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

在大多数科学研究领域，有规律和原则是该领域内研究和理论的基础。然而，在对人类记忆的研究中，几乎没有原则，也没有规律。缺乏规律和原则的一个原因是，记忆不是一个单一的系统，而是一组不同的记忆系统，每个系统都按照不同的规则运行。正因为如此，发现记忆的一般规律或原理是不可能的。我的研究通过质疑是否真的有足够的证据证明将内存划分为5个独立的系统来检验这个问题。该研究计划侧重于短期记忆(也称为工作记忆)和长期记忆之间的区别，包括四个主要组成部分。(1)在几乎所有情况下，从记忆中提取一件物品都是从提示开始的。研究人员所说的提示是指特定的提示或询问，比如“我把车钥匙忘在哪里了？”或者“《宾虚》里的那个演员是谁？”区分短期记忆和长期记忆的一个原因是，从短期记忆中提取信息不需要线索。这项研究通过寻找不同提取线索对被认为存储在短期记忆中的物品的影响来重新审视这个问题。(2)忘记的一个常见原因是干扰：当你试图记住你的新电话号码时，你会取回以前的号码。区分短期记忆和长期记忆的第二个原因是，短期记忆不会受到这种干扰。这项研究将检验是否真的是这样。(3)研究人员已经确定了几个“签名”结果，这些结果表明一个人在某项特定任务中利用了短期记忆。第三个系列的研究着眼于在短期记忆不起作用的情况下，是否能找到这些基准效应。(4)最后一个组成部分是开发一种不区分存储系统的存储数学模型。这是一个更大的研究方案的一部分，该方案假定存在一般的法律和原则，并侧重于制定和测试潜在的原则。它还将使加拿大的研究处于这一关键领域的前沿。

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.