Multi-Store Model

What is memory?

The process by which info is encoded, stored, and retrieved

What are models of memory?

ways to conceptualize the architecture/processes of memory; a hypothesized representation/outline of how memory works with available evidence

Who suggested the multi-store model, and what was it inspired by?

Suggested by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), inspired by computer science systems

What are the parts of the Multi-Store Model (MSM)?

What are 3 assumptions the MSM makes?

1. Memory consists of many separate locations where info is stored

2. Memory processes are sequential

3. Each memory store operates in a single, uniform way

What does it mean for sensory memory to be “modality-specific”?

It is related to different senses

What are the most important stores?

Visual (iconic memory) and Auditory (echoic memory)

What does Miller’s Magic Number 7 state?

The average memory span is 7 (± 2) items, and the duration that the items are remembered for is 6-18 seconds

What happens to information when your attention is taken away/redirected?

The information can be displaced by new information

What is Long Term Memory conceptualized as?

A vast storehouse of information with an indefinite duration and potentially infinite capacity

How is material stored in Long Term Memory?

Materials aren’t an exact replica of events but are rather stored as an outline

What is the Primacy effect?

The tendency to remember the first things that you are subjected to (ex. first 5 words from a list)

What is the Recency effect?

The tendency to remember the last things that you were subjected to (ex. last 3 words from a list)

What are the pros and cons of MSM?

Pros:

• Good account of basic memory process mechanisms (encoding, storage, retrieval)

• Experiments (Glazner and Cunitz) and case studies (HM) support the assumption about multiple memory stores

Cons:

• Too simplistic but reflects knowledge that was available in 1960s

• Logie argues that it isn’t STM → LTM just through rehearsal, but rather that there must be some interaction in between where info is interpreted with regards to previously stored knowledge/experiences so STM is not sequential

• Doesn’t explain memory distortion or how some things require minimal rehearsal to learn and transfer to LTM