MSM and WMM☑️

the multi store model of memory (MSM)

reserachers, use and components

-atkinson and shiffrins (1968, 1971)

-used to describe how information flows through the memory system from one component store to another; suggests memory is made up of three stores linked by processing:

• sensory register

• short term memory

• long term memory

MSM

sensory register (SR)

all environmental stimuli passes into the SR; comprises of sensory memory stores for each sense. eg iconic memory for visual information and echoic memory for sound etc

• SR duration: very brief, less than a second

• capacity: very high

• information will pass further into the memory system only if u pay attention to it.

MSM

short term memory (STM)

-coded mainly acoustic, lasts about 18s - unless rehearsed, so mainly a temporary store.

-limited capacity; can only contain a certain number of things before forgetting occurs.

-maintenance rehearsal: repeating material to ourselves over and over, to keep it in our STMs, if done for long enough, it passes into LTM.

MSM

long term memory (LTM)

-potentially permanent memory store for information that has been rehearsed in prolonged time. coded semantically

-duration: believed by psychologists to be forever (bahrick et al. (1975))

-according to MSM, when we want to recall information from LTM, it must be transferred back to STM for retrieval

MSM

evaluation: strengths

-support from other studies showing STM and LTM are separate, independent memory stores (bladdeley (1966))

MSM

evaluation: limitations

-shallice and warrington (1970) KF (amnesia) very poor digit STM when read to aloud but significantly better when he read to himself; evidence of multiple STM stores. suggesting MSM is wrong in claiming there is just one STM store processing different types of information.

-prolonged rehearsal isn’t needed for transfer to LTM: craik and watkins (1973) found elaborate rehearsal (linking the information to existing knowledge) is required for LTM transfer, suggesting MSM doesn’t fully explain how long term storage is achieved.

the working memory model (WMM)

-baddeley and hitch (1974) explanation of how STM is organised and functions + the mental components when storing and manipulating information (eg solving math problems):

• central executive (CE)

• phonological loop (PL)

• visuo-spatial sketch pad (VSS)

• episodic buffer (EB)

WMM

central executive (CE)

-supervisory role; monitors incoming data, focuses and divides our limited attention and allocates subsystems to tasks.

-limited processing capacity and does not store information

phonological loop

-deals with auditory (acoustic) information and preserves the order in which the words arrive

• phonological store: stores words you hear

• articulatory process: allows maintenance rehearsal, the capacity of this loop is believed to be 2 seconds worth of what you can say

visuo-spatial sketchpad (VSS)

-stores visual and spatial information when required (e.g to visualise how much cupboards are in your kitchen)

-limited capacity, about 3-4s according to baddeley

-logie (1995) subdivided VSS into:

• visual cache; stores visual data

• inner scribe; records arrangement of objects

episodic buffer (EB)

-temporary store for information, integrating the visual, spatial and verbal information processed by other stores and maintaining a sense of time sequence - seen as the storage component of the central executive with a limited capacity of 4 chunks

-greater link to LTM and wider cognitive processes, like perception

WMM

evaluation: strengths

-shallice and warrington (1970) case study KF, after brain injury, had poor ability for auditory information but could process visual information (immediate recall of letters and digits was better when he read them (visual) than when they were read to him (acoustic) as his phonological loop was damaged but his VSS was intact), supports existence of seperate visual and acoustic memory stores.

-dual task performance; baddeley et al (1975) when p’s simultaneously carrried out a visual and verbal task, performance was similar to when carried out alone but when they were asked to do both visual (or both verbal), performance declined substantially, showing their must be a separate subsystem (the VSS) that processes visual input (the PL)

WMM evaluation: limitations

-lack of clarity over the nature of the central executive. bladdely (2003) said it’s the ‘most important but the least understood’. the CE needs to be more clearly specified than just being attention; meaning CE is unsatisfactory component and challenges the integrity of the WMM