Memory encompasses the following processes: encoding, storage, consolidation and retrieval. Encoding is the process of transforming information into a form that can be stored in memory. Storage is the process of maintaining the information in memory. Consolidation is a physiological process that must take place for encoded information to be stored in memory. Retrieval is the process of bringing the information to mind.

Memory is divided into three systems: the sensory memory, the short-term memory, and the long-term memory. The sensory memory holds information coming from the senses for less than a few seconds. The short-term memory, also considered the working memory, has a limited capacity and retains memories for only a short period. These memories are usually displaced by new memories. The long-term memory is considered to have an unlimited capacity. Long-term memories are distinguished as declarative (explicit) and nondeclarative (implicit). Declarative memory is further classified as episodic memory and semantic memory. The levels-of-processing model of memory is also described as an alternative to the three-memory-systems approach. Memory is measured through recall, recognition, and relearning. Ebbinghaus and the first experiments in memory are then detailed.

The ability to forget information is crucial to keep memory from being cluttered with unneeded details. Forgetting can be caused by encoding failure, the failure to enter long-term memory in the first place; by consolidation failure, the failure to form a permanent memory; by the decay of the memory; and by the interference of one memory with another. Forgetting may also be motivated as a means of protecting oneself from painful or unpleasant memories. Forgetting may also result from errors in how the memory was framed or how it was recalled (retrieval failure).

The chapter next examines aspects of memory that relate to its nature, memory as a permanent record and memory as a reconstruction. The authors also describe eyewitness testimony and recovering repressed memories. The authors also describe unusual memory phenomena like flashbulb memories and eidetic imagery. The chapter then turns to memory and culture. The authors then describe factors like retrieval,the serial position effect, environmental context, state-dependent memory, and the role of stress anxiety and depression on memory.

The role of biology is illustrated by the case of H. M., which describes the role of the hippocampus in the formation of memories, and the case of K. C., which illustrates how a specific aspect of memory can be lost, such as the ability to form episodic memories. Long-term potentiation may be the neuronal basis for memory formation. Hormones and their effect on memory is then discussed. The chapter closes with detailed descriptions of several techniques that can be used to improve memory and study habits.