Memory from nonsense syllables to novels: A survey of retention

Memory has been the subject of scientific study for nearly 150 years. Because a broad range of studies have been done, we can now assess how effective memory is for a range of materials, from simple nonsense syllables to complex materials such as novels. Moreover, we can assess memory effectiveness for a variety of durations, anywhere from a few seconds up to decades later. Our aim here is to assess a range of factors that contribute to the patterns of retention and forgetting under various circumstances. This was done by taking a meta-analytic approach that assesses performance across a broad assortment of studies. Specifically, we assessed memory across 256 papers, involving 916 data sets (e.g., experiments and conditions). The results revealed that exponential-power, logarithmic, and linear functions best captured the widest range of data compared with power and hyperbolic-power functions. Given previous research on this topic, it was surprising that the power function was not the best-fitting function most often. Contrary to what would be expected, a substantial amount of data also revealed either stable memory over time or improvement. These findings can be used to improve our ability to model and predict the amount of information retained in memory. In addition, this analysis of a large set of memory data provides a foundation for expanding behavioral and neuroimaging research to better target areas of study that can inform the effectiveness of memory.