Why do we remember some skills (e.g swimming and cycling) our whole lives?
It's called procedural memory. More specifically, it's 'muscle memory' or 'motor learning' which is a type of procedural memory. Your brain's cerebellum, in particular, is very good at encoding sequences of muscle movements into long-term memory storage.
The Short Answer
It's called procedural memory. More specifically, it's 'muscle memory' or 'motor learning' which is a type of procedural memory. Your brain's cerebellum, in particular, is very good at encoding sequences of muscle movements into long-term memory storage. Procedural memory is very robust. Even people with dementia and amnesia often still retain procedural memories for skills like playing a musical instrument or riding a bicycle without any conscious effort. Interestingly, for people with anterograde amnesia (a condition characterized by the inability to form new memories), it's still possible for them to learn new motor skills and encode them as procedural memories. In other words, you can have someone with anterograde amnesia learn to ride a bicycle (as just an example) for the first time in their life and each day you get them to ride they will have no recollection of ever riding before, but each day they will continue to get better and better at riding the bike.
Analysis
Key Concepts: Procedural, memory, it's
This explanation focuses on procedural, memory, it's and spans 158 words across 7 sentences. At 132% above the average Psychology explanation (68 words), this is one of the more thorough answers in this category, reflecting the complexity of the underlying question.
What This Answer Covers
The explanation opens with: “It's called procedural memory.” It then elaborates by presenting a contrasting perspective, ultimately building toward a complete picture across 7 connected points.
How This Compares in Psychology
Ranked #9 of 500 Psychology questions by answer depth (top 3%). This places it in the comprehensive tier — the top quarter of most thoroughly answered questions. Questions at this depth typically involve multi-faceted topics requiring nuanced explanation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a simple explanation for why we remember some skills (e.g swimming and cycling) our whole lives?
It's called procedural memory. More specifically, it's 'muscle memory' or 'motor learning' which is a type of procedural memory. Your brain's cerebellum, in particular, is very good at encoding sequences of muscle movements into long-term memory…
How detailed is this explanation compared to similar Psychology questions?
This is one of the most thorough answer at 158 words, ranked #9 of 500 Psychology questions by depth. The key concepts covered are procedural, memory, it's.
What approach does this answer take to explain we remember some skills (e.g swimming and cycling) our whole?
The explanation uses concrete examples and contrasting perspectives across 158 words. It is categorized under Psychology and addresses the question through 2 analytical lenses.