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 )

Autobiographical Knowledge Base

‘Self’

Episodic Memory tied to specific experiences

(e.g. the CMF)

Retrieval

Consolidation

Encoding

Self-relatedsemantic knowledge

Abstracted from specificexperiences

Goal Hierarchy

Take a peek inside yourself…

Conceptual Self

Self

Autobiographical Knowledge

Base

semantic knowledge

Episodic Memory(CMF)

Key point: the SMS system is ‘goal-driven’

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

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

But: there is an accuracy-coherence trade-off!

Potential for conflict!

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)

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