multi-store model Flashcards
who proposed the multi store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968).
what is the multi store model?
a representation of how information flows through the memory system.
suggests the memory is made up of three stores linked by processing - sensory register, STM and LTM.
describes how information is transferred to and from each store, what makes memories last and what makes them disappear.
describe the sensory register.
all stimuli from the environment pass into the sensory register.
this part of the memory comprises of multiple registers - one for each of our senses.
coding in each store is modality-specific. for example, the store coding for visual information is iconic memory, the store coding acoustically is echoic memory and the store coding for tactile information is haptic memory.
the function of the SR is to sift through the huge amounts of sensory info in order to avoid overloading the system.
duration - very brief, less than half a second.
capacity - very high capacity, e.g. over one hundred million cells in one eye storing data.
information passes further into the memory system only if you pay ATTENTION to it, for further processing.
describe the STM store of the multi store model of memory.
info is mainly coded acoustically and has a duration of around 18 seconds unless it is rehearsed - STM is a temporary memory store. it is also a limited-capacity store as it can only contain a certain number of things before forgetting.
maintenance rehearsal occurs when we repeat material to ourselves over and over again. we can keep info in our STM as long as it is rehearsed.
if it rehearsed for long enough, it passes into our LTM.
describe the LTM store of the multi store model of memory.
potentially permanent memory store for info that has been rehearsed for a prolonged time. LTMs are coded mostly semantically, and duration is up to a lifetime. capacity is potentially unlimited.
according to the MSM, we can recall info from the LTM by transferring it back into the STM by a process called retrieval.
discuss research support as a strength of the multi-store model of memory.
one strength of the MSM is support from studies showing that STM and LTM are different stores.
Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using our STMs, but mix up words that have similar meanings when we use our LTMs, showing that the two stores code semantically.
this clearly shows that the STM and LTM are separate and independent memory stores - as claimed by the MSM.
despite this, in everyday life we form memories of different kinds - names, faces, places etc. many of the studies that support the MSM do not use any of those materials, and instead use artificial stimuli such as digits and words, all with no meaning.
the supporting research’s lack of ecological validity means that the MSM may not be a valid model of how memory works in everyday life, where we have to remember more meaningful information.
however-
the case study of HM provides real life support for the MSM.
he suffered from epilepsy and underwent brain surgery to remove part of his temporal lobes and hippocampus - which left him with severe memory deficits.
could not form new long term memories, but performed well in test of immediate memory span.
showed that the LTM and STM are two separate stores, as the MS suggests, providing support for the validity of the model.
however, this is an ideographic case study, meaning the findings are subjective and cannot necessarily be applied to the general population, so the support the study can give the MSM is limited.
discuss evidence of more than one STM store as a limitation of the MSM.
one limitation of the multi store model is evidence of more than one STM store.
researchers studied a client known as KF who had a clinical memory disorder known as amnesia.
KFs LTM was intact - he was able to learn new information and recall learned information.
however his STM was affected, his recall for digits was very poor when read aloud to him, but it was much better when he read the digits to himself immediately after presentation.
this suggests that the single STM store that processes different types of info proposed in the MSM is too simplistic - it must be more complicated if KF could process visual but not verbal information. this suggests that the MSM doesn’t reflect the complexity of STM.
additionally, the MSM is limited in that prolonged rehearsal is not needed for transfer to the LTM.
according to the MSM, what matters about rehearsal is the amount of it - maintenance rehearsal. however research has shown that it is instead the type of rehearsal that is more important. elaborative rehearsal is needed for long term storage, which occurs when you link new info to existing knowledge. this suggests that info can be transferred to the LTM without maintenance rehearsal.
this suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long term storage is achieved, further challenging the simplicity of the model and suggesting it does not reflect the complexity of memory.
