memory models Flashcards
what is the multi store model of memory
a representation of how memory works in terms of three stores, the sensory register, stm and ltm. Also describes how information is transferred from one store to another, how it is remembered/forgotten
what is the sensory register?
stimulus from the environment passes into here, the memory stores for each of our five senses , such as iconic, echoic. capacity is huge and lasts for long time
what did Atkinson and Shiffrin suggest?
that STM and LTM are seperate, unitary stores. A model that passes information in a linear way
short term memory
if attention has been payed passses into this store, limited capacity store, has a capacity of 5-9 items, duration of upto 30 seconds without rehearsal and codes acoustically. Maintenance rehearsal will keep it in our STM
long term memory
if prolonged rehearsal occurs, passes into LTM. Permanent information. Codes semantically, has a duration of a lifetime and has an unlimited capacity. Retrieval can only occur from LTM transferred to STM, not directly from LTM.
evaluation - MSM (cw)
N - support from case study of Clive Wearing, who contracted a virus causing serious amnesia
A - following the virus, wearing could only remember information for 20-30 seconds, however he could remember information from the past, such as his wife’s name and how to play the organ. He was unable to transfer information from stm to ltm, but could retrieve from ltm
E - case supports the idea that memories are formed by passing information from one store to another in a linear fashion. Supports that stm and ltm are seperate, unitary stores
C-C = lacks population validity, as only one person was studied so lacks generalisability to other populations
evaluation - MSM ( research)
N - supported by research studies that show that STM and LTM are separate stores
A - for e.g. Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar in our stm whereas we mix up words that have similar meaning in our ltm. Further support comes from the studies into duration and capacity of our stm and ltm. Jacobs found that the capacity of STM is indeed 5-9 and peterson & peterson found that the duration of our stm is upto 30 seconds without rehearsal
E - clearly shows that stm coding is acoustic and ltm coding is semantic. Therefore, supports that stm and ltm are seperate, unitary stores
evaluation - MSM (wmm)
N - STM is no longer regarded as a single store
A - Working Memory Model demonstrates that STM is made up of at least four separate components: central executive, phonological loop, episodic buffer and visuo-spatial sketchpad. Research has shown that at the very least, there must be one short-term store to process visual information and one store to process auditory information
E - limitation as STM must be more complex than the msm suggests, far too simplistic to propose that it is a single store. WMM better explanation of human memory
who proposed the working memory model and what does the model suggest?
- Baddeley and Hitch
proposed that their are four main components of STM
what are the four components of working memory model?
central executive
phonological loop
episodic buffer
visuo-spatial sketchpad
what does the central executive do?
directs attention to particular tasks, determining how particular tasks are allocated to the three slave systems
- limited capacity
what does the phonological loop do?
processes auditory information
phonological store = stores sounds without meaning, holds words you hear
Articulatory Control loop = acts like an inner voice, silently repeats words that you have heard or seen
what does the visuo-spatial sketchpad do?
stores visual and spatial information
visual cache = stores visual data
inner scribe = records arrangement of objects in the visual field
what does the episodic buffer do?
binds and integrates information from all components and passes the information to LTM
support for WMM (S & W)
N - support for WMM comes from Shallice and Warrington’s case study of patient KF who suffered brain damage after a motorcycle accident
A - Following his accident, KF was able to recall stored info from his LTM but had issues with STM. He could remember visual images but was unable to remember sounds
E - this suggests that there atleast two components within STM, one for visual and one for acoustic info. Supports WMM
c-c = unique case, lacks generalisability
further support for WMM, (B)
N - further support from the WMM comes from dual-task studies by Baddeley
A - when two tasks require the participants to use the same component, their ability to perform tasks is impaired. However, when the participant uses their phonological loop and the other task requires visuo-spatial sketchpad then their performance is not impaired
E - Dual-task studies provide evidence for existence of multiple components within our STM and support idea of seperate phonological loop and visuo-spatial sketchpad.
c-c = lab experiment, lacks ecological validity
challenge to WMM
N - the MSM would challenge the components of the working memory model
A - the MSM proposes that STM is not made up of four seperate stores like the WMM suggests, instead it claims that STM is a single, unitary store
E - MSM challenges idea of a central executive, phonological loop, episodic buffer and visuo-spatial sketchpad. However, it can be argued that the WMM is much less simplistic than the MSM and is therefore a better explanation of how our memory works.
