NCJ Number
169841
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 46 Issue: 5 Dated: (September/October 1996) Pages: 597-629
Date Published
1996
Length
33 pages
Annotation
This paper considers the contents of memory and memory mechanisms.
Abstract
The first part of the paper outlines various types of memory that are differentiated in terms of the kind of information that is remembered: general knowledge or specific details, autobiographical experiences, and witnessed events and future actions. In discussing the results of memory questionnaires, the authors note that people seem to have different sorts of memory ability. This raises the issue of whether each type of memory is served by a different system. To constitute a separate system, there must be a functionally separate mechanism with its own structures and processes. Part II of this paper addresses two models of memory systems of this kind: the working memory system and production systems. This first paper in the series on this topic considers only systems designed for the short-term storage of information. The specification of short-term memory within a multi-store model of memory outlines some characteristics of its structure and processes, but the more recent model of working memory is a more detailed short-term system with several component subsystems. The capacity of short-term memory has often been assessed by means of the memory span task. One measure of capacity obtained from this task is based on the number of chunks recalled, where a chunk is a familiar unit or grouping of information. More recently, researchers have found that short- term capacity is limited by processing constraints (the allocation of attention), rather than by structural considerations (the amount of space available).