An embedded computational framework of memory: Accounting for the influence of semantic information in verbal short-term memory

• Published in: Journal of memory and language Vol. 140; p. 104573
• Main Authors: Guitard, Dominic, Saint-Aubin, Jean, Nick Reid, J., Jamieson, Randall K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.02.2025
• Subjects: Distributional Semantic models; DRM false recall; Immediate serial recall; Instance theory; Order reconstruction; Semantic relatedness; Immediate serial recall; DRM false recall; Semantic relatedness; Order reconstruction; Distributional Semantic models; Instance theory
• ISSN: 0749-596X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jml.2024.104573

•A model of recall called the Embedded Computational Framework of Memory (eCFM) is presented.•The eCFM integrates semantic word representations with an instance-based memory model.•The model successfully accounts for the influence of semantic information across a range of recall phenomena.•New predictions for list composition, presentation rate, order error, and false recall were derived from eCFM and tested.•The model captured all main findings and made accurate group and item-level predictions of veridical and false recall. We introduce the Embedded Computational Framework of Memory (eCFM), a model that integrates structured semantic word representations with an instance-based memory model to account for the influence of semantic information in verbal short-term memory. The eCFM combines principles from the episodic MINERVA 2 model and the semantic Latent Semantic Analysis model. After reviewing how semantic information impacts verbal short-term memory performance, we demonstrate eCFM’s ability to reconcile various phenomena within a common computational framework. Our model captures key findings, such as the influence of semantic information in serial recall, its reduction in serial reconstruction, and the impact of task difficulty on semantic information. In five experiments, we tested predictions derived from the eCFM. Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated list organization, with Experiment 1 using alternating lists of related or unrelated words and Experiment 2 using blocked lists. Experiment 3 varied presentation rates, Experiment 4 revisited the detrimental effect of semantic information on order information, and Experiment 5 explored false recall. We found that semantic information interacts with list composition, presentation rate affects the magnitude of its influence, and semantic information impacts order information contrary to the dominant view. Additionally, increasing the number of related study words to a non-studied semantic lure boosts false recall. The eCFM captured these findings as well as memory at the item level. Our demonstration provides insight into the cognitive mechanisms underlying verbal short-term memory and the interplay of semantic and episodic memory processes in recall.