Page 65 - Biblical Counseling II

Retrieval
How do we get information out of memory?

“To remember an event requires more than getting it in (encoding) and retaining it (storage). To most
people, memory is recall, the ability to retrieve information not in conscious awareness. To a psychologist,
memory is any sign that something learned has been retained. So recognizing or more quickly relearning
information also indicates memory” (Myers, p. 189, 2012).

“Our recognition memory is impressively quick and vast. Our speed at relearning also reveals memory. If you
once learned something and then forgot it, you probably will relearn it more quickly the second time around.
When you study for a final exam or resurrect a language used early in childhood, the relearning is easier.
Tests of recognition and relearning confirm the point: We remember more than we can recall.” (Myers, p.
189, 2012) (photo: manwithoutqualities.com)
“The process of retrieving a memory follows a
similar principle, because memories are held in
storage by a web of associations, each piece of
information interconnected with others. When you
encode into memory a target piece of information,
such as the name of the person sitting next to you in
class, you associate with it other bits of information
about your surroundings, mood, seating position,
and so on. These bits can serve as retrieval cues,
anchor points you can use to access the target
information when you want to retrieve it later. The
more retrieval cues you have, the better your
chances of finding a route to the suspended
memory. Priming is the activation, often
unconsciously, of particular associations in memory”
(Myers, 2009).

“One final type of memory we need to cover is
intrusive memories. According to researcher Daniel Schacter, these are unwanted memories that can feel
persistent. They might be memories of something traumatic, like abuse or rape. It may be a memory of a
difficult situation that occurred during childhood, like being in a car accident or seeing someone get hurt.
These memories are difficult to get rid of because they were such powerful memories that involved our
senses and emotions. When you read the chapter on trauma, we will discuss how to help others who struggle
with traumatic memories” (Myers, 2009).

We are going to take some time to read the following chapter from Psychology Through the Eyes of Faith by
David G. Myers and Malcom A Jeeves (2003). The chapter is called “Memorable Messages” and applies to
planning sermons in a way that makes them memorable.

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