Multi Store Model Flashcards
MSM diagram
The sensory register(MSM)
-The stores of all sensory information we receive.
-There are 5 separate stores for each of our senses.
-Relevant stores to syllabus:
Iconic memory - Visual information
Echoic memory - auditory information
-Short retention ( under half a second)
-High capacity.
-The key process that keeps sensory information for longer than half a second is attention which sends the information to the STM.
Short term memory (MSM)
-limited capacity store held for a limited time.
-Capacity is typically between 5-9 items.
-STM is encoded acoustically(memory of the sound).
-Last 30 seconds.
-if rehearsed it will remain for longer than 30 seconds, if rehearsed enough information is passed to our Long Term memory.
Long term Memory(MSM)
-Indefinite duration.
-Encoded semantically(memory of the meaning).
-Capacity is unlimited.
-When we recall a memory from our LTM we ‘retrieve’ it to our STM, no memories are directly recalled from LTM.
Case study of HM
-HM was an epileptic who had surgery on his brain.
-The surgery involved removing his hippocampus from both sides of his brain.
-The hippocampus is proven to be crucial in memory.
-Post-op his LTM was very poor and did not recover (did not remember age or year), however his STM was still fully functional.
-This supports the MSM as it suggests multiple stores of memory.
(AO3)(MSM)Research support
Baddeley conducted a study on differences of recall between the alleged STM and LTM, found words recalled from the STM were mixed up when they had a similar pronunciation(acoustically encoded) and words of similar meaning were mixed up in the LTM(semantically encoded). This suggests there are differences in coding of memories and hence differences in stores.
(AO3)(MSM)Evidence suggesting more than one type of STM
-Data collected from amnesia patients suggests STM is not a single type of memory.
-Shallice and Warrington(1970) conducted a case study on patient ‘KF’ and found his recall of digits read out to him was very poor but was much better when he could read the digits to himself. This suggests that the idea of the STM being a unitary store in the LTM is too deterministic and there may infact be separate types of STM(i.e visual or acoustic)
(AO3)(MSM)There is more than one type of rehearsal
-MSM suggests there is only one way to rehearse and the key factor in LTM item duration is how many times one rehearses said item.
-Craik and Watkins found instead there are two types of rehearsal, maintenance (as discussed in MSM and Elaborative rehearsal (linking the item to pre-existing knowledge or thinking about what the item means).
-MSM cannot explain elaborative rehearsal which is a limitation and elaborative rehearsal is required to encode any new idea/item in to ones LTM
