MULTIPLE REINFORCEMENT EFFECTS IN SHORT‐TERM MEMORY
John W. Brelsford, Richard M. Shiffrin, R. C. Atkinson · British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology · 1968
A continuous memorizing situation was studied in which test and study trials alternated throughout an experimental session. The items studied were paired‐associates. The interval between study and test for a particular item was randomly determined; and an item was given one, two, three or four reinforcements. A quantitative model is proposed which has two memory stores: a short‐term store in which the subject generates a carefully controlled rehearsal scheme of fixed length, and a long‐term store in which information is accumulated and lost. A large number of theoretical predictions of the model were verified quantitatively by the data, which confirm results of previous experiments, and support the hypothesis that highly structured rehearsal schemes play a major role in many short‐term memory and learning situations.