Multi-store Model of Memory Flashcards
Who developed the MSM and what did they suggest
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), they suggested that memory is made up of 3 unitary stores (STM, LTM and the sensory register)
What is the MSM
- This is a structural model (representation) of memory that they called the multi-store model of memory. It was the first complex model of human memory.
- They suggest that each store is different/separate (unitary) and information is transferred from one store to another in a fixed, linear sequence.
What is the sensory register
- The sensory register is the memory stores for each of our five senses e.g. iconic store for visual information, echoic store for sound information. Therefore, each store of the sensory register are coded differently (iconic visually, echoic acoustically etc.).
What happens in the sensory register
- A stimulus from the environment (e.g. the sound of someone’s name) passes into the sensory register. It receives all of the information (it has a high capacity e.g. over one hundred million cells in one eye, each storing data) and holds it very briefly. The duration of the sensory register is less than half a second.
*very little goes further on, only if it is paid attention to (i.e. the key process is attention).
Describe the MSM (6 marks)
The multi-store model of memory developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), explains how information is transferred between different unitary memory stores.
The model is comprised of three unitary stores in memory which are: sensory register , short term memory and long-term memory.
Each memory store is qualitatively different which means that they differ in terms of capacity, duration and coding.
Information is transferred between the memory stores in a fixed linear sequence.
A stimulus from the environment enters the sensory register.
Information paid attention to passes to the STM.
The STM is limited in duration up to 30 seconds without rehearsal, has a capacity of seven plus or minus two items, and is coded acoustically.
Information may then be transferred to the LTM
Supporting research for the MSM Baddeley (1966) and what it shows
Baddeley (1966) found that we tend to mix up acoustically similar words when we are using our STMs and mix up semantically similar words when we are using our LTMs.
This clearly supports that coding in STM is acoustic and LTM is semantic, which supports the view that these two memory stores are separate (unitary) and qualitatively different as proposed by the MSM.
(artificial stimuli counter argument)
Supporting research - case of HM and what it shows
HM underwent brain surgery to relieve his epilepsy which involved removing his hippocampus. When his memory was assessed in 1955 (when he was 31), he thought it was 1953 and he was 27. His LTM was tested over and over again but never improved with practice. He would read the same magazine repeatedly without remembering it. He couldn’t recall what he had eaten earlier the same day. However, he performed well on tests of immediate memory span (a test of STM).
This supports that STM and LTM are two unitary stores that are qualitatively different because one can be damaged whilst the other remains intact, as proposed by the MSM. They may even be stored in different parts of the brain.
(unique - counter argument)
Undermining research - case of KF and what it shows
Shallice and Warrington (1970) studied a patient with amnesia called KF. They found that his STM for digits was very poor when they were read out loud to him, but his recall was much better when he was able to read them to himself. Further studies of KF and other people with amnesia suggest that there could be another short-term store for non-verbal sounds.
This is a limitation of the MSM because research suggests that there must be at least one short-term store to process visual information (visuo-spatial sketchpad) and one to process auditory information (phonological loop) as one can be damaged whilst the other remains intact, which undermines the unitary store of STM proposed by the MSM. The working memory model includes these separate stores of STM.
Undermining research - rehearsal and what it shows
According to the MSM, it’s the amount of rehearsal that matters. Craik and Watkins (1973) found that there are actually different types of rehearsal. There are two main types: maintenance rehearsal (as described in the MSM) and elaborative rehearsal which is needed to transfer information from STM to LTM. Elaborative rehearsal is when you link the information into your existing knowledge, or you think about what it means.
This is a serious limitation of the MSM because it is another research finding that cannot be explained by the model. This suggests it may not be a completely valid model of how memory works.
