Multi-Store model (Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968) Flashcards
intro
the multi-store model is an explanation of memory proposed by Atkinson and shifting which assumes there are three unitary memory stores, and that information is transferred between these stores in a linear sequence. The three main stores are the sensory memory (SM), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
sensory memory
P- the first store of the milti-store model is the SM. Stimuli from the environment enters the brain through the senses and is held for a short duration of less than half a second, with unlimited capacity.
E- sperling studies sensory memory for vision using a device that can flash pectoral stimuli onto a blank screen for a brief period. using this, sperling asked ppts to remember as many letters as they could from a grid of 12 symbols. results showed that ppts could remember 4/5 letters although they were aware of more.
E- this is a reliable study as it’s a very standardised procedure so can be easily replicated and carried out multiple times. However, lacks mundane realism due to the task being very artificial and it doesn’t represent something of everyday life.
STM
P- If attention is then paid, information in the sensory register moves into the STM. however, if not, that information then decays. Information can stay in the sim for up to 30 seconds with a limited capacity to about 7+/-2 items. Both can be overcome via rehearsal and chunking.
E- Although it is said that each store is unitary, There are objections as a result from the case study of KF. Shallice and warrington reported the case of KF, who was brain damaged as a result of a motorcycle accident. KF’s verbal stm was damaged despite his visual memory being intact suggesting that the sum isn’t a unitary store, with different parts of the stm dedicated to processing different types of information.
E- case studies help to produce rich, in-depth data due to the complex interaction of many factors and can be used to investigate instances of human behaviour and rare or cases which could not possibly be created in research labs. However its difficult to generalise from individual cases as each one has unique characteristics.
LTM
P- the final store is the ltm. IF information is elaborately rehearsed, the information goes from the stm to the ltm. If not then the information is displaced. It has an indefinite duration with an unlimited capacity.
E- H.M. was a patient under Dr. William Scoville who believed that removing his hippocampus would stop his epileptic seizures. while surgery was successful, it led to H.M. suffering from anterograde amnesia in which he could no longer form or keep new memories. however his stm remained intact, reinforcing that they are two separate stores in different areas of the brain.
E- There are important ethical issues such as confidentiality and anonymity. many cases are easily identifiable because of their unique characteristics, even when real names are not given.
This model can be compared to working memory model by baddeley and hitch. it replaces stm and provides a more detailed explanation of rehearsal and retrieval. Most psychologists this to be an improvement and refinement of the more simple multi-store model.
