Capacity, duration, forgetting, content

From MerrimackWiki

Definition

Memory systems can be defined by these characteristics:

Capacity: Involving the amount of information that can be retained in the system.

Duration: The amount of time that information remains in the system

Forgetting: How information is forgotten/lost from the system. There are two types of forgetting: decay (fading away of information) and interference (information is lost because newer information is conflicting/interfering with pervious memory

Content: The information that is actually stored in the system.

Significance

Cognitive psychologists have sought to study and understand the different memory systems using these four characteristics. Each area of memory (sensory, short-term, and long-term) have a particular combination of these characteristics.