tion is preserved in the system over time; and (3) retrieval which refers to the way information is recovered from the memory system. When retrieval information is interfered with in some way, there can be what is known as information loss (forgetting).
In the human memory, information can be represented in different ways. These representations are referred to as codes and each code has its own special properties such as the ease and speed at which the various forms of information may be encoded (Koch & Leary, 1985). In this regard, Koch & Leary (1985) have pointed out that information in a memory system may be: (1) recoded either by retrieving the system's information or by recoding the information into the same system; (2) reconstructed, elaborated upon, or reduced through the recoding processes; and (3) reorganized during recoding.
One additional facet of memory systems is that each type or kind of system has a certain capacity. Some systems, for example, may be low in capacity or storage and use of information but high or fast in retrieval. On the other hand, other memory systems may be the reverse. The basic point that needs to be noted here is that memory systems can differ in terms of capacity as well as in terms of speed of encoding and retrieval (Koch & Leary, 1985).
Sandford (1985) has stated that semantic memory is concerned with memory for declarative knowledge or knowledge of facts about things. In particular, he states that:
The term semantics refers to the study of meaning, of course, and at the center of semantic memory is the question of what certain concepts mean, and how meaning is represented (p. 158).
A more encompassing understanding of semantic memory, however, can be obtained by what Bourne, Dominowski, Loftus and Healy (1986) refer to as its definitional range. In this regard, the authors point out that conceptual definitions such as that provided by Sandford are broad definitions whi...