Multistore Model of Memory

Atkinson and Shiffrin

These two psychologists proposed the Multistore model of memory

Sensory register

The memory store which recieves incoming stimuli from the environment
- Duration \= temporary (filters out stimuli)
- Capacity \= large (all sensory experience)
- Coding \= specific to each sense

Short term memory

Activated memory that holds a few items briefly

* Duration = tempoaray (20s)
* Capacity = 7+/-2 (Miller)
* Coding = acoustic (repeating information)

Long term memory

- Duration \= relatively permanent
- Capacity \= large (undeterminable)
- Coding \= primarily semantic

Acoustic coding

A memory code based on sounds/hearing/words

Semantic coding

A memory code based on the meaning of the stimulus

Stroop effect

In the Stroop test, it was found that individuals experience this effect - where they will name a colour more easily if it appears printed in that colour, meaning that conflicting stimuli/messages can intefere with information reception
- This is evidence for the existence of the Sensory register

Jacobs

This psychologist conducted an experiment using a digit span test, to examine the capacity of short-term memory for numbers and letters. Participants had to repeat back a string of numbers or letters in the same order and the number of digits/letters was gradually increased, until the participants could no longer recall the sequence
- He found that the students had an average span of 7.3 letters and 9.3 words, which supports Miller's notion of 7 (+/-2)

Glanzer and Cunitz

These two psychologists studied/came up with (?) the Serial Position Effect
- They gave participants a list of common words to memorise, asked to recall as many as possible, words at the beginning (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) were remembered best)
- This shows that LTM and STM are separate - words at start transported to LTM through rehearsal, at end were still in STM

HM

Milner conducted a case study on this person

* He had severe epilepsy, parts of hippocampus, amydgala and temporal lobes removed, and could not form any new memories in LTM but his STM still functioned normally
* This shows that LTM and STM are separate stores

Clive Wearing

He had his hippocampus badly damaged by an illness, and had a very limited STM and could not remember anything for more than about 30 seconds (no LTM)
- This shows that LTM and STM are separate stores

Ecological validity

The studies used in support of the Multistore model of memory are sometimes criticised for being unrealistic, meaning they lack this

Linear

The multistore model is this in nature - which is criticised by the Working Memory Model that suggests memory is more fluid

Unitary stores

The belief of STM and LTM being these stores has also been questioned/criticised - the Working Memory Model suggests that auditory and visual STM are different stores, other research shows that there are different types of LTM stored in different parts of the brain