Introduction to Memory Models and Processes
Nothing defines our lives more than our memories. Humans often feel relatively confident about
their memories—and are certain that their memory stores the unassailable truth, much like an
encyclopedia. Research, however, suggest that memory is strongly influenced by multiple
factors including our personal beliefs and values, our confidence about the accuracy of the
memory and our own affective response to the memories (Baddeley, Eysenck, & Anderson,
2014). For example, try to imagine every detail that you can about an emotionally salient event
in your life (for example, your wedding, birth of a child, 9/11 attacks, or your graduation). You
probably feel very confident that you remember these details very accurately, right? These
emotionally salient memories (sometimes call Flashbulb Memories) are associated with greater
confidence in the recollection, but researchers have found that the confidence does not predict
greater accuracy (Talarico & Rubin, 2003). Essentially, over time people remain equally
confident in their memory’s accuracy; but the memory’s contents actually change over time.
As you explore the subject of memory, the theories, models, processes, and research
methodologies used to learn about and understand it, think about the following questions:
• How did theories and models of memory evolve over time?
• Which ones guide our current understanding of memory?
• How is information processed—taken in, encoded, stored, and recalled—in and from
memory?
• What is the relationship between memory and brain physiology?
• What is the relationship between memory and learning?
