Limitless capacity: A dynamic object-oriented approach to short-term memory

• Main Authors: Bill eMacken, John eTaylor, Dylan eJones
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-03-01
• Series: Frontiers in Psychology
• Subjects: short-term memory; perceptual organization; limited capacity; language and memory; perceptual-motor processing
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00293/full

The notion of capacity-limited processing systems is a core element of cognitive accounts of limited and variable performance, enshrined within the short-term memory construct. We begin with a detailed critical analysis of the conceptual bases of this view and argue that there are fundamental problems – ones that go to the heart of cognitivism more generally – that render it untenable. In place of limited capacity systems, we propose a framework for explaining performance that focuses on the dynamic interplay of three aspects of any given setting: the particular task that must be accomplished, the nature and form of the material upon which the task must be performed, and the repertoire of skills and perceptual-motor functions possessed by the participant. We provide empirical examples of the applications of this framework in areas of performance typically accounted for by reference to capacity-limited short-term memory processes.