Multi-store model of memory Flashcards
What does the multi-store model propose?
That the memory consists of 3 stores
What are the three stores suggested by the multi-store model?
*sensory store
*short-term store
*long-term store
What happens with information from our environment
Information from the environment initially goes into your sensory memory. If the information is then rehearsed it is encoded and will passed into your short-term memory.
How does your short-term memory become your long-term memory?
If information in your short-term memory is rehearsed then it can be transferred to your long-term memory. The information can remain there forever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeuWVWEW4bI
What is the primary effect?
Participants are able to recall the first few items of a list better than those from the middle. The first items in the list would have been rehearsed better and would transferred to LTM. If rehearsal is prevented by an interference task, the effect disappears (this supports the multi-store model).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYhcHREonZs
What is the Recency Effect?
Participants are more likely to remember the last few items of a list better than those in the middle because they are still in the persons STM.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QYv6pfT7j0
How do people with Korsakoff’s syndrome support the multi-store model?
They can recall the last items on the List which suggests an unaffected STM. However, their LTM is very poor. This supports the multi-store model by proving that STM and LTM are separate stores.
What are the 2 limitations of the multi-store model?
*In the model STM is transferred to LTM via rehearsal, however, in real life people don’t always spend time rehearsing, yet they are still able to transfer information into LTM.
*The model is oversimplified. It assumes there is only one LTM store and one STM store. This has been disproved by evidence of brain damaged patients.
(Skip to 10:35) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD4hPEW18tU
Draw the multi-store memory model
What is sensory memory (SM)?
SM is information collected by your senses (e.g eyes, ears, nose and tongue). This information is retained for a very short period of time (0.5 seconds). However the capacity of your sensory memory is very large. The method of encoding is different depending on the sensory organ. For example visual encoding for eyes, but acoustic for ears.
What is the word-length effect?
It shows that people remember lists of short words better than long words. It is governed by the capacity of the phonological loop.
How many strengths are there to the multi-store model?
3
How does Glanzer and Cunitz experiment support the multi-store model?
It provided evidence for the separate store as the words at the bigenning of the list had time to be rehearsed and so moved into LTM, and the words at the end of the list were still fresh in the participants STM. However, the words in the middle had nowhere to go so they were forgotten.
What was Glanzer and Cunitz experiment?
They asked a group of participants to recall a list of words. What they found was that the participants were able to recall the words from the start and the end of the list much easier. This supported the idea of primary and recency effect.
What is a weakness of Glanzer and Cunitz experiment?
Recalling a list of words that you have been asked to memorise is not a task that people would normally do in everyday life. Thus the study lacks ecological validity, meaning that we can not be sure that our STM works in the same way in real world situations.
Describe the case study on Clive Wearing
Clive wearing developed a profound case of amnesia and is unable to encode new memories. He spends everyday “waking up” every few minutes as he cannot remember information entering his STM for more than 30 seconds. He connot remember events (episodic memory) but does still have knowledge of general information and can remember his love for his wife and how to play the piano.
(whatch intro) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSycdIx-C48
How does the case study of Clive Wearing support the mulit-store model?
The case study demonstrates that LTM and STM are two different memory store, as wearing can retrieve information from his LTM but cannot retain new information in his STM.
What is a weakness to the case study of Clive Wearing?
Case studies can not be generalised to the intire population, as this is just one man and therefore idiographic (relating to the study of individuals). Therefore in other people memory may work differently.
What are the poterntial practical applications which arise from the multi-store model?
If it is true that rehearsal is required in order for information from our STM to pass to our LTM, then we can encourage people to use this technique when they need to remember information. This would be perticularly useful for students.
This is a strength of the MSM as its theoretical idea can be used to improve memory in real life situations, which is beneficial in helping people.
What did Brown and Kulik suggest in 1977?
That some memories which are highly emotional, significant and shocking can go straight into LTMand by passthe rehearsal needed for STM.
This contradicts the multi-store model which states that information must be rehearsed in order to transfer to LTM.
What is a weakness to Brown and Kulik suggestion?
It is argued that these important events may be rehearsed, as we are likely to talk about them with friends and family. It is hard to test whether we rehearse this information or not, as these events happen randomly, so we cannot disregard the MSM.
What did Craik and Lockhart find in 1972?
They found that there was more than one type of rehearsal. They believed that enduring memories are created by the form of processing you do, not just through maintenance rehearsal. Things that are processed more deeply are more memorable.
This therefor questions the accuracy of the MSM as out memory may work in more complex ways than the model suggests.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txNjI-cbda8
