THE MULTI STORE MODEL OF MEMORY

Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968

What does the multi store model of memory do

It represents how memory is stored, transferred between the different stores, retrieved and forgotten.

How many stores are there

There are 3 stores: the sensory register, short-term memory and long-term memory.

SENSORY REGISTER

• The sensory register contains one sub-store for each of the 5 senses e.g. an echoic store for auditory information.

What is the sensory register’s capacity

• Since it receives information for our senses, the sensory register has a huge capacity, Since it receives information for our senses, the sensory register has a huge capacity,

What is the duration of the sensory register

Less than half a second. Therefore, information will only pass from the sensory register to the short-term memory store if we pay attention to it

SHORT TERM MEMORY

• STM is described as being acoustically encoded (Baddeley),

What is the capacity of short term memory according to Miller

7+/- 2 items

What is the duration of short term memory according to Petersen

18-30 seconds

When does maintenance rehearsal occur

When we repeat the new information to ourselves, allowing the information to be kept in the STM.

What does prolonged maintenance rehearsal allow

It allows the information to pass into the LTM, whilst a lack of such rehearsal causes forgetting.

How is long term memory coded

 Semantically

What is the capacity of long term memory

Unlimited capacity

What is the duration of long term memory

Very long duration (over 46 years, as shown by Bahrick et al). In

Regarding long term memory, what must occur to remember information

Retrieval

What is retrieval

When information is transferred back into the STM, and will continue to pass through the maintenance loop afterwards.

WEAKNESS - The MSM incorrectly represents STM as a single, unitary store

• The MSM incorrectly represents STM as a single, unitary store. For example, Shallice and Warrington found that their amnesiac patient KF had poor STM recall for auditory stimuli, but increasingly accurate recall for visual stimuli. This, alongside KF being able to differentiate and recall both verbal and non-verbal sounds, suggests that there may be multiple types of STM.

WEAKNESS - lack of detail about LT

Lack of detail about long-term memory: The model treats long-term memory as a single, unified store. However, research has shown that long-term memory is not a single entity but rather a complex system with different types (e.g., episodic, semantic, and procedural memory).

STRENGTH - The MSM is supported by various experimental studies that demonstrate the different properties of STM and LTM

The MSM is supported by various experimental studies that demonstrate the different properties of STM and LTM. For example:

• Miller’s research

• Peterson and Peterson’s study

• The Serial Position Effect

What is Peterson and Peterson’s study about

• Peterson and Peterson’s study (1959) on the duration of STM showed that information is rapidly forgotten without rehearsal, providing evidence for the short-lived nature of STM.

What does the serial position effect support

The serial position effect (primacy and recency effects) supports the idea of two separate memory stores, with items at the beginning and end of a list being recalled better than those in the middle, reflecting STM and LTM.

What is Miller’s research about

• Miller’s research (1956) on the capacity of STM suggests that it has a limited capacity (about 7 ± 2 items).

STRENGTH - the msm is reliable

The MSM is reliable. It provides clear hypotheses that can be tested in controlled experiments, such as the role of rehearsal in memory retention or the capacity and duration of STM. This makes it a scientifically robust model that can be evaluated and refined through research

STRENGTH - The MSM acknowledges the qualitative differences between STM and LTM by representing them as separate stores

• The MSM acknowledges the qualitative differences between STM and LTM by representing them as separate stores. For example, STM is encoded acoustically, whilst LTM is encoded semantically and has a much longer duration. Therefore, the MSM portrays an accurate view of the differences between the two types of memory, as supported by Baddeley and Miller.