The Evidence for the Existence of Multiple Memory Systems Essay

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

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.

By doing so is finding support for hypothesis, “AA reflects a failure to consolidate short-lived encoded information into a durable form of memory” (Chen and Wyble,2016). In other words, AA shows brief information does not become a permanent and stable memory, stored in long-term memory. In order, find supporting evidence the authors performed 5 experiments. The first experiment tested consisted of elimination of AA by having participants report an attribute of the stimulus instead of the location, in order to separate the dependence of AA and location. The results suggested location information of the target was automatically stored. Experiment two tested, if AA only occurred because of the familiarity and repetition of targets However, despite eliminating the familiarities and repetition of targets AA still occurred. Lastly, the last three experiments were identical, but with changes in variables and tested the hypothesis. Experiment 3a results showed a weakening in AA by forcing the participants to consolidate the key attribute into memory. Experiment 3b showed the weakening in 3a was caused by having participants maintaining attributes in memory after delayed tasks. Lastly, 3c provided support the previous experiments in which participants were able to find the

The three memory stores include sensory memory, working memory, and long-term memory. The sensory memory stores information from the senses, such as what a person sees, touches, and hears, for a very short period of time until it can be processed or is forgotten. The working memory involves the use of thinking to understand what a person experiences and connect it to prior knowledge. This memory store uses three parts: a central executive, a phonological loop, and a visual-spatial sketchpad. The working memory is limited on how much it can hold, which is about seven items.

Atkinson and Shiffrin’s (1968) multi-store model suggests that memory is a flow of information processed through three stores (Myers, 2010). The first system called sensory memory (SM) processes mainly visual and auditory information from our environment (Myers, 2010). It is made up of several components associated with each sense and

There are many proposed divisions and sub-divisions of human memory, such as working memory, procedural memory, semantic memory or episodic memory. Many of the systems seem to overlap, with each having varying functions related to the maintenance of

The attention transfers information from the sensory memory to the short-term memory. This short-term memory has a capacity of keeping information for seconds and minutes. It encodes information through sound. For information to transfer to long-term memory it must be rehearsed, otherwise, it will be forgotten. The long-term memory has a duration of hours, days, and years its capacity is possibly unlimited.

7). The Sensory memory could be compared to a sorting table of information. Everything collected by our senses from the environment around us is dumped onto a sorting table known as Sensory Memory. This information does not stay there long, only a few seconds before it is saved into our short-term memory if it is valuable or discarded if it is not. Once in the short-term memory the information needs to be repeated to be remembered and moved into the long-term memory. This process is known as memory consolidation, rehearsal or consciously repeating information is a requirement for long-term memory retention. Otherwise, the information is lost after twenty seconds in the short-term memory. The long-term memory is limitless in its capacity to store information, it holds memories from just a few minutes ago, to years and years ago. As an example, if I were studying for a mid-term exam, I would use a three-step process to retain the information. First, I would read the information start to finish, highlighting information I found interesting or pertinent to lessons objectives. Thus, I am taking the information in though my sensory memory and recognizing that I want to retain it. Second within the twenty seconds the information is in my short-term memory I repeat the information by highlighting it. Thus, through rehearsal the information is consolidated and moved into long term memory. Lastly, I would put the information on flash cards using my own words, for more repetition, to assist me in the recognition and recall of the information during the

There is evidence that no single region of the brain is responsible for all memories and that each brain region makes a specific contribution. Integrate the following terms into a coherent hypothesis of a multiple memory systems: explicit and implicit memory, encoding, storage, retrieval, recent, remote, working, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, basal ganglia, right and left hemisphere. Please define each term first and then relate it with specific brain areas; finally integrate them into a “coherent hypothesis of a multiple

In the last half century several theories have emerged with regard to the best model for human memory. In each of these models there was a specific way to help people recall words and

Second Article that we chose is “The Mind and Brain of Short-Term Memory”. It is from the annual reviews.org which is a reliable source to get information about psychology research. This article covers all areas of short-term memory and is very organized with sub headings.

Prior to the early 1970s the prominent idea of how memories were formed and retrieved revolved around the idea of processing memory into specific stores (Francis & Neath, 2014). These memory stores were identified as sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In contrast to this idea, two researchers named Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart proposed an idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval (Goldstein, 2015). This idea is known as the levels of processing theory. According to this theory, memory depends on the depth of processing that a given item is received by an individual (Goldstein, 2015). Craik and Lockhart stressed four points in supporting their theory. First, they argued that memory was the result of a series of analyses, each level of the series forming a deeper level of processing than the preceding level (Francis & Neath, 2014). The shallow levels of processing were believed to hold less importance and are defined as giving little attention to meaning of an item. Examples of which include focusing on how a word sounds or memorizing a phone number by repeating it over and over again (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The deeper levels processing involve paying close attention to the meaning of an item and relating that meaning to something else, an example of which would be focusing on the meaning of a word rather than just how the word sounds (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The second point Craik and Lockhart

Memory has different parts in the memory system including sensory, short and long memories. Each type has a different time span and is broken down for different purposes for memorizing. Sensory memory occupies material for one to two

They proposed the phonological loop had evolved for language acquisition and storage. Also their study found that the ability to pronounce a word places it in phonological storage, allowing you to recall the memory quicker (Baddeley, 1994). The phonological loop has been found to be a workspace for verbal information (Baddeley, 1994). Other studies have also found that the phonological loop works to process auditory information as well (Reisberg, 2013). The visuospatial sketchpad, (Baddeley, 1994) was used to recall a visual object. In the visuospatial sketchpad images are placed on different spatial maps, which then tied together with the spatial workspace on the visuospatial sketchpad. The decision maker of working memory is the central executive. It decides which memories are retrieved, what information you should focus on, how important the information is, and how to attain goals (Riesberg, 2013). Without the central executive, our thoughts and actions would be unorganized in our working memory (Riesberg, 2013). In order to reduce the workload of the central executive, and allow it to focus towards important tasks, the episodic buffer works to store the information gathered from the visuospatial sketchpad and phonological loop (Baddeley, 1974). These models of memory show us how it is organized and operates, and there are other models of memory that go into how memory aids our

Storage in human memory is one of three core process of memory, along with Recall and Encoding. It refers to the retention of information, which has been achieved through the encoding process, in the brain for a prolonged period of time until it is accessed through recall. Modern memory psychology differentiates the two distinct type of memory storage: short-term memory and long-term memory. In addition, different memory models have suggested variations of existing short-term and long-term memory to account for different ways of storing memory