Models of Memory

“Information flows from the outside world through our sight, hearing smelling, tasting and touch sensors. Memory is simply ways we store and recall things we 've sensed.” When we recall memories, the original neuron path that we used to sense the experience that we are recalling is refined, and the connection is made stronger. Sensory information in stored for only a few seconds in the cortex of the brain. This information can then progress to short-term memory, and then long-term memory, depending on the importance of the information received.

Memory in the human brain is a complex process which is easier understood by the use of theoretical constructs. Memories begin as sensory stimuli which become sensory memory which only last about one second, from there it moves into working memory which lasts for about twenty to thirty seconds and is used to process information. Within working memory there are a few separate processes, the central executive which directs attention, the episodic buffer which is a secondary storage lasting ten to twenty seconds, this area communicates with long term memory as well as the central executive. The visuospatial sketchpad which is used to visualise visual and spacial

The multi-store model of memory (eg, Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968) claims the memory can be sectioned into three distinctive parts: sensory store, short-term store (STM) and long-term store (LTM). Eysenck and Keane (2005:190) states that data is first encountered by the sensory store, then depending on the attention given, is processed to the STM and finally - if rehearsed - continues to the LTM.

Human memory is a complex cognitive structure, which can be defined in many ways. One would argue that memory is 1.) The mental function of retaining information about stimuli, event, images, ideas, etc. after the original stimuli is no longer present. 2.) The hypothesized storage system in the mind that holds this information is so retained. A clear distinction is made between different types of memory systems and can be divided into subclasses.

Craik and Lockhart suggested that rather than concentrate on a structure view of memory, it might be more beneficial to concentrate on the processes that contribute to remembering. They suggest that what if they recalled, possibly not some item that has been loaded in a store, but rather that the after effect of processing remain.

From short term memory, there will be an encoding and retrieval process where long term memory will be developed. There, some of the information is retained and some of it is lost over a passage of time. The long term memory stage has the longest potential duration and can be recalled for years after initial understanding. Evidence to support this model comes from an experiment published in the Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior in 1966 by Murray Glanzer and Anita Cunitz. There experiment showed the serial position effects known as primacy, words at the beginning of a list are more easily recalled, and recency, words at the end of a list are more easily recalled. These result supported Atkinson and Shiffrin 's model by showing that long term memory and short term memory were separate stages. The recency effect showed that words in short term memory were more easily remembered. While the primacy effect showed that words in long term memory were more easily remembered because they had been rehearsed (Glanzer and Cunitz, 1966).

The aim of this investigation was to look to see if there is a difference in the recollection if the format in which information is presented is different. Lists of words and images were compared to find the most effective source of recollection. This topic of research has many real life applications for instance how students study in preparation for exams. If there is a format that is more successful at recollecting memory then that would help with studying and can be expanded to how general education is taught. This field of psychology could help to revolutionise memory and its capabilities if enough study is concentrated on it.

A human’s memory system is just one of many amazing things that demonstrate the brain’s complexity. Without memory we would have no recollection of anything, ever. Within our memory system there are three main measures that assess how much information is retained, these are known as recall, recognition and relearning. These are all measures of retention, that influence how much information is encoded, stored and retrieved within one’s memory system. Each measure of retention has a different level of sensitivity. The more sensitive a measure of retention, the easier it is to retain information.

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

Long term memory is defined like it sounds long term memory is intended for long term storage of information over a long term period of time. Despite short term memory, long term memory seems to decline very little in as time goes on. Your long term memory can store an unlimited amount of information for an unlimited amount of time (Mastin,2010). Long term memory has three different memories the procedural memory, semantic, and the episodic memory (McLeod,2010). The procedural memory is the part of the long term memory where we remember how to do things. The semantic memory is in charge of store information about the world and finally the episodic memory store memories about an event. Short term memory can have relationships with negative and positive emotions. Based on the study by Philipp Spachtholz; working memory can be affected by emotions.

This model has presented 3 stages of human memory: 1) a sensory register, 2) a short-term store, and 3) a long-term store (Atkinson, 1968). The system explains that by the submission of a stimulus, an immediate registration of that stimulus occurs within the appropriate sensory dimension, and depending on the extent of attention and “rehearsal” of information, the data will pass through first short-term and then long-term memory (ibid). As the information is received by the correlated sensory receptors from the environment, the stimuli are translated to readable codes in the brain (Carlson, 2006). 3 of the most vastly studied sensory memories are: Iconic, that is the translation of visual stimuli, Echoic memory, the sensory memory responsible for auditory stimuli, and haptic memory, responsible for the tangible sense of touch (Carlson,

The three stores are the sensory memory, short term memory(STM), and long-term memory (LTM). The sensory system involves your six senses and tend to be easily forgotten. It also has a very large capacity and has a very brief retention of images. The stuff we encode from the sensory system can be transferred to the STM and the short-term memory acts like a temporary

The concept of the Dual-Store Model of Memory was proposed by psychologists Richkard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin with three components: Sensory Register, Working (Short-Term) Memory, and Long-Term Memory (Ormrod, 2016, p. 164). These components combined make up the entirety of the memory, but each have unique and vital roles that they play in the memory. The sensory register is a massive bank of storage that holds memories of senses - sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and how something feels (touch), but it does not store memories for any considerable length of time. The senses that are held here are processed and then they move on to the next component (Ormrod, 2016, pp. 165-167). An example of the sensory register could be the birds I just saw flying past my window. These birds flew through the air one moment, and then they were gone the next

Memory is defined as "the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information." Our memory can be compared to a computer's information processing system. To remember an event we need to get information into our brain which is encoding, store the information and then be able to retrieve it. The three-stage processing model of Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin suggests that we record information that we want to remember first as a fleeting sensory memory and then it is processed into a short term memory bin where we encode it ( pay attention to encode important or novel stimuli) for long-term memory and later retrieval. The premise for the three step process is that we are unable to focus on too much

The sensory memory gathers data via our senses, ears, eyes, mouth and due to this information only remains in store for a very small amount time, thus the model suggests that if consideration is given to the senses then the memory exchanges to the short term capacity. An evidence of the sensory store was provided by Sperling (1960); as