Memory management in a data processing system can learn one or more behaviors of software processes such as daemon software processes and application processes, and based on information learned about the behaviors, the memory management can adjust how it controls memory usage in the system. For example, a memory management system can learn how software processes react (e.g. how quickly they relaunch) to memory recovery methods, such as system initiated terminations of one or more software processes that are performed to reclaim memory to increase available volatile memory, and based on information about how they react, the memory recovery methods can operate differently depending upon how the software reacted previously.