Models of Memory Cognitive Psychology

Memory

Cognitive process where information flows from different stores that encodes, stores and retrieves information.

Basic Store (division) of memory

• Short-term memory

• Long-term momery

Multiple types of memory

1. Semantic memory

2. Episodic memory

3. Procedural memory

4. Facial recognition

Other divisions of memory

1. Conscious/Explicit memory

2. Unconscious/Implicit memory

Models of memory

1. Multi-store memory model

2. Levels of processing memory model

3. Working memory model

Multi-store memory model

Theorized by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

compose of 3 separate components: 

1. Sensory memory

2. Short-term memory

3. Long-term memory

Sensory memory

• Detect information and hold it until it is transferred to STM store or be lost. 

• Does not process information

Capacity of Sensory Memory

The capacity is limited by perception

Duration

Short 

Iconic/Visual  memory– 1 second

Echoic memory – 2-5 seconds

Short-term memory

• “Working Memory”

• Relies on both visual and auditory  

• Information undergo primitive transformation

Capacity of Short-term memory

- Capacity: 7±2 chunks of info

(GA Miller’s article : “The Magical Number Seven” 1956)

Magic 7: 

1. Seven Wonders of the World

2. Seven Deadly Sins

3. Telephone no.*

Duration of Short-term memory

Duration: not longer than 30 seconds

(acoustic info is longer)

Rehearsal

A cognitive process of repeating the short-term memory to become a lont-term memory

Long-term memory

A place for storing large amounts of information for indefinite periods of time.

Capacity of Long-term memory

The capacity is unlimited

Duration of Long-term memory

The duration is unlimited

Contextual cues

trigger memories from the past/distant memories

Components of the multi-store memory model that requires testing:

1.  Are the memory stores distinct and separate?

2.  Are there really three memory stores? Not more? Not less?

3.  Are the sensory modalities within sensory memory just modalities? Not separate store?

4. Is there a physiological basis for the memory stores or are they just constructs?

5. Is rehearsal necessary for information to transfer from STM to LTM?

6. Does information really flow in one direction?

   
   

   
   

Serial position effect

• Coined by Hermann Ebbinghaus

• Tendency to recall the first and last items on a list better than items in the middle

Studies supporting the multi-store memory model

• Glanzer and Cunitz 1966

• Sperling 1960