Essay on Decay Theory in STM and Theory of Duration in STM

He author a paper that was one of the most quoted papers in the field. The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two, suggested new ideas about the way immediate memory works, stating that short term memory is limited to holding about seven “chunks’ of information. This limit applied to short term memory and other cognitive processes, like distinguishing different sound tones and perceiving objects at a glance. Chunking is a diverse phenomenon in psychology and cognitive science. Free recall amongst other tests can demonstrate “Chunking,” the task requires individuals to repeat items they had been previously instructed to study. The probability of recall is bigger when chunking is used. Chunking is considered a flexible way of learning. Miller observed that some human cognitive tasks fit the model of a “channel capacity,” but short term memory did not. An assortment of studies could recap by stating that short term memory had a capacity of about “seven plus or minus two chunks. Miller recognized that we are not very definite about what constitutes a chunk of information. According to his theory, it should be possible to increase short term memory for low information content successfully by mentally recording it into smaller higher information content. Chunking as a memory mechanism can be observed in the way we group number and information in our day to day life. Different kinds

1. Hockenbury, Don H., and Sandra E. Hockenbury. "Chapter 6- Memory." Psychology. 5th ed. New York: Worth, 2010. 282-83. Print

Outline and evaluate research in to the duration, capacity and encoding information in short term memory.

“Decay theory-- we forget memories because we don’t use them and they fade away over time

Scientists still to this day are studying whether long-term memories are fully lost. The purpose of human memory is to use past events to help guide their future actions, however; the human brain does not maintain perfect information of the past and is not reliable information. “The human brain can easily create false memories due to a misinterpretation of an event” (Carter 2009). “The chief explanations for forgetting include interference, retrieval failure, and constructive processes” (Loftus 2016). Memory interference happens when the remembering of specific material learned in the past blocks the memory formation of other new learned material. Human often experience having information “on the tip of their tongue” but are unable to recall

the theory suggests that every time a new information comes in, memory trace is created. With time,

Another problem in assessing the role of decay on short-term memory is the habitual tendency of rehearse materials that are to retain (Berman, Jonides, and Lewis). An example that Berman, Jonides, Lewis give is when we look up a phone number in the directory and then walk to the phone, we rehearse the number in our head until it is dialed. They are trying to come up with different techniques to prevent rehearsal, to get an accurate gauge of whether decay has an effect on memory (Berman, Jonides, and Lewis).

Neuroscience widely recognised that memories undertake the process of consolidation (Nader & Einarsson, 2010). When memories are nascent, they are prone to interference and are considered ‘labile’. However, through the ensuing process of protein synthesis, they later become stabilised. Subsequently, the respective disruptions would initiate no detriment (Dudai, 2012). Historically, consolidation was thought to be the process by which unstable short term memories are transferred into fixed state long term memories (Nader & Einarsson, 2010). Nader Schafe & LaDoux (2000) challenged this concept suggesting it is possible memories become once again unstable. This notion facilitated a shift in research toward the inherent malleability of memories (Dudai, 2012). It is now widely embraced in neuroscience that two consolidation processes exist; synaptic consolidation and system consolidation (Nader & Einarsson, 2010). Synaptic consolidation refers to the process of transforming a memory into long-term form at local nodes in the neural circuit that encodes the memory (Dudai, 2012). This process

With an understanding of roles played by each type of memory, consequences of impairment can be determined. For instance, impairment in LTM would limit the amount of information one can retain for an extended period of time. This may be because of

Short term memory (STM) is the second process in the ever so popular Information Processing Model and it is the area where information is the most readily available, but also most susceptible to being forgotten (Baddeley, 1986). STM has a very limited capacity, and can usually only hold so much information, the magic formula for this being “7 +/- 2” (Insert source). The formula of plus or minus two, simply stated is that humans STM’s can only store five to nine items of information at a time. Research has also shown that there is trace decay theory for items being STM, where items are easily forgotten within seconds if they are not put through the articulatory loop (Baddeley, 1986). As described by Baddeley, the articulatory loop is rehearsal of items that are currently stored in the STM. If items are not mentally rehearsed, then they are lost. Baddeley was the first to coin the term articulatory loop, but most researchers use it interchangeably with the term phonological loop. The phonological loop is specific to rehearsing verbal information in order to

The ability to recall an event is a human attribute that is unconsciously cherished all throughout one’s life. A human’s ability to store and retrieve memories is a complex, and typically misunderstood, process. Although the thought of storing and retrieving a memory seems simple, like accessing information through a filing cabinet, it is much more convoluted, as the ability to remember past experiences requires several complicated processes that take place in the brain. Different types of memories call also for different processes of retrieval, further complicating the location of where the brain stores certain memories and how it recalls these events. The complexity of the human brain, especially involving memory, has been studied since the

Forgetting occurs in the STM as it has a limited duration and capacity; once these limits are reached, information is forgotten. If information is forgotten

Long term memory, or (LTM) is a very important factor in every day life. LTM is what allows people to be able to remember things from the past, stupid facts, and many other things. LTM is essential for obtaining an education because without it someone would be unable to remember anything they had learned. Peoples LTM is stored in the front parts of their brain, that is why in some cases when people get into accidents they forget certain things they would have know before their accident. There are four different types of LTM Episodic, Semantic, Procedural, and Emotional. Each one of these different types of memories is sparked from different types of situations.

A trace is considered some form of physical and/or chemical change in the nervous system. This theory states that we forget because of an automatic decay or fading of the memory trace. It centers around the very little time and duration short term memory has. It suggests that the time short term memory can hold information is between 15 and 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed. After the 15 to 10 seconds the information/ trace begins to fade. No one disagrees to the fact that memory gets worse the more time is in between learning and recall but according to the trace decay theory any events between learning and recall have affect on recall. However there is little support for decay theory as an explanation of information loss for STM and

Another reason behind my interest is the short term side of memory intake and how long it lasts in your brain. It intrigued me because I have a hard time remembering a person’s name when I hear it for the first time even though it might be a simple name to remember; but, give me a phone number or a series of numbers and although I might only hear it or see them for a small amount of time I can remember those numbers with much more ease than the name of a person I just met. Another interesting factor that intrigued me is how the individual brain processes events such as: adding emotional attachment to memories, or when a