The three-system model of memory

An Influential Framework for Understanding Memory

The three-systems approach, which dominated memory research for decades, proposes that there are different stores or stages of memory.

According to this influential theory, information must travel through these three systems in order to be remembered long-term.

Although newer theories have questioned some of its assumptions, this model still provides a very useful framework for understanding how we remember.

These three separate memory stores are sensory memory, short-term memory, and finally, long-term memory, each with unique characteristics.

Sensory Memory: Initial, Momentary Storage

Sensory memory refers to the initial, momentary storage of information, which lasts only an instant after perception.

In this first system, an exact replica of the stimulus that has been registered by a person's sensory system is stored very precisely. short.

This memory operates as a sort of snapshot that stores information that can be visual, auditory, or any other sensory modality.

However, if the information in this snapshot is not quickly transferred to the next stage of memory, it is lost forever.

Short-Term (or Working) Memory: Processing Information

Short-term memory is the store in which information first acquires meaning, although its retention is relatively short.

Unlike sensory memory, which contains a complete but fleeting representation of the world, short-term memory has an incomplete representational capacity.

This memory can retain approximately seven items or "chunks" of information, with variations of plus or minus two, for a period of fifteen to twenty-five seconds.

Many contemporary theorists now refer to short-term memory as "working memory," defining it as a set of temporary stores that actively manipulate the information.

Long-Term Memory: The Permanent Store

The third type of storage system is long-term memory, where information is stored in a form that is relatively permanent and long-lasting.

Material that makes it from short-term memory to long-term memory enters a storehouse that has almost unlimited capacity.

Information held in long-term memory is archived and encoded in such a way that we can retrieve it when we need it in the future.

This system is analogous to a file we keep on a hard drive, ready to be accessed when needed, although sometimes retrieving it can be difficult.