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Long-term memories require learning and repetition to become fixed, but once stored they can last a long time and be retrieved by triggers or cues. Knowledge may be in different forms, such as remembering what things are; how to do something; or remembering linked episodes of verbal and visual interactions that occurred in the past. Prospective memory is remembering to do something in the future, such as checking that food left cooking is not burning.

Remembering that the perceptual cues in front of you are similar to a stored memory is called recognition, while remembering something stored in memory from different cues in front of you is called recall. Identifying whether you have seen someone’s face before requires recognition, while remembering their name takes longer because it requires recall.

Our general prior experience helps to realise that buttons should be pushed, and handles should be pulled, while specific experience with a product makes it easier to use in the future. The ability to use a new product is strongly dependent on how well it matches with these specific and general experiences. Our ability to learn decreases with age, so a product is likely to be difficult to use for an older person if it does not match up with their experiences when younger. Initial interaction with an unfamiliar product is characterised by frequent errors but this can improve if the product supports learning through feedback.