Bjork's Storage Dynamics -- Flywheel and Ease Trap¶
Run the Bjork Storage Dynamics Diagram Fullscreen
About This MicroSim¶
This causal loop diagram illustrates two key dynamics from Bjork's theory of desirable difficulties. R1 (Storage Flywheel) is the productive loop: effortful retrieval produces large storage gains, which accumulate as storage strength, which translates into durable memory, which -- after a delay on the next spaced review -- requires real effort to retrieve, feeding the flywheel again. R2 (Ease Trap) is the corrosive loop: high retrieval strength produces perceived fluency, which reduces restudy frequency and lowers retrieval effort, which in turn yields small storage gains. The ease trap feels like learning but starves durability. Retrieval effort at study is the shared pivot node -- the lever that determines which loop dominates.
Diagram Details¶
graph LR
RE["Retrieval Effort at Study"]:::shared -->|"+"| SGE["Storage Gain per Study Event"]:::r1
SGE -->|"+"| SS["Storage Strength"]:::r1
SS -->|"+ with delay"| DM["Durability of Memory"]:::r1
DM -->|"+"| RE
RS["Retrieval Strength at Next Study"]:::r2 -->|"+"| PF["Perceived Fluency"]:::r2
PF -->|"−"| RSF["Restudy Frequency"]:::r2
PF -->|"−"| RE
RS -->|"−"| SGE
R1[" R1: Storage Flywheel -- reinforcing, productive "]:::looplabel
R2[" R2: Ease Trap -- reinforcing, corrosive "]:::looplabel
classDef r1 fill:#4A90D9,stroke:#2C5F8A,color:#fff
classDef r2 fill:#E8795A,stroke:#C0392B,color:#fff
classDef shared fill:#7B8D8E,stroke:#4A6163,color:#fff
classDef looplabel fill:none,stroke:none,color:#555,font-size:12px