There is a long-standing distinction embodied in many models between short- and long-term

memory (e.g., Atkinson & R. M. Shiffrin, 1968). Baddeley, (1986) characterised short-term memory

(STM) as a labile system with processes and storage that are distinct from those underpinning long-

term memory (LTM), which is responsible for the storage of knowledge in more durable form.

The distinction between STM and LTM has been supported by a number of observations.

Milner (1968) found that anterograde amnesic patients who demonstrate normal STM functioning can

also exhibit an inability to transfer information to, or retrieve information from, LTM. A double-

dissociation is observed with patients who have a very limited STM capacity, of as little as two items,

but have an intact LTM (e.g., Baddeley et al. 1988). The rapid loss of information in STM when

rehearsal, or the re-activation of information, is prevented has been argued to underscore the

importance of decay as a mechanism uniquely contributing to the loss of information over the short-

term (Petersons, 1959). Performance in STM tasks, namely memory span and serial recall tasks,

where target material must be recalled according to its presentation order, highlights the importance of

a phonological code in the short-term context (e.g., Conrad, 1964; Conrad & Hull, 1964). The

prevalence of phonological errors in serial recall, and the impairment to recall when lists contain

phonologically similar items reflect a system that is dominated by the processing and retention of

speech sounds (Conrad, 1964; Conrad et al, 1964; Baddeley, 1966). By comparison, LTM processing,

when interrogated using tasks such as free recall, where the requirement for ordered recall is absent

and lists contain greater numbers of items, appears to be dependent upon semantic encoding

(Baddeley, 1966, 1972). Lastly, even under conditions where short-term serial recall is sensitive to the

manipulation of LTM variables, the general absence of order effects supports a two-stage process of

retrieval where short-term traces are selected before any reference to long-term knowledge is made

(e.g., Hulme, et al, 1991; Saint-Aubin & Poirier, 1999, 2000; Walker & Hulme, 1999).
 References

Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control

processes in Spence K. W. & Spence J. T., The psychology of learning and motivation, 89-195,

New York: Academic Press.

Baddeley, A. D. (1966). The influence of acoustic and semantic similarity on long-term memory for

word sequences. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 18(4), 302-309.

https://doi.org/10.1080/14640746608400047

Baddeley, A. D. (1972). Retrieval rules and semantic coding in short-term memory. Psychological

Bulletin, 78(5), 379-385.

Baddeley, A. D. (1986). Working memory. Oxford University Press: New York.

Baddeley, A. D., Papagno, C., & Vallar, G. (1988). When long-term learning depends on short-term

storage. Journal of Memory and Language, 27(5), 586–596. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-

596X(88)90028-9

Brown, G. B. A., Hulme, C., & Maughan, S. (1991). Memory for familiar and unfamiliar: Evidence

for a long-term memory contribution to short-term memory span. Journal of Memory and

Language, 30(4), 685-701. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-596X(91)90032-F

Conrad, R. (1964). Acoustic confusions in immediate memory. British journal of psychology, 55(1),

75-84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1964.tb00899.x

Conrad, R., & Hull, A. J. (1964). Information, acoustic confusion, and memory span. British Journal

of Psychology, 55(4), 429-432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8295.1964.tb00928.x

Hulme, C., & Walker, I. (1999). Concrete words are easier to recall than abstract words: Evidence for

a semantic contribution to short-term serial recall. Journal of Experimental Psychology:

Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 25(5), 1256-1271. https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-

7393.25.5.1256
Milner, B. (1968). Disorders of memory after brain lesions in man. Preface: Material-specific and

generalized memory loss. Neuropsychologia, 6(3), 175-179. https://doi.org/10.1016/0028-

3932(68)90017-1

Peterson, M. J., & Peterson, L. R. (1959). Short-term retention of individual verbal items. Journal of

Experimental Psychology, 58(3), 193-198. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0049234

Saint-Aubin, J., & Poirier, M. (1999). Semantic similarity and immediate serial recall: Is there a

detrimental effect on order information? Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology,

52A(2), 367-394. https://doi.org/10.1080/713755814

Saint-Aubin, J., & Poirier, M. (2000). Immediate serial of words and nonwords: Tests of the retrieval-

based hypothesis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 7(2), 332-340.

https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03212990