., 1997). The first question queries the patient about their awareness of time orientation, such as the year, season, day of the week, and date. The second questions queries the patient about geographic orientation and includes questions about the patient's current country, city, state, facility, and floor of the building. The third question presents three words verbally to the patient, one second apart, after warning the patient that this is a recall test. The three words are ball, car, and man. Question three is therefore similar to the card trick discussed above, because it is evaluating the ability of the patient to attend to and encode these words into memory.