The short-term storage as a buffer memory between long-term storage and the motor system: A simultaneous-processing model (Q1072494)

In the article an attempt to account the role of short-term store (STS) when information from the long-term store (LTS) is to be retrieved is described. It is assumed that in a free-recall task the STS serves as a memory buffer between the LTS and a final motor stage of word production. It is argued for a simultaneous processing of LTS and STS. Two conceptually different processes are described as the candidates for the simultaneous processing model: the random search model which assumes the strictly serial mode of processing in LTS, and the parallel- activation model, the more compatible with recent conceptualizations of retrieval processes in LTS. Next, the specific assumptions of the simultaneous processing model are outlined and mathematical expressions for computing the means and variances of the so-called intercompletion-times are derived. The experimental results are described in the final section of the article. The predictions obtained using the derived models are in a good agreement with data, and the capacity estimate coincides with estimates obtained using some different known methods.