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

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.