sions of the long term memory i.e. the procedural system into episodic and semantic learning and allowed a deeper understanding of the effects of brain damage - why particular types of memories are recalled and others are forgotten. The working memory model Baddelely and Hitch (1974) suggested a working memory in place of the short term memory store and subsequent research found that "articulatory suppression did not affect decisions involving acoustic differences and therefore there must be a separate store for this"(Baddeley and Lewis 1981). Therefore although the theories may be valuable in attempting to describe the memory process, it is the research based upon the theories that give a greater understanding for the need for an explanation based on stages.In conclusion, the question posed was to "discuss the need for an explanation of human memory, which proposes that memory is a set of stages, rather than a single process". When trying to discuss this need it became apparent that the fact that memory is not a concrete article made it all the more important that it was explained as a set of stages. This may be because as a set of stages, the complex structure of memory is all the more understandable and the theories of memory put together a "story" of how the memory process may work. However, most if not all theories or models describe rather than explain the memory process (providing a guideline) therefore the empirical evidence is really the only key in explaining why memory is a set of stages rather than a single process and it is from these that the " need " is derived.Word count: 1857...
