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Conway’s Model

Conway’s Model. The Self Memory System (SMS) has two principle components:- 1. Autobiographical knowledge base organised specifically to support our sense of self 2. The (working) Self comprises a goal hierarchy , and various other internal mechanisms

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Conway’s Model

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  1. Conway’s Model The Self Memory System (SMS) has two principle components:- • 1. Autobiographical knowledge base • organised specifically to support our sense of self • 2. The (working) Self • comprises a goal hierarchy, and various other internal mechanisms (Download the Conway (2005) PDF from my webpage )

  2. ‘Self’ Autobiographical Knowledge Base Self-related semantic knowledge Abstracted from specific experiences Episodic Memory tied to specific experiences (e.g. the CMF) Encoding Consolidation Retrieval

  3. Take a peek inside yourself… Self Goal Hierarchy Episodic Memory (CMF) Autobiographical Knowledge Base Conceptual Self semantic knowledge Key point: the SMS system is ‘goal-driven’

  4. The SMS greatly extends the CMF • Conway: “all daily experiences are destined to be forgotten” • Unless they support longer-term goals • In the short term, accurate memories are vital • Where did I leave my keys • In the long-term, coherence (between goals) is vital • The ‘Husband-Hermit’ or ‘Saint-Sinner’ dilemma

  5. SMS Goals • Short term (e.g. daily) • Take the car for a service… • Find the keys… • Post the letter… Overriding principle: accuracy! • Long-term • Get a job • Learn how to drive • Buy a house • Become a solitary religious hermit • Be a loving husband • Overriding principle: coherence Potential for conflict! But: there is an accuracy-coherence trade-off!

  6. How is the trade-off achieved? • The goal hierarchy acts to maintain a stable and coherent set of short and long term goals Goal Hierarchy Eat and drink (everyday) Keep warm (everyday) Have a conversation (most days) Watch TV (particular times) Find the car keys (in 5 minutes) Avoid tripping up (when I walk) Post the letter (sometime today) Dentist appointment (this week) Revise (next month) Obtain graduation ball tickets (next few months) Find a less annoying partner (yesterday!) Get a 2:1 (next couple of years) Loose weight (before going on holiday)

  7. The SMS: key points • New memories are not formed ‘automatically’ from our experiences • But, experiences are always encoded (e.g. as per the CMF). • An ABM is formed (and retrieved) only when the (working) self interacts with the autobiographical knowledge base • Such interactions are entirely goal-driven • Hence, specific experiences will be forgotten unless they relevant to a goal - within the goal hierarchy • Stable self-image emerges from the coherence imposed by the goal hierarchy, perhaps at the expense of accuracy

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