PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Richard M. Shiffrin

Also known as Richard Martin Shiffrin, Richard Shiffrin

Richard Shiffrin is a professor of psychological and brain sciences at Indiana University, and his work centers on models of memory. In 1968 he and Richard Atkinson proposed a mathematical model of memory with short-term and long-term stores. His Search of Associative Memory model, built with Jeroen Raaijmakers in 1980, serves as the standard model for recall, and in 1997 he and Mark Steyvers extended it with the Retrieving Effectively From Memory model. He receives the Rumelhart Prize in 2002, a prize that honors the cognitive scientist David Rumelhart, and in 2018 he shares the NAS Atkinson Prize with Barbara Dosher. In 2023 the Society for Mathematical Psychology gives him its Senior Fellow Award.

Works
324
Citations
39,506
h-index
63

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 14 October 2026.

Photo of Richard M. Shiffrin

Timeline

  1. 1942–1968

    Training at Yale and Stanford

    He is born in 1942. He earns a B.A. in mathematics at Yale in 1964 and completes a Ph.D. in mathematical psychology at Stanford in 1968.

  2. 1968

    The Atkinson–Shiffrin memory model

    With Richard C. Atkinson, he proposes a mathematical model of memory in 1968, with short-term and long-term stores. He joins the Indiana University faculty in 1968.

  3. 1980

    The SAM model of recall

    With Jeroen G.W. Raaijmakers, he publishes the Search of Associative Memory (SAM) model in 1980. The model serves as the standard model for recall.

  4. 1989

    Founding the Cognitive Science Program

    He founds the Indiana University Cognitive Science Program in 1989 and becomes its director.

  5. 1995–1997

    Academy election and the REM model

    He is elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995. In 1997, with Mark Steyvers, he extends SAM with the Retrieving Effectively From Memory (REM) model.

  6. 2002

    The David E. Rumelhart Prize

    He receives the David E. Rumelhart Prize in 2002. The prize honors the cognitive scientist David Rumelhart.

  7. 2018–2023

    Atkinson Prize and Senior Fellow award

    He shares the 2018 NAS Atkinson Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences with Barbara Dosher. In 2023 the Society for Mathematical Psychology names him winner of its Senior Fellow Award for lifetime contributions to the field of mathematical psychology.

  8. As of October 2026

    Distinguished professor at Indiana

    He is Distinguished and Luther Dana Waterman Professor in Psychological and Brain Sciences.

Sources and credits

Photo: psych.indiana.edu; Richard Shiffrin: Faculty: Directory: Psychological and Brain Sciences: Indiana University Bloomington; creator not stated. License: Not stated by source. Source: psych.indiana.edu. Cropped to a square and resized. Ask us to remove or replace this photo.

  1. Richard Shiffrin - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  2. Richard M. Shiffrin: University Honors and Awards: Indiana University honorsandawards.iu.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.
  3. Models of Memory: Award Address by Richard M. Shiffrin – Association for Psychological Science – APS psychologicalscience.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  4. Rumelhart Prize - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  5. Shiffrin, Dosher Receive NAS Atkinson Prize – Association for Psychological Science – APS psychologicalscience.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  6. Society for Mathematical Psychology | Richard Shiffrin Wins Lifetime Achievement Award mathpsych.org. Checked 14 October 2026.
  7. Richard Shiffrin: Faculty: Directory: Psychological and Brain Sciences: Indiana University Bloomington psych.indiana.edu. Checked 14 October 2026.