Monday, February 21, 2011

Model for Memory

Memory is like an infinitely large warehouse full of filing cabinets with a table in the corner that has a tray for papers and a workspace. The warehouse is your entire long-term memory. Things are put into different folders in different drawers of different filing cabinets throughout the warehouse. They may be placed so that they are in a logical location neatly ordered so that they can be found with ease when looking for them. Some things, however, are roughly shoved between two folders in an already messy drawer of one of 137 filing cabinets labeled “misc.” The information is in that warehouse, but good luck ever finding it back.

The table represents the combination of short-term and working memory. It has a finite, limited place that multiple things can be placed and held onto after being pulled from the filing cabinets or before being placed in them (or before being shredded). This area corresponds to the short-term memory of a person where things are held onto until they are either moved to long-term memory or forgotten. It also has a space so that a limited number of those things can be placed out and manipulated on a workspace. This space relates to the active/working memory of a person.

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