According to the Collins and Quillian semantic network model (1969), storing
information, such as ‘a bird can breathe’, in the long-term memory can be redundant.
Storing redundant information directly in a semantic network is not economical in
terms of storage spaces and may lead to a messy network for retrieval. However, it
has advantages for requiring less retrieval time and facilitating the integration of new
information in the network.
With its publication in 1969, Collins’s Retrieval Time from Semantic Memory
established a network model for the storage of semantic information. If what is stored
in the memory system is the node ‘canary’ with a property of yellow, then it points to
a higher node of ‘bird’ with a property of fly, then it further points to the top node of
‘animal’ with a property of breath. The knowledge that a bird can breathe need not be
stored in the memory system directly, but rather it can be inferred by retrieving
information in the model that a bird is an animal and an animal can breathe. This kind
of referred way can save a large amount of storage space, because there is no need for
establishing an extra node of the information that a bird can breathe. Nevertheless, it
requires more retrieval time, because it involves two steps of memory retrieval that
one is bird is an animal and another is an animal can breathe.
In other words, storing redundant information means that it is stored as an
independent detailed node in the semantic network instead of being referred by other
general nodes. By organizing memory in this detailed way, it has several advantages.
The most significant advantage is that it can be retrieved through a specific and direct
path instead of logical reasoning which may improve the efficiency and speed of the
network by saving retrieval time. What’s more, it can improve the accuracy for using
the information for the reason that it requires less information nodes and no logical
reasoning procedure.
However, there are also some disadvantages to store redundant information. First of
all, it needs to establish an extra node for this specific information in the semantic
network which requires more space in the memory storage and is not economical.
Secondly, with the development of such detailed nodes, the semantic network
becomes more complicated which may make it harder to maintain and update.
Thirdly, more information nodes means that more information should be remembered
and stored, these processes can be effort-requiring.
In conclusion, storing redundant information in the semantic network has advantages
for being time-saving and accurate. While, the potential advantages lie in its non-
economical usage, over complicated network and effort-requiring remembering
process.
REFERENCE
Collins, A. M., & Quillian, M. R. (1969). Retrieval time from semantic memory.
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 8(2), 240–247.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-5371(69)80069-1
