memory_models:a_brief_history_of_human_memory_systems
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memory_models:a_brief_history_of_human_memory_systems [2011/06/30 12:46] jpetrovic [One or two memory systems?] |
memory_models:a_brief_history_of_human_memory_systems [2011/08/29 12:13] jpetrovic [Early models and measures of memory] |
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| ===== Early models and measures of memory ===== | ===== Early models and measures of memory ===== | ||
| - | Some of the first notable noted research on human memory was conducted in 1890 by **[[http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/exhibits/james/introduction.cfm|William James]]**. Based on his research, James assumed memory consists out of **two systems**: | + | Some of the first notable noted research on human memory was conducted in 1890 by **[[http://www.hcl.harvard.edu/libraries/houghton/exhibits/james/introduction.cfm|William James]]**. Based on his research, James assumed memory consists out of **two systems** (//dichotomous memory//)(([[http://books.google.hr/books?id=zp5ODdDGVW0C|Loftus, G. R., and Elizabeth F. Loftus. Human Memory: The Processing of Information. Routledge, 1976.]])): |
| - | * **primary memory**, which lasts for a **few seconds** and holds **in our consciousness** the perception of events in our environment, and | + | * **primary memory**, which lasts for a **few seconds** and holds information **in our consciousness**, and |
| - | *** second memory**, which has **unlimited duration** and can be **brought to consciousness** if wanted. | + | *** second memory**, which has **unlimited duration** and can be **brought to consciousness** if desired. |
| - | A measure for the **capacity of short-term** (primary) memory was first introduced even a bit earlier, in 1887, by **Joseph Jacobs**, who tested the span of digits his students were able to remember. Under the criterion that at least 50% of the digits need to be remembered correctly, subjects he tested mostly remembered **about 7 digits**. What he also noticed is that this result can be improved by grouping the digits (for example in groups of three), or reading aloud. | + | A measure for the **capacity of short-term** (primary) memory was first introduced even a bit earlier, in 1887, by **Joseph Jacobs**, who tested the span of digits his students were able to remember.((Jacobs, J. Experiments in 'prehension'. Mind, 12, 75-79, 1887. Cited by [[http://books.google.com/books?id=fMgm-2NXAXYC|Baddeley, Alan D. Human memory: theory and practice. Psychology Press, 1997.]])) Under the criterion that at least 50% of the digits need to be remembered correctly, subjects he tested mostly remembered **about 7 digits**. What he also noticed is that this result can be improved by grouping the digits (for example in groups of three), or reading aloud. |
| Similar results were reported by **[[http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/IP/GAMiller.html|George Miller]]** in 1956 in his famous work "The **Magical Number Seven**, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information"(([[http://cogprints.org/730/1/miller.html|Miller, G. A. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97. 1956.]])), where he suggested human short-term capacity was determined by the number of **//chunks//** or cognitive wholes one can remember, no matter if it is a letter, digit or word. This number on average equals **seven**, and may vary usually **between five and nine**. | Similar results were reported by **[[http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/IP/GAMiller.html|George Miller]]** in 1956 in his famous work "The **Magical Number Seven**, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information"(([[http://cogprints.org/730/1/miller.html|Miller, G. A. The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological Review, 63, 81–97. 1956.]])), where he suggested human short-term capacity was determined by the number of **//chunks//** or cognitive wholes one can remember, no matter if it is a letter, digit or word. This number on average equals **seven**, and may vary usually **between five and nine**. | ||
| - | This research increased interest in human memory research. Until then, it was commonly accepted that forgetting occurs due to interference of target information with new acquired information. This idea known as //**retroactive interference**//((Forgetting of learned information due to newly acquired information.)) was introduced in 1900 by **[[http://chss-dev.montclair.edu/psychology/haupt/shaper2a.html|Georg Elias Müller]]** and **[[http://www.ich-sciences.de/index.php?id=39&L=1&type=0&uid=1004&cHash=3eef2ea01d|Alfons Pilzecker]]**((Müller G.E., & Pilzecker A. Experimentelle Beiträge zur Lehre vom Gedächtnis. Z. Psychol. Ergänzungsband 1:1–300. 1900.)) who concluded that learning does not cause instantaneous and long lasting memories, but that memory takes time to //**consolidate**// (//Konsolidierung//). This also means that during the consolidation period the memory is vulnerable. | + | This research increased interest in human memory research. Until then, it was commonly accepted that forgetting occurs due to interference of target information with new acquired information. This idea known as //**retroactive interference**//((Forgetting of learned information due to newly acquired information.)) was introduced in 1900 by **[[http://chss-dev.montclair.edu/psychology/haupt/shaper2a.html|Georg Elias Müller]]** and **[[http://www.ich-sciences.de/index.php?id=39&L=1&type=0&uid=1004&cHash=3eef2ea01d|Alfons Pilzecker]]**(([[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0033290907678320|Müller G.E., & Pilzecker A. Experimentelle Beiträge zur Lehre vom Gedächtnis. Z. Psychol. Ergänzungsband 1:1–300. 1900.]])) who concluded that learning does not cause instantaneous and long lasting memories, but that memory takes time to //**consolidate**// (//Konsolidierung//). This also means that during the consolidation period the memory is vulnerable. |
| During the 1950s **John Brown**(([[http://step.psy.cmu.edu/articles/Brown58.doc|Brown, J. Some Tests of the Decay Theory of Immediate Memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 10, 12-21. 1958.]])) and **Lloyd and Margaret Peterson**(([[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14432252|Peterson, L. R., & Peterson, M. J. Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 193-198. 1959.]])) conducted research on information forgetting, offering other explanations of forgetting. Their hypothesis was that forgetting occurs due to the rapid **decay of the memory trace** (//the neural substrate of retention//) when it is first established. Both reasons will later be accepted as correct. | During the 1950s **John Brown**(([[http://step.psy.cmu.edu/articles/Brown58.doc|Brown, J. Some Tests of the Decay Theory of Immediate Memory. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 10, 12-21. 1958.]])) and **Lloyd and Margaret Peterson**(([[http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14432252|Peterson, L. R., & Peterson, M. J. Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 58, 193-198. 1959.]])) conducted research on information forgetting, offering other explanations of forgetting. Their hypothesis was that forgetting occurs due to the rapid **decay of the memory trace** (//the neural substrate of retention//) when it is first established. Both reasons will later be accepted as correct. | ||
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| * **time to acquire information** (short for STM and longer for LTM), | * **time to acquire information** (short for STM and longer for LTM), | ||
| * **information encoding** (semantic for LTM and acoustic or visual for STM), and | * **information encoding** (semantic for LTM and acoustic or visual for STM), and | ||
| - | * type of memory affected by physical injuries in patients((See: //Milner, B. Amnesia following operation on the temporal lobes. In C.W.M. Whitty & O. L. Zangwill (eds), Amnesia. London: Butterworth, 1966.// (damage of LTM without damaging STM), and [[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00335557043000203|Shallice, T. & Warrington, E.K. Independent functioning of verbal memory stores: a neuropsychological study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22, 261–273. 1970.]] (damaged STM with fully functioning LTM), cited by [[http://gen.lib.rus.ec/get?md5=00b2fd0fb59c5de5704bb86e70a6871a|Baddeley, Alan D. The Psychology of Memory. In Michael D. Kopelman, and Barbara A. Wilson. The Handbook of Memory Disorders. 2nd ed. Wiley, 2002.]])). | + | * type of memory affected by physical injuries in patients((See: Milner, B. Amnesia following operation on the temporal lobes. In C.W.M. Whitty & O. L. Zangwill (eds), Amnesia. London: Butterworth, 1966. (damage of LTM without damaging STM), and [[http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00335557043000203|Shallice, T. & Warrington, E.K. Independent functioning of verbal memory stores: a neuropsychological study. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 22, 261–273. 1970.]] (damaged STM with fully functioning LTM), cited by [[http://gen.lib.rus.ec/get?md5=00b2fd0fb59c5de5704bb86e70a6871a|Baddeley, Alan D. The Psychology of Memory. In Michael D. Kopelman, and Barbara A. Wilson. The Handbook of Memory Disorders. 2nd ed. Wiley, 2002.]])). |
| Another term should be clarified here: the [[memory_models:human_working_memory|working memory]], which is often mistaken for the short-term memory. The main difference between these two is that working memory usually includes the structure and processes performed by a system in control of the short-term memory. | Another term should be clarified here: the [[memory_models:human_working_memory|working memory]], which is often mistaken for the short-term memory. The main difference between these two is that working memory usually includes the structure and processes performed by a system in control of the short-term memory. | ||
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