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Designing for Human Memory
In one of my previous articles I wrote about ways to design for human attention. Attention is closely linked with working and short-term memory. However, this article is going to be focused on the entire human memory system. We have two main types of memory: short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). In computer science terms, you might imagine short-term memory as RAM and long-term as the HDD. I will try to describe how they work, how we can design interfaces that eliminate confusion and how to lower the cognitive effort users need to make. All of this should result in a more human-centered user experience.
The human brain is not optimised for the abstract thinking and data memorisation that websites often demand. Many usability guidelines are dictated by cognitive limitations.
Jakob Nielsen, Nielsen-Norman Group
Long-term memory
LTM is the memory for data storage. Memories saved in our mind are basically clusters of neurons linked together. To activate a memory, we have to reactivate the same pattern of neurons that was stimulated when the memory was formed. Most memories from our STM are forgotten. This is perhaps a good thing. If we didn’t automatically forget the huge volumes of information we are exposed to on a daily basis, we might get overloaded with information, as the processing of these volumes of data would soon become impossible.
To transfer perceptions from STM into LTM, conscious effort has to be made. Repeating particular pieces of information results in data transfer into LTM. This is the reason we revise before exams. The brain has to form a neural memory pattern of small pieces of connected data. Afterwards, the pattern (memory) can get activated by:
- Sensory input from our environment
- Stimulation from other parts of the brain
This results in the successful retrieval of the memory. The more times a pattern gets reactivated, the stronger it gets — it is easier…
