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Retention

Definition

Retention in psychology refers to the ability to keep or hold onto information and recall it when needed.

Analogy

Think of your brain as a giant library. The books are the information you learn, and retention is like having a really good librarian who knows exactly where every book is located. Without good retention, it's like having a librarian who forgets where the books are placed.

Related terms

Working Memory: This is a cognitive system that holds information temporarily for processing. It's like the librarian's desk where they sort out which books (information) go where.

Long-term Memory: This is our brain’s system for storing, managing, and retrieving information over long periods of time. It's like the library shelves that store all the books (information).

Encoding: This is the first step in creating a memory, it's how your brain changes information into a usable form. Like categorizing new books into genres before placing them on the right shelf.