Multi-Store model of memory (MSM)

Question 1

Who described the Multi-Store model?

Answer 1

Shriffrin & Atkinson (1968)

Question 2

Multi-Store model

Answer 2

• Explanation of memory based on 3 separate stores called sensory register, short-term memory & long-term memory.
• how information is transferred from one store to another
• how information is forgotten

Question 3

Sensory Register

Answer 3

• receives stimulus from the environment
• 2 stores = iconic and echoic
• brief duration
• high capacity
• little goes into the STM unless we pay attention

Question 4

Echoic memory

Answer 4

storage of what we hear

Question 5

Iconic memory

Answer 5

storage of what we see

Question 6

Short-Term Memory

Answer 6

• limited capacity & duration
• coded acoustically
• achieve maintenance rehearsal through repeating information
• if we rehearse it for long enough it goes to LTM

Question 7

Long-term memory

Answer 7

• permanent memory store for information that has been rehearsed for a prolonged time
• unlimited capacity & duration
• coded semantically
• when we want to recall information it must be transferred to the LTM using retrieval
• no memories are recalled straight from the our LTM

Question 8

features of the multi-store model

Answer 8

• 3 separate stores
• processes explain how data is transferred from 1 store to another ( attention, retrieval etc.)

Question 9

Evaluation: supporting evidence (strength)

Answer 9

STM
- capacity = 7+ or -2 items
- duration = 18-30 seconds
- coding = acoustic

LTM
- capacity = unlimited
- duration = unlimited
- coding = semantic

• tells us the stores are different

Question 10

Evaluation: areas of the brain (strength)

Answer 10

• prefrontal cortex is active when people work on a task in the STM ( Beardsley 1997)
• hippocampus is active when people work on a task in the LTM ( Squires et al 1992)

Question 11

Evaluation: case of HM (strength)

Answer 11

• lost his LTM but not his STM
• if they were 1 store he would have lost both

Question 12

Evaluation: case of HM (weakness)

Answer 12

• shows STM is split into parts (visual & acoustic)
• good visual but poor acoustic

Question 13

Evaluation: more than 1 type of rehearsal (weakness)

Answer 13

• prolonged rehearsal isn;t needed to transfer info to the LTM
• elaborative rehearsal is needed to maintain information in the LTM
• we link information to existing knowledge which we need for long-term storage
• doesn’t fully explain long-term memory

Question 14

Evaluation: doesn’t explain why we remember some things after only reading about them once (weakness)

Answer 14

• level of interest

Question 15

Evaluation: doesn’t explain ‘flashbulb’ memory (weakness)

Answer 15

-memories pass straight through to LTM without going through STM and rehearsal