Models of Memory

Model

A visual representation of a theory designed to explain it

Memory

The faculty of encoding, storing, and retrieving information

Multistore Memory Model

1. The mind is divided into 3 stores for memory: sensory, short-term, and long-term

2. Information passes through the stores in a linear fashion

Working Memory Model

Sensory Memory

Duration: ¼ to ½ seconds
Capacity: all sensory experience (large)
Encoding: Sensory

Short-Term Memory

Duration: ~15-30 seconds
Capacity: 7±2 chunks
Encoding: Acoustic

Long-Term Memory

Duration: unlimited
Capacity: unlimited
Encoding: Semantic

Rehearsal

A type of repetition where the user repeats information and learns through it in order to be stored in memory

Encoding

the way information is transformed into a format that can be stored and retrieved from memory

Maintenance Rehearsal

Repeating information temporarily long enough to retain it in the short-term memory but unable to transfer to long-term memory

Elaborative Rehearsal

The act of connecting new knowledge to pre-existing knowledge meaningfully in order to transfer to long-term memory

Phonological Loop

Handles the auditory and spoken short-term memory, comprises of 2 components

1. Phonological Store - verbal information can be stored for brief periods (approximately 2 seconds)

2. Articulatory Control System - serves to refresh the verbal and auditory content through rehearsal

Central Executive

Responsible for controlled processing in working memory, including (but not limited to):

• directing attention

• maintaining task goals

• decision making

• memory retrieval

Visuo-spatial Sketchpad

Visualises objects and spatial layouts in the brain.

Episodic Buffer

a temporary store that integrates information from the other components and ensures it’s ordered chronologically, allowing events to unfold in a coherent and continuous sequence

Similarities of Models

• Both contain biological evidence - case studies KF and HM

• Both contain the act of rehearsal in order to retain information in the process

Differences of Models

Multi-store Memory

• Presents memory as a passive system with fixed stores

• Primarily describes the flow of information through different memory stores

Working Memory

• Focuses more on the processes within short-term memory

• Emphasizes the active processing of information and how it is manipulated

• Focuses on the processing of information, decision-making, and problem-solving in real-time

Strengths of MSM

• Empirical evidence supported the concept of separate memory stores + model itself

• MSM was a pioneering model of memory that inspired further research and, consequently, other influential models (e.g.: WMM)

Weaknesses of MSM

• Oversimplifies the complexity of memory processes by presenting memory as a linear system

• Lacks an explanation for how memory stores interact and how information is transferred between them

Strengths of WMM

• Explains parallel processing (i.e. where processes involved in a cognitive task occur at once)

• The model was developed based on evidence from laboratory experiments so confounding variables could be carefully controlled to produce reliable results

Weaknesses of WMM

• WMM has been criticized for being too simplistic and vague (e.g.: it is unclear what the central executive is or its exact role in attention)

• Results from laboratory experiments researching the WMM will often have low ecological validity

Decay

When information exceeds duration (forgotten)

Displacement

When information exceed capacity (forgotten)