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Multiple trace theory

Multiple Trace Theory (MTT) is a memory consolidation model advanced as an alternative model to strength theory. It posits that each time some information is presented to a person, it is neurally encoded in a unique memory trace composed of a combination of its attributes. Further support for this theory came in the 1960s from empirical findings that people could remember specific attributes about an object without remembering the object itself. The mode in which the information is presented and subsequently encoded can be flexibly incorporated into the model. This memory trace is unique from all others resembling it due to differences in some aspects of the item's attributes, and all memory traces incorporated since birth are combined into a multiple-trace representation in the brain. In memory research, a mathematical formulation of this theory can successfully explain empirical phenomena observed in recognition and recall tasks.

Original memory

Some reject the notion that misinformation causes any type of impairment of original memories. Modified tests are used to examine the issue of long-term memory impairment. In one example of such a test, participants were shown a burglar with a hammer. They were then presented with post-event information claiming the weapon was a screwdriver. In the standard test condition, participants were likely to choose the screwdriver rather than the hammer. In the modified test condition, participants were not given the choice of a screwdriver, instead they had the option of the hammer and another tool (a wrench, for example). In this condition, participants generally chose the hammer, showing that there was no trace of memory impairment.