Multistore model

what is the multistore model

atkinson and shiffrin - how info flows through memory system in 3 stores: sensory register, stm, ltm

sensory register

detects stimuli from environment, comprises several registers e.g. 5 senses, coding in each store is modality specific, duration brief, high capacity attention is key process

stm

info coded mainly acoustically, 18s duration unless rehearsed, limited capacity between 5 and 9 items

maintenance rehearsal

allows to keep info in stm and eventually pass into ltm

ltm

permanent memory store for info rehearsed for prolonged time, coded mainly semantically, capacity thought to be unlimited, lifetime duration

retrieval

when we want to recall info from ltm, it has to be transferred to stm

strengths of theory

research support from Baddeley showing STM and LTM are different - found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when using STM and mix up words that have similar meanings when using LTM, case studies such as HM show that stm and ltm are diff stores

limitations of theory

evidence of more than 1 STM store - KF study, lacks pop validity, MSM based on research evidence available at time showing LTM and STM to be separate memory stores so lacks temporal validity, evidence that we have different LTM memory stores - MSM is oversimplified