THE MULTI-STORE MODEL
ATKINSON & SHIFFRIN (1968)
~SENSORY REGISTER (SR)~
All stimuli from the environment pass into the sensory register
Sensory register is comprised of several sensory memory stores (one for each of the five senses)
Coding in each store is modality-specific (it depends on the sense) (e.g. the store coding for visual information = ionic memory; the store coding sound = echoic memory)
Very brief duration - less than half a second
Large capacity
~SHORT-TERM MEMORY~
Information in STM is coded mainly acoustically
Limited duration (about 18 seconds, unless it is rehearsed)
Limited-capacity (5-9 items on average)
Maintenance Rehearsal occurs when we repeat material over and over (if we rehearse it long enough, it passes into LTM)
~LONG-TERM MEMORY~
Information in LTM is coded mostly semantically
Duration may be up to a lifetime
Practically unlimited capacity
In order to retrieve info from LTM, it must be first transferred back into STM by a process called retrieval
EVALUATION
Research Support
→ RESEARCH SUPPORT
One strength of the multi-store model is support other studies showing that STM and LTM are different.
For example, Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that are acoustically similar when using our STM, but we mix up semantically similar words when using our LTM.
Further support comes from the studies of capacity and duration.
These studies clearly show that STM and LTM are separate and independent memory stores as claimed by the multi-store model.
However, it could be argued that these studies rarely use materials to remember that are related to everyday life (e.g. names, faces etc).
Instead they use digits and numbers, and sometime even consonant syllables which have no meaning.
This means that the MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works in our everyday lives, and therefore it may not be applicable to real-world scenarios.
CONFLICTING EVIDENCE
→ MORE THAN ONE STM STORE
One limitation of the MSM is evidence of more than one STM store.
Psychologists studied a client who had amnesia.
The client’s STM for digits was very poor when read out loud to him. However, his recall was better when he read the digits to himself.
This evidence suggests that MSM is wrong in claiming that there is one STM store for processing different types of information (e.g. visual, auditory).
→ ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL
Another limitation of the MSM is that prolonged rehearsal is not needed for transfer to LTM.
According to the MSM, the more you rehearse something, the more likely it is to transfer to LTM (prolonged rehearsal).
However, psychologists found that elaborative rehearsal is needed for long-term storage. This occurs when you link info to your existing knowledge. This means that info can be transferred to LTM without prolonged rehearsal.
This suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long-term storage is achieved.
ATKINSON & SHIFFRIN (1968)
~SENSORY REGISTER (SR)~
All stimuli from the environment pass into the sensory register
Sensory register is comprised of several sensory memory stores (one for each of the five senses)
Coding in each store is modality-specific (it depends on the sense) (e.g. the store coding for visual information = ionic memory; the store coding sound = echoic memory)
Very brief duration - less than half a second
Large capacity
~SHORT-TERM MEMORY~
Information in STM is coded mainly acoustically
Limited duration (about 18 seconds, unless it is rehearsed)
Limited-capacity (5-9 items on average)
Maintenance Rehearsal occurs when we repeat material over and over (if we rehearse it long enough, it passes into LTM)
~LONG-TERM MEMORY~
Information in LTM is coded mostly semantically
Duration may be up to a lifetime
Practically unlimited capacity
In order to retrieve info from LTM, it must be first transferred back into STM by a process called retrieval
EVALUATION
Research Support
→ RESEARCH SUPPORT
One strength of the multi-store model is support other studies showing that STM and LTM are different.
For example, Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that are acoustically similar when using our STM, but we mix up semantically similar words when using our LTM.
Further support comes from the studies of capacity and duration.
These studies clearly show that STM and LTM are separate and independent memory stores as claimed by the multi-store model.
However, it could be argued that these studies rarely use materials to remember that are related to everyday life (e.g. names, faces etc).
Instead they use digits and numbers, and sometime even consonant syllables which have no meaning.
This means that the MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works in our everyday lives, and therefore it may not be applicable to real-world scenarios.
CONFLICTING EVIDENCE
→ MORE THAN ONE STM STORE
One limitation of the MSM is evidence of more than one STM store.
Psychologists studied a client who had amnesia.
The client’s STM for digits was very poor when read out loud to him. However, his recall was better when he read the digits to himself.
This evidence suggests that MSM is wrong in claiming that there is one STM store for processing different types of information (e.g. visual, auditory).
→ ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL
Another limitation of the MSM is that prolonged rehearsal is not needed for transfer to LTM.
According to the MSM, the more you rehearse something, the more likely it is to transfer to LTM (prolonged rehearsal).
However, psychologists found that elaborative rehearsal is needed for long-term storage. This occurs when you link info to your existing knowledge. This means that info can be transferred to LTM without prolonged rehearsal.
This suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long-term storage is achieved.
