System-wide principles of memory: examining exceptions in working memory

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In most areas of scientific research, there are laws and principles that are the foundation of research and theory within that domain. In the study of human memory, however, there are few principles and no laws. One reason offered for the lack of laws and principles is that memory is not a unitary system but rather, is a set of different memory systems, each of which operates according to different rules. Because of this, discovering general laws or principles of memory is not possible. My research examines this issue by questioning whether there really is sufficient evidence to justify dividing memory into 5 separate systems. The research programme focuses on the distinction between short-term memory (also known as working memory) and long-term memory and has four major components. (1) Retrieving an item from memory begins, in almost all situations, with a cue. By cue, researchers mean a specific prompt or query, such as "Where did I leave my car keys?" or "Who was that actor in 'Ben-Hur'?" One reason for distinguishing between short- and long-term memory is that retrieval from short-term memory does not require a cue. The research re-examines this issue by looking for effects of varying the retrieval cue for items thought to be stored in short-term memory. (2) One common cause of forgetting is interference: when trying to remember your new telephone number, you retrieve your previous number instead. A second reason for distinguishing between short- and long-term memory is that short-term memory is immune from this sort of interference. The research will test whether this is really the case. (3) Researchers have identified several 'signature' results that indicate that a person is utilizing short-term memory on a particular task. The third series of studies looks to see if these benchmark effects can be found in situations in which short-term memory is not playing a role. (4) The final component is the development of a mathematical model of memory that does not distinguish between memory systems. This is part of a larger research programme which assumes that there are general laws and principles and focuses on formulating and testing potential principles. It will also keep Canadian-based research at the forefront of this critical area.