Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM)

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key components, capacities, durations, codings, and foundational studies of the Multi-Store Model of Memory.

Multi-Store Model (MSM)

A model of memory formulated by Atkinson and Shiffrin ($1968$) describing memory as consisting of three stores: the sensory register, short-term memory, and long-term memory.

Sensory register

The memory store that takes in stimuli from the environment, uses modality-specific coding, has a potentially unlimited capacity, and possesses a very short duration of approximately $\frac{1}{4}\,\text{second}$.

Iconic memory

The visual format of sensory memory within the sensory register.

Echoic memory

The acoustic (sound-based) format of sensory memory within the sensory register.

Jacobs (1887) digit span task

Research assessing short-term memory capacity that established an average span of $7.3$ for letters or $9.3$ for numbers.

Miller (1956)

Identified the 'magic number $7$' for short-term memory capacity, finding it holds $7 \pm 2$ items, though individuals can recall more through chunking.

Chunking

A technique noted by Miller ($1956$) that enables short-term memory to retain larger quantities of information by grouping items together.

Peterson and Peterson (1959)

Investigated the duration of short-term memory, finding that it typically lasts between $18$ and $30\,\text{seconds}$.

Baddeley (1966) - STM encoding

Demonstrated that short-term memory is predominantly encoded acoustically, showing that similar sounds result in acoustic confusion.

Baddeley (1966) - LTM encoding

Demonstrated that long-term memory is predominantly encoded semantically (by meaning).

Bahrick et al. (1975)

A study investigating $392$ high school graduates that tested long-term memory duration, reporting $90\%$ accuracy on photo recognition within $15\,\text{years}$ of graduation and $70\%$ accuracy after $48\,\text{years}$.

Long-term memory (LTM) capacity

Assumed and characterized as potentially unlimited.

Long-term memory (LTM) duration

Capable of lasting a lifetime, as evidenced by Bahrick et al. ($1975$).