Memory metaphors in cognitive psychology.

Theories Most of the ideas about memory discussed thus far have been based on concrete analogies between particular objects or systems and memory. The most typical sort of explanation in cognitive psychology seems to be based on just such analogical reasoning. There has long been a debate over the proper role of models and analogies in scientific explanation (e .g., Hesse, 1966), although there has been surprisingly little carryover of this debate into psychology. On the one hand, it has been argued that proper scientific theories should be formal and abstract; on the other, it has been argued that concrete analogies and models are crucial to the theoretical endeavor. Quotations from two physicists should serve to clarify these positions. Duhem (1914/1954, Chapters 4 and 5) contrasted abstract,