Information - Multi store model:
What is memory? | A system for retaining information central to all cognitive activities. Multi-store model – Made by Atkinson & Shiffrin. A series of stages in which information passes from one store to another. A series of stages in which information passes from one store to another. (information processing system). |
What is sensory Memory? | Information enters the system from the environment through our senses – everything we Hear, Touch, Taste and Smell enters sensory memory. These are Passive stores in that we have no control over what enters but we can select items for transmission to STM by paying attention to them. Each sense has its own Sensory Register, which deals with the information therefore encoding is multi-sensory. They have a relatively large capacity however information is stored only briefly and so relatively unprocessed form. Sensory registers hold information for fractions of a second after the physical stimulus is no longer available, but information that is the focus of attention is transferred to the next memory story (STM). |
What is Attention? | The sensory registers are constantly bombarded with information, so it has a mechanism for selecting relevant info and discarding the rest. This is called Attention. |
What is short term memory? | According to Atkinson and Shiffrin STM has a limited storage space (capacity), I.E. when someone leaves their mobile number to ring back its impossible to recall all the digits at once. The later numbers push out the first numbers and we can't remember them. This type of forgetting is called Displacement. If information is rehearsed, we can temporarily keep it in our memory for a short period of time. This is called maintenance rehearsal, according to the multi store model for it to go to long-term memory the information needs prolonged rehearsal. If we got asked about that information, we would retrieve it from long-term memory to short-term memory to be temporarily used. This model is called a liner model as the processing of the memory happens sequentially in a series of stages going from one store to the next. |
What does encoding include? | Encoding is transforming incoming information into a form that can be stored in memory. Encoding can be done three ways:
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Duration | The length of time the memory lasts for/how long it is kept in that store before it is forgotten. |
Capacity | The amount of information that the store can hold. |
Sensory register Coding:
Duration:
Capacity: |
Information is coded according to the sense in which it is received:
The way info is encoded in the sensory register means it is Modality Specific.
Duration of sensory memory’s vary slightly depending on the format in which it is coded. Very short duration Iconic - 250 Milliseconds (D)
Capacity is potentially unlimited e.g. millions of rods and cones at the back of the eye. |
Difference between STM/LTM.
| The central feature of the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) model is the distinction between STM and LTM They believed that the two stores were fundamentally different in terms of How long they last (duration) How much information they store (capacity) How they store information – sounds or images (encoding) How information is lost (forgetting) |