Multi-store model of memory

Question 1

Who created the multi-store model of memory?

Answer 1

Atkinson & Shiffrin in 1968

Question 2

Name 3 points about the Sensory Store

Answer 2

Answers:

• It is modality specific ie smells = olfactory imagery
• Information is held briefly as without attention it cannot be transferred to the STM
• less than 100th of info of the human senses reaches the STM

Question 3

Name 3 points about the Short term Memory Store

Answer 3

Answers:

• has a capacity of 5-9 items
• has a duration of 18-30 secs
• if information in the STM is not rehearsed it Amy disappear
• due to STM’s limited capacity, if info is not transferred to LTM then info in STM may be pushed out by new info
• STM can retrieve information from LTM

Question 4

Name 3 points about the Long Term Memory Store

Answer 4

Answers:

• info is moved from STM to LTM via maintenence rehearsal
• the more the memory is rehearsed the longer it will last and stay in LTM

Question 5

A strength of the MSM (PEEL) …..

Answer 5

P- A strength that there are seperate memory stores is that there is supportive evidence
E- HM had severe epilepsy and had brain surgery to remove his hippocampus from both sides of brain. His memory was severely damaged as he would read the same magazine repeatedly and forget what he had read before. His STM was impaired and ability to form new LTMs. However, he could remember certain elements of his LTM such as wife’s face and name.
E- Suggests there are different memory stores as HM could remember certain long term memories but not short term ones.
L- Increases validity

Question 6

A strength of the MSM (PEEL) …..

Answer 6

P- A strength of the MSM is that there is supportive evidence from brain scans
E- Beardsley in 1997 found that the prefrontal cortex was active during STM and Squire in 1992 found that the hippocampus was active when LTM was engaged.
E- This provides neuroscientific evidence that there is more that one memory store - different parts of brain are active when different types of memory are engaged.
L- Increases internal validity of theory of MSM

Question 7

What was the procedure , finding and conclusion of Peterson and Peterson’s study?

Answer 7

Procedure = 24 participants had to recall trigrams of 3 letters and three numbers with intervals of 3,6,9,12,15 and 18 seconds.

Findings = the longer the interval delay, the less trigrams recalled. Ps could identify 80% at 3 secs but only 10% after 18 secs

Conclusion = STM has a limited duration when rehearsal is prevented