Eidetic memory (/aɪˈdɛtɪk/eye-DET-ik), also known as photographic memory and total recall, is the ability to recall an image from memory with high precision—at least for a brief period of time—after seeing it only once[1] and without using a mnemonic device.[2]
Although the terms eidetic memory and photographic memory are popularly used interchangeably,[1] they are also distinguished, with eidetic memory referring to the ability to see an object for a few minutes after it is no longer present[3][4] and photographic memory referring to the ability to recall pages of text or numbers, or similar, in great detail.[5][6] When the concepts are distinguished, eidetic memory is reported to occur in a small number of children and is generally not found in adults,[3][7] while true photographic memory has never been demonstrated to exist.[6][8]
The term eidetic comes from the Greek word εἶδος (pronounced[êːdos], eidos) "visible form".[9]
^ abThe terms eidetic memory and photographic memory are often used interchangeably:
Annette Kujawski Taylor (2013). Encyclopedia of Human Memory [3 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. p. 951. ISBN978-1-4408-0026-9. Retrieved May 10, 2016. Eidetic memory is sometimes called photographic memory because individuals who possess eidetic memory can reproduce information from memory in exactly the format in which it was provided during encoding.
Scott Lilienfeld; Steven Jay Lynn; Laura Namy; Nancy Woolf; Graham Jamieson; Anthony Marks; Virginia Slaughter (2014). Psychology: From Inquiry to Understanding. Pearson Higher Education. p. 353. ISBN978-1-4860-1640-2. Retrieved May 10, 2016. Iconic memory may help to explain the remarkable phenomenon of eidetic imagery, popularly called 'photographic memory'.
Breedlove, S. Marc (2015). Principles of Psychology. Oxford University Press. p. 353. ISBN978-0-19-932936-6. Retrieved May 10, 2016. If a person had iconic memory that did not fade with time, he or she would have what is sometimes called photographic memory (also called eidetic memory), the ability to recall entire images with extreme detail.