Multi-store Model of Memory Flashcards
Who developed the multi-store model of memory?
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968,1971)
What is the multi-store model?
A representation of how memory works in terms of 3 stores called sensory register, STM and LTM.
It also describes how info is transferred from 1 store to another, how it is remembered and how it is forgotten.
What are the 9 steps in the MSM?
1. Environmental stimuli 2,.Sensory register 3. Attention 4. STM 5. Maintenance rehearsal 6. Remembering 7. Rehearsal 8. LTM 9.Retrieval
What is the sensory register?
Place where info comes into our memory through the 5 senses. Info is held at each of the senses corresponding part of the brain.
Very large capacity.
Constantly receives info but we ignore it.
What is attention in the MSM?
The 1st step in remembering something. If a person is focused on 1 of the sensory stores, then the data is transferred to the STM.
Facts about STM:
Limited duration and capacity.
Coded acoustically.
Holds 5-9 items.
Info will disappear if displaced.
What is maintenance rehearsal?
Occurs when we repeat info to ourselves over and over again in order to keep it in the STM.
What is remembering?
Recalling info from our STM when we need to recall it.
What is rehearsal?
Going over something over and over again until it is transferred from our STM to LTM.
It can be stored there until we need to remember that info in the future.
Facts about LTM:
Potentially permanent store for info that has been rehearsed for a long time.
Limited capacity.
Encoded semantically.
What is retrieval?
When we want to recall info back from our LTM.
Evaluation of MSM - supporting research info - Why is this a strength?
Use Baddeley’s research
Research by Baddeley shows that STM and LTM are qualitatively different.
Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when using out STM, but we mix up words that have similar meanings when using our LTM.
This study clearly shows that coding in STM is acoustic and coding in LTM is semantic. So they are different and this supports the MSM’s view that these 2 memory stores are separate and independent.
Evaluation of MSM - There is more than 1 type of STM - why is this a limitation?
Mention evidence from Shallice and Warrington (1970)
MSM states that STM is a unitary store - there is only 1 type of STM. However, evidence from a condition called amnesia shows that this cannot be true.
Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied a patient with amnesia named KF. They found that KF’s STM for digits was poor when they were read out to him.But his recall was much better when he was able to read the digits himself.
The unitary STM is a limitation of the MSM as research shows that there must be at least 1 STM to process visual info & another to process auditory info. The WMM has these
Evaluation of MSM - alternative explanation - why is this a limitation?
WMM explains a more complex memory model.
MSM is far too simplistic in comparison.
