Multi-Store Model (MSM)

Question 1

What is the order of the MSM?

Answer 1

Sensory register
Attention 
STM
Maintenance rehearsal 
Elaborative rehearsal/retrieval 
LTM

Question 2

What is the sensory register?

Answer 2

Receives information from the environment and codes it into separate stores within the sensory register.

Question 3

Coding of sensory register -

Answer 3

sense specific

Question 4

Capacity of sensory register -

Answer 4

large

Question 5

Duration of sensory register -

Answer 5

few milliseconds

Question 6

Where does the STM get info from?

Answer 6

Stores info received from the sensory register

Question 7

How is info kept in the STM?

Answer 7

through maintenance rehearsal

Question 8

How is info sent to the LTM?

Answer 8

through elaborative rehearsal

Question 9

Capacity of STM -

Answer 9

5 - 9 items as Jacobs research showed

Question 10

Duration of STM -

Answer 10

approx 18 - 30 seconds as Peterson and Petersons’ research showed

Question 11

Coding of STM -

Answer 11

Mainly semantic as Baddeley’s research showed.

Question 12

What is the LTM?

Answer 12

A store of memories that can be accessed and recited at any given moment.

Question 13

Capacity of LTM -

Answer 13

potentially unlimited

Question 14

Duration of LTM -

Answer 14

unlimited

Question 15

Coding of LTM -

Answer 15

Mainly semantic as Baddeley’s research shows.

Question 16

Strength of the MSM -

Answer 16

Supported by case studies of amnesiacs - HM
HM underwent brain surgery to treat severe epilepsy. The surgeons removed his temporal lobe and hippocampus (both play a key part in memory)
Following surgery he couldn’t form new long term memories.
However his STM, and early childhood memories stayed intact.

This suggests that LT and ST memories are in seperate stores. As the MSM suggests.

Question 17

Weakness of the MSM -

Answer 17

Accused of being oversimplified.
The working memory model has found evidence that the STM does not operate in one single store. Instead it is comprised of many different components.

It also seems unlikely that LTM operates as one store. Indeed, there is evidence that episodic memories, procedural memories and semantic memories are consolidates and stored in different areas of the brain.