Total Recall: Short-Term Memory

In 1974 the researchers Baddeley and Hitch argued that the picture of short-term memory (STM) provided by the Multi-Store Model was far too simple. Following the Multi-Store Model, it is believed that STM holds limited amounts of information for short periods of time with relatively little processing, it is believed to be a unitary store. This means that due to its single store it has no subsystems, unlike the Working Memory Model which has many subsystems. This proves that the Working Memory is not a unitary store.

In conclusion, I have looked at how we think and shown that by organising our thoughts we can improve our memory. Mental imagery allows us to use pictures, concepts allow us to categorise information, and by developing schemas we can compartmentalise relevant information about specific things.

Memory is divided into three categories. These categories consist of: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory, out of these short term memory is the main focus in this essay. It has been widely researched due to interest of how much memory can be stored, how long this memory can be stored for and what information is memorised.

This essay addresses the working memory model which was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974 in Smith & Kosslyn, 2007) as a response to Atkinson and Shiffrins (1968 in Smith, 2007) multi-store model. According to Baddely and Hitch the multi-store model failed to explain most of the complexities of the human memory and viewed it as being too simplistic. They argued that the short term memory store must have more components rather it being a single inflexible store as suggested previously by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The working memory model is therefore an enhancement of the multi store model. According to Baddeley and Hitch working memory is a limited- capacity system that stores and processes information.

Retrieval failure, this theory indicates that when information is stored in the memory [long term] and

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

The article I will be reviewing is called The Roll of Rehearsal in Short Term Memory and is written by Michael Watson. Researchers named Gardener, Watson and Craik were interested in investigating the roll of short and long term memory in recalling information. They wondered if the probability of recalling something from long term memory has anything to do with its i value, or the amount of time a word was thought about. Gardener, Watson, and Crick also wondered if short term memory storage affects memory performance, and set out to answer their grand questions through psychological experimentation.

In the article "Human Memory: The Basics", a University of California Professor and writer, Michael E. Martinez (2010) suggests that the human mind has different kinds of memory, such as short-term memory and long-term memory. Martinez describes short-term memory as anything that you are thinking about at the given moment. This includes only a few ideas as the short-term capacity is limited. According to the author, long-term memory has a larger capacity, as it is relatively durable. Nevertheless, Martinez claims both short-term and long-term memory have limitations as the human mind only stores a fraction of the experiences it encounters. In fact, Martinez pointed out the flow of information between short-term and long-term memory also depends on the direction of the flow of information. For instance, he says when information transfers from short-term memory into long-term memory, it increases a person's ability to learn the information, but requires a bit more effort to store. The reverse process however, is identified as recognition, recall, or remembering. Additionally, Martinez states that at times

George A. Miller, one of the founders of cognitive psychology, is considered a pioneer who recognized that the human mind can be understood by using an information-processing model. Miller was also a leader in the story short-term memory. In Miller’s most famous article, “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two” remains one of the most frequently cited papers in the field of psychology. In his article, Miller proposed that short-term memory is subject to certain limits, including the span of information that can be stored at a given time. provides evidence for the capacity of short term memory.

Miller also suggests that short term memory last from 0 to 30 seconds. Miller goes on to talk about recoding of information and how it affects the process of memory. Since memory is fixed to a certain number of chunks to improve your memory capacity, and therefore increase the amount of information you can retrieve, you have to increase the size of the chunks. This can be done by using different methods to create bigger variations of information. Say someone is learning Morse code, initially every dot and dash is considered one chunk, but as you progress and learn each code for each letter then you will remember larger chunks. Eventually words will be learnt and consequently increase the size of information remembered. This is a tactic to increase short and active memory by essentially increasing chunk size, but not changing the core ±7 bits of

Learning about memory gave more confidence about my abilities on how to retain more information, precisely and quickly. Which is critical for higher education. This knowledge helped me enhance my memory, also, I’m fascinated by the method of loci (pg.274) which at first was peculiar to me; it’s quite astonishing, that ancient Greece and Roman was able to come up with this notion, which will always be synonymous to memorization. While, learning about the method of loci, it made me realize how incredible our long term memorization has come to be. Without the retrieval of long-term memory, it would be extremely difficult for anyone to use the method of loci in order to use it as a recall mechanism. I intensely believe that the method of loci will

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

According to philosopher-psychologist William James, memory is a generalized concept that encompasses the long term and short term memory. Kendra Cherry, psychologist expert, defines long term memory as “storage of information over an extended period.” (Cherry n.d.) An individual’s long term memory is structured by a semi-permanent chemical and the anatomical hippocampus. The hippocampus is in the center of both hemispheres of the brain and works in accordance with the amygdala to allow information to be imported to form memories. In relation to her research of the long term memory, Cherry also provided information on the characterization of the short memory which is described as, the “primary or active memory” that presently takes in information. (Cherry n.d.) The thalamus is a large portion of a dual lobed mass of matter that is located under the cerebral cortex.

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

the unity of memory are no longer tenable. A more appropriate view seems to be that of