Memory Systems — Flashcards & Quiz

Key Points

• Sensory memory: very brief (<1 second), large capacity, pre-attentive.
• Short-term memory (STM): ~15–30 seconds duration, 7±2 items capacity, encoded acoustically (Miller).
• Long-term memory (LTM): potentially unlimited duration and capacity, encoded semantically.
• Explicit LTM (declarative): conscious recollection. Includes episodic (personal events) and semantic (general knowledge).
• Implicit LTM (non-declarative): unconscious; includes procedural memory (skills like riding a bike) and conditioned responses.
• HM case study: after hippocampus removal, he could form new procedural memories but not new episodic or semantic ones — strong evidence these systems are distinct.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Treating long-term memory as a single system — it has multiple subtypes.
2. Confusing episodic (personal events) with semantic (general knowledge) memory.
3. Claiming implicit memory is unreliable — procedural memories can be very precise.
4. Forgetting HM's case as the key evidence for memory system separation.
5. Mixing up STM capacity (7±2 items) with LTM capacity (potentially unlimited).

Exam Strategy

SCSA Unit 3 memory questions ask you to classify memory types or describe the hierarchy. Method: (1) describe the three stores (sensory, STM, LTM) with capacity and duration, (2) subdivide LTM into explicit and implicit, (3) give an example of each type, (4) cite HM's case to support the system separation, (5) evaluate with modern neuroscience findings.

Revision Tip

Memory taxonomy is a diagram-heavy topic — drill a Revizi deck with a tree diagram of memory types and examples for each.