Varieties of Memory

Abstract In this chapter we list and discuss the primary distinctions among types of memory. We first identify four possible bases for distinguishing types of memory: introspective evidence, various types of memory tests, dissociations among memory measures, and neural differences underlying kinds of memory. Several useful broad distinctions between classes of memory or tests of memory are also discussed, including those between declarative and procedural memory, episodic and semantic memory, explicit and implicit memory, conscious and unconscious memory, voluntary and involuntary recollection, and retrospective and prospective memory. We provide an overview of memory research using one possible categorization system based loosely on persistence of memories and their temporal course. First, we discuss brief sensory memories; then short‐term or working memory; and finally, we describe some of the many different types of long‐term memory. Topics covered include iconic and echoic memories; Baddeley's model of working memory; as well as phenomena of episodic, autobiographical, and semantic memory. We discuss the concepts of implicit memory and procedural memory. We conclude by discussing the usefulness of this and other categorization schemes for the study of memory.