That short-term memory is modal is a claim that is explicit in most short-term memory models. It is eschewed by Jones, Beaman and Macken whose detailed investigation of some of the techniques used in short-term memory research has brought home some of their imprecision and the imprecision of some conclusions based on their use. Their O-OER model, which is an amodal model, suggests a radical alternative. However, such is the vibrancy and productivity of the thinking about short-term memory processes in this book that their radicalism may be less than they would have the reader believe. Their work on serial order recall using both verbal and spatial stimuli is taken by them to indicate that rehearsal processes operate in a general-purpose space. That is, of course, a radical suggestion as far as the standard version of the Baddeley and Hitch model is concerned. However, since Hitch in his chapter with Burgess is actively considering the possibility of serial order mechanisms being general purpose, the Jones et al. radicalism may be muted: it may not be the case that a general-purpose serial mechanism leads on to the O-OER model. A less radical reappraisal of the standard version may suce.
This book has a set of chapters that is heartening. Whether it is the detailed questions brought about by the explicitness of computational approaches or the careful and insightful use of empirical data, the reader is left with the view that approaches to short-term memory are not simply discussing a number of robust phenomena of clear importance but are charting a forward path round these phenomena. The number of phenomena itself provides empirical constraints, though for those who prefer a particular theoretical perspective, the WM model continues to be valuable.
The editor's preface makes it clear that she considers it important that the eleven chapters illustrate the widening empirical base, both pure and applied, on which STM research is now based. The research discussed conยฎrms that short-term memory progress will not be restricted to laboratory studies. Readers of Applied Cognitive Psychology will be delighted to know this. However, my own reading of the chapters and this review has not emphasized this important facet of the book. What is more apparent is the sheer intellectual activity associated with this area of cognition and the indications that the intellectual activity is showing clear direction. Among this group of authors, separated both geographically and in terms of intellectual perspective, there is agreement on the important issues and how they might be addressed. This has not always been the case and represents heartening progress.
There are no additional chapters bringing together the thoughts of the individual author groups. Perhaps there could have been; the raw data is certainly there for productive discussion. However, the editor and authors are to be congratulated for the illustration of the widening base of short-term memory research; they are to be further congratulated for their illustration of the vibrancy and coherence of debate now evident within the ยฎeld.