Multiple trace theory

In psychology, multiple trace theory is a memory consolidation model advanced as an alternative model to strength theory. It posits that each time some information is presented to a person, it is neurally encoded in a unique memory trace composed of a combination of its attributes.[1] Further support for this theory came in the 1960s from empirical findings that people could remember specific attributes about an object without remembering the object itself.[2] The mode in which the information is presented and subsequently encoded can be flexibly incorporated into the model. This memory trace is unique from all others resembling it due to differences in some aspects of the item's attributes, and all memory traces incorporated since birth are combined into a multiple-trace representation in the brain.[3] In memory research, a mathematical formulation of this theory can successfully explain empirical phenomena observed in recognition and recall tasks.

  1. ^ Semon, RW (1923). Mnemonic psychology. London: George Allen & Unwin.
  2. ^ Underwood, BJ (1969). "Some correlates of item repetition in free-recall learning". Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior. 8: 83–94. doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(69)80015-0.
  3. ^ Hintzman, DL; Block RA (1971). "Repetition and memory: Evidence for a multiple trace hypothesis". Journal of Experimental Psychology. 88 (3): 297–306. doi:10.1037/h0030907.