ABSTRACT
Any act of memory consists of three phases: (a) Acquisition, when the individual memorizes certain responses evoked by the requirements of the situation. This phase is sometimes only a brief, perceptual act, but it can also involve fairly complex activity, in the case of successive repetitions, by which the task is gradually mastered; (b) Retention, extending over a short or long period of time during which the material that has been memorized is stored but latent; (c) Reactivation and actualization of responses acquired, giving rise to observable mnemonic behaviour.
