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Toward a theory of human memory: Data structures and access processes

Humphreys, Michael S. (1994) Toward a theory of human memory: Data structures and access processes.

Short Abstract:

A theory of the data structures and access processes of human memory is proposed and demonstrated on 10 tasks. The two starting points are Marr's (1982) ideas about the levels at which we can understand an information processing device and the standard laboratory paradigms which demonstrate the power and complexity of human memory. The theory suggests how to capture the functional characteristics of human memory (e.g., analogies, reasoning, etc.) without having to be concerned with implementational details. Ours is not a performance theory. We specify what is computed by the memory system with a multidimensional task classification which encompasses existing classifications (e.g., the distinction between implicit and explicit, data driven and conceptually driven, and simple associative (2-way bindings) and higher order tasks (3-way bindings). This providies a broad basis for new experimentation. Our formal language clarifies the binding problem in episodic memory, the role of input pathways in both episodic and semantic (lexical) memory, the importance of the input set in episodic memory, and the ubiquitous calculation of an intersection in theories of episodic and lexical access.

Long Abstract:

A theory of the data structures and access processes of human memory is proposed and demonstrated on 10 tasks. The two starting points are Marr's (1982) ideas about the levels at which we can understand an information processing device and the standard laboratory paradigms which demonstrate the power and complexity of human memory. The theory suggests how to capture the functional characteristics of human memory (e.g., analogies, reasoning, etc.) without having to be concerned with implementational details. Ours is not a performance theory. We specify what is computed by the memory system with a multidimensional task classification which encompasses existing classifications (e.g., the distinction between implicit and explicit, data driven and conceptually driven, and simple associative (2-way bindings) and higher order tasks (3-way bindings). This providies a broad basis for new experimentation. Our formal language clarifies the binding problem in episodic memory, the role of input pathways in both episodic and semantic (lexical) memory, the importance of the input set in episodic memory, and the ubiquitous calculation of an intersection in theories of episodic and lexical access.

Keywords:	amnesia, binding, context, data structure, lexical decision, memory access, perceptual identification, recall, recognition, representation.
Subjects:	Psychology: Cognitive Psychology Psychology: Learning and Memory Psychology: Perceptual Cognitive Psychology
ID code:	bbs00000538
Deposited by:	Michael S Humphreys on 02 May 2001