What memory really helps us during an exam..
Your memories basically fall into two main categories: Semantic and Episodic.
Semantic memories refer to the facts and general information about the world or the person itself. For example that the capital of India is New Delhi, or that I live in so and so city. Semantic memory deals with what we “know”.
The other type of memory refers to episodic memory. This consists of events specific to your life, tagged with temporal or spatial context meaning ‘where’ and ‘when’ the memory occurred. An example would be treasured events at your birthday party. It deals with what we “remember”.
A feature common between both these types of memories are their ability to be communicated flexibly. This means that these memories can be passed on to another person in a manner different from how the person initially acquired the memory.
Let’s take the example of when the teacher has taught you a history class and your friend has missed this class. With respect to a semantic memory- You can easily summarize the whole class spent reading historical texts in terms of the timeline of the historical events or by following the events on a map, depending upon a format you choose. Similarly regarding episodic memory- You would be able to answer your friend’s queries on the response of their history teacher to the friend’s absence by a format different from how the teacher expressed it.
Another feature of these two memory types is that they are both accessible. This means they both are at your disposal to be recalled. But then do both these memories help you with your exams?
Here the answer is not so simple. It actually depends upon how you study.
To ace exams, we are required to answer precise facts to the questions asked. This means our semantic memory is required the most. When we study the previous day before the exam, our recollection of a fact is hinged upon whether we revised the concept before or after dinner, a single exposure. Essentially making it an episodic memory. It is only when we revise daily (multiple exposure) that a semantic memory is wholly acquired.
Does this not make sense on why our teachers are hell bent on giving us homework revisiting the taught concepts? They are trying to get us to form semantic memories, which only get strengthened with exposure.
References:
Gluck, M. A., Mercado, E., & Myers, C. E. (2007). Learning and memory: From brain to behavior. Macmillan Higher Education.
