multi store model of memory Flashcards
who was this created by and when?
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
what is the MSM?
a linear model of how memory operates with information moving through a series of separate stores
brief overview of the msm stores
sensory registers - STM - LTM
parts of the sensory register
•iconic (visually)
•echoic (acoustically)
•other sensory stores (taste, touch,smell)
draw the MSM of memory
what is the process that moves information from the sensory register to the STM
attention
what is the process that moves information from the STM to the LTM
prolonged rehearsal
what is the process that moves information from the LTM to the STM
retrieval
what is maintenance rehearsal?
when we repeat (rehearse) material to ourselves over and over again to keep it in our STM- if done for long enough it passes into the LTM
what is prolonged rehearsal?
something is repeated so much it gets stored in the LTM store
what is retrieval?
in order to retrieve/ recall information it must be passed back into the STM
coding of the sensory register
•according to the sense that is stimulated
•visually (iconically)
•acoustically (echoically)
•modality specific (touch, taste, smell)
duration of the sensory register
momentary (half a second)
capacity of the sensory register
very large capacity
coding of the STM
•mainly acoustically, however it depends on the information from the sensory register
duration of the STM
•about 18 seconds unless it is rehearsed
capacity of the STM
between 5 and 9 items (7+-2)
(Cowan’s research suggests it may be more like 5 than 9)
coding of the LTM
mostly semantic
duration of the LTM
potentially up to a lifetime
capacity of the LTM
practically unlimited
two reasons why information is lost in the STM
•it hasn’t been rehearsed so it decays
•it is pushed out by new information due to the capacity being exceeded. This is Displacement
three evaluation points of the MSM
•strength: research support
•limitation: there is more than one type of STM
•limitation: there is more than one type of rehearsal
MSM strength: research support
it is supported by research studies that show the STM and LTM are different stores.
Baddeley’s study found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar in our STM, but mix up one’s with similar meanings in our LTM, showing that one is coded acoustically and the other semantically.
This supports the view that the two memory stores are separate and independent
MSM limitation: there is more than one type of STM
The MSM states that the STM is a unitary store
This is questioned by studies involving amnesiac patients, for example shallice and Warrington (1970) studied a patient known as KF
KF’s STM for digits was very poor when they were read aloud to him, however regally improves when he was able to read the digits to himself.
Further studies suggest there could even be another STM store for non-verbal sounds (like noises)
Concluding there must at least be one STM store to process visual information and another for auditory
MSM limitation: there is more than one type of rehearsal
according to the MSM, what matters in rehearsal is the amount that you do, the more you rehearse it the more likely it is to go/ stay in your LTM
Craik and Watkins think that what matters is the type
•maintenance rehearsal does not transfer info into the LTM
•elaborative rehearsal does and it better for long term remembering
This research findings cannot be explained by the MSM
who conducted research on coding?
Alan Baddeley
what were the words the 4 groups were asked to recall?
1- acoustically similar
2- acoustically dissimilar
3- semantically similar
4- semantically dissimilar
method of Baddeley’s study
participants were shown the original words and asked to recall them in the correct order
results of Baddeley’s study
•when they recalled the word’s immediately, they tended to do worse with acoustically similar words
•when asked to recall the word list 20 minutes later (from the LTM) they did worse with the semantically similar words
•these similarities add confusion
•these findings suggest that information is coded acoustically in the STM and semantically in the LTM
who conducted research on capacity?
Joseph Jacobs
methods and findings of Jacob’s research on capacity
participants were read aloud 4 digits and were asked to recall them, if they were all recalled in the correct order then he read out 5 words and so on.
•the mean span for digits across all participants was 9.3 items
•the mean span for letters was 7.3
who conducted research on duration?
Margret and Lloyd Peterson (Peterson & Peterson)
how was research on the duration of the STM carried out?
•Peterson & Peterson tested 24 students in 8 trials
•they exposed the participants to a trigram (such as YCG) for a moment then distracted them by telling them to count backwards from a number
•they were asked to recall the trigram after varying lengths of time
what was the results of the research on the duration of the STM?
•after 3 seconds average recall was 80%
•after 18 seconds it was about 3%
who carried out research on the duration of the LTM?
Harry Bahrick
how was the research on the duration of the LTM store carried out?
•harry bahrick studied 392 American participants
•participants were shown photos of people from their high school yearbook and asked to remember their names or recognise photos of them
what were the results of the research into the duration of the LTM?
participants seeing photos and recalling names:
•15 years - 60% accuracy
• 48 years - 30% accuracy
photo recognition (which people they went to school with, which they didn’t)
• 15 years - 90% accuracy
• 48 years - 70% accuracy
what are the 3 types of long term memory?
episodic, procedural, semantic
characteristics of episodic memories
•ability to recall events (epidodes) from our lives.
•they are ‘time stamped’ - you can remember when and what happened
•these memories include several elements
•you have to make a conscious effort to recall these memories
characteristics of semantic memory
•contains our knowledge of the world, including the meanings of words
•they are not ‘time stamped’
•it is constantly being added to, however is less vulnerable to distortion and forgetting than episodic memories
characteristics of procedural memory
•our memory for action and skills
•does not require conscious effort, our ability becomes automatic through practice
•things like walking or playing the piano
evidence for separate LTM stores
•there is support from neuroimaging
•Tulving’s Gold study found that different parts of the brain were active when participants were recalling knowledge (semantic memories) compared to life events (episodic memories)
•the study found that episodic memories were triggered brain activity in the front of the brain, and semantic memories in the back of the brain
two case studies supporting different LTM stores
H.M - he kept his procedural memory, but could make no new episodic or semantic memories
Clive Wearing - he kept his procedural memory but lost his semantic memories and could no longer move memories from the STM to the LTM
