Working Memory Has Better Fidelity Than Long-Term Memory: The Fidelity Constraint Is Not a General Property of Memory After All. (February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Biderman, Natalie; Luria, Roy; Teodorescu, Andrei R.; Hajaj, Ron; Goshen-Gottstein, Yonatan
• Is Part Of: Psychological science. Volume 30:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 223
• Page End: 237
• Publication Date: 2019-02
• Subjects: fidelity -- working memory -- long-term memory -- continuous-report paradigm -- color memory -- replication -- open data -- preregistered; Psychology -- Periodicals; 150.5
• DOI: 10.1177/0956797618813538
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0956-7976

Abstract

How detailed are long-term-memory representations compared with working memory representations? Recent research has found an equal fidelity bound for both memory systems, suggesting a novel general constraint on memory. Here, we assessed the replicability of this discovery. Participants (total N = 72) were presented with colored real-life objects and were asked to recall the colors using a continuous color wheel. Deviations from study colors were modeled to generate two estimates of color memory: the variability of remembered colors—fidelity—and the probability of forgetting the color. Estimating model parameters using both maximum-likelihood estimation and Bayesian hierarchical modeling, we found that working memory had better fidelity than long-term memory (Experiments 1 and 2). Furthermore, within each system, fidelity worsened as a function of time-correlated mechanisms (Experiments 2 and 3). We conclude that fidelity is subject to decline across and within memory systems. Thus, the justification for a general fidelity constraint in memory does not seem to be valid.