Memory: The multistore model Flashcards
Capacity
The amount of information that can be stored
Duration
How long the information can be stored for
Encoding
The form the information is stored as
Assumptions of the multistore model
It is a structural model
Memory consists of 3 separate stores, which differ in terms of capacity, duration and encoding
Information passes through the model in a linear way
STM and LTM are unitary stores which consist of just one component
Long term memory - capacity, duration and encoding
Capacity: unlimited
Duration: thought to be a lifetime
Encoding: semantic
Memory stores
Sensory register/sensory memory
Short term memory
Long term memory
Multistore model of memory
Created by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
Information first enters the sensory register, and if attended to, information is transferred from the sensory register to STM
Information is transferred from STM to LTM through rehearsal
Sensory register - capacity, duration and encoding
Capacity: difficult to measure because the duration is so short
Duration: retains information long enough for us to decide whether it needs processing (2 seconds)
Encoding: modality-specific
Short term memory - capacity, duration and encoding
Capacity: between 5 and 9 items (7 +/- 2) although further research suggests closer to 5 than 9
Duration: retains information for around 20 seconds unless rehearsed
Encoding: acoustic
Strengths of the multistore model
Research by Baddeley shows that coding in STM is acoustic whereas coding in LTM is semantic
Brain scans have shown that the prefrontal cortex is active when a person is using STM and the hippocampus is active when LTM is used
HM’s LTM was damaged but his STM still functioned perfectly when tested
Weaknesses of the multistore model
The original model only refers to rehearsal as a method of transferring info from STM to LTM, but Craik and Watkins (1973) showed that there are two types of rehearsal (elaborative and maintenance)
Clive Wearing had problems with his episodic memory but not his procedural memory
KF’s memory for digits was poor when read aloud to him, but fine when he could read them himself
Research studies for the multistore model are not representative of real life