Key Features of the MSM & Types of Memory Flashcards
when was the model invented?
1968
what is the sensory register?
the first store that hold the sensory information received through all the senses for a brief period of time.
what is capacity?
the measure of how much can be held in memory.
what is the multi-store model of memory?
model that suggests memory is a linear process where memory has three different stores
who invented the msm model?
atkinson and shiffrin
what is the STM?
the memory of immediate events. these memories tend not to last and decay unless they are rehearsed.
what is long-term memory?
the memory for past events that can last for the life-time of a person.
what is encoding?
as information enters the brain via the senses, it is transformed into a code so that it can be stored. the codes can be visual, acoustic and semantic.
what is duration?
the measure of how long memory lasts before it is no longer available.
what is the duration of the sensory register?
250 milliseconds
1/4 of a second
what is the capacity of the sensory register?
very large
how is the STM coded?
acoustically - i.e. in the form of sounds or spoken words
what is the duration of the STM?
15-30 seconds
what is the capacity of the STM?
7 +/- 2 chunks of information
how is the LTM coded?
semantically and temporally
what is the duration of the LTM?
up to a lifetime
what is the capacity of the LTM?
potentially unlimited. (info can be lost due to interference or decay but this does not have anything to do with the capacity of the store).
outline the multi-store model of memory
- The sensory store is constantly receiving information from the environment. Most of this information receives no attention and so is lost
- However, if the information that enters the sensory stores is attended to, then this information is encoded and passes through to the short term memory (STM).
- Once in the STM, information (if not rehearsed), can be lost through either displacement (this is because the STM has a capacity of 7+/- 2 items) or decay (as the STM only has a duration of 0-18 seconds).
- If information is elaborately rehearsed then the information will be transferred/encoded into the long term memory (LTM).
- The LTM can hold information for an unlimited amount of time and has an unlimited capacity.
- When stored information is needed, it can be retrieved from the LTM back to the STM.
what is storage?
process of retaining memory until required
what is retrieval?
process of locating stored information and extracting it from memory
what is chunking?
the process of combining separate pieces of information into larger ones, which can be rehearsed as units, to increase STM capacity
what is decay?
loss of memory due to the passage of time, during which the memory trace is not used
what is a trigram?
group of 3 consonants to remember
what is digit span?
how many digits can be retained and recalled
what is a mnemonic?
a system for remembering something such as an association or a pattern of letters
what is the ‘main statement’ of the MSM?
information is processed, and there is a distinction between STM and LTM
what are the 3 types of LTM?
- episodic memory
- semantic memory
- procedural memory
what is episodic memory?
personal events, memories of when the events occurred and the people, objects, places and behaviours involved
what is semantic memory?
knowledge of the world, includes facts and our knowledge of what words and concepts mean
what is procedural memory?
knowledge of how to do things, knowledge of learned skills (unconsciously recalled)
give 3 examples of episodic memory
first day of school, your first kiss, attending a friend’s birthday party
give 3 examples of a semantic memory?
recognizing the names of colors, remembering what a dog is, knowing how to use a phone
give 3 examples of a procedural memory?
swimming, driving a car, riding a bike
which ‘types of LTM’ are explicit/declarative memories, and which are implicit/procedural memories?
episodic and semantic memory = explicit/declarative
procedural memory = implicit/procedural
what is the LTM divided into?
- explicit (declarative) memories
2. implicit (procedural) memories
what does explicit (declarative) memory mean?
knowing that
what does implicit (procedural) memory mean?
knowing how
what is the primacy and recency effect?
the tendency to recall earlier words is called the primacy effect;
the tendency to recall the later words is called the recency effect
according to the MSM, memory consists of 3 basic stores…
- sensory register
- short-term store
- long term store
what are the 5 evaluation points for the types of LTM?
- evidence from brain scans
- distinguishing procedural and declarative memories
- problems with evidence from patients with brain damage
- distinguishing episodic and semantic memories
- priming and a fourth kind of LTM
what is the PEEL paragraph for the types of LTM evaluation point ‘distinguishing procedural and declarative memories’?
P - evidence from case studies offers further support for different types of LTM
E - for instance, after the surgery, HM could still form new procedural memories but not episodic or semantic memories. For example, he was able to learn how to draw a figure by looking at its reflection in a mirror, a skill called mirror-drawing.
E- this is a procedural memory. However, he had no memory that he had learned this (an episodic/semantic memory).
L - this supports the distinction between procederul and declerative memories, and hence the existence of multiple types of LTM
what is the PEEL paragraph for the types of LTM evaluation point ‘priming and a fourth kind of LTM’?
P - the possibility that other types of LTM may exist raises questions about existing theories
E - For example, priming describes how implicit memories influence the responses a person makes to a stimulus. If a person is given a list of words including the word ‘yellow’ and is later asked to name a fruit, they are more likely to answer ‘banana’ than if not primed.
E - this is a kind of implicit memory because the answers are automatic and unconscious. Research has shown that priming is controlled by a brain system separate from the temporal system that supports explicit memory (semantic and episodic memories). This had lead to the suggestion of a fourth kind of LTM, the perceptual-representation system (PRS) memory related to priming, supported by Spiers et al (2001).
L - this suggests that other types of LTM may exist and the original theory of LTM may be too simplistic
what is the PEEL paragraph for the types of LTM evaluation point ‘evidence from brain scans’?
P - the distinction between the 3 kinds of LTM is supported by brain scan research.
E - Episodic memory is associated with the hippocampus and other parts of the temporal lobe where the hippocampus is located, as well as with activity in the frontal lobe.
Semantic memory also relies on the temporal lobe. Procedural memory activation is associated with the cerebellum, which is involved in the control of fine motor skills as well as the motor cortex.
The basal galina and limbic system are also involved in this kind of learning.
L - brain scans therefore indicating that the 3 types of memory are found in different parts of the brain and are therefore seperate
