SL - Cognitive processing - models of memory - multi-store model of memory

Question 1

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)

Answer 1

Proposed the Multi-store model (MSM)

MSM -> states we have 3 memory stores: sensory memory (SM), short term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Information can be stored if certain processes are met.

SM -> sensory memory holds information for less than a second and the capacity of this store is unknown. Most information reaches this store but is forgotten unless attention is paid to that information. Once we pay attention to information it becomes encoded into STM.

STM -> Short-term memory holds information for around 30 seconds and can hold between 5-9 pieces of information before things start to become displaced: newer information replaces the old information. Maintenance rehearsal can keep information in STM and with enough rehearsal information can be encoded into LTM.

LTM -> Long-term memory has unlimited duration and unlimited capacity; however, information may decay over time.

When learned information is needed, information in LTM is transferred back into STM to be used.

Question 2

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

Answer 2

Aim ->
To test if there are two distinct stores that produce the serial position curve.

Method ->
Ppts were shown word lists. After the ppts had read all words they had to write down all the words they could remember. There were three conditions: no delay before recalling words, 10-second delay before recalling words, and 30-second delay before recalling words. There were two effects being measured in this experiment: the primacy effect and the recency effect. The primacy effect means that words at the beginning of the list are remembered better than those in the middle. The recency effect means that the most recent words in a list are remembered better than those in the middle.

Results ->
As the delay before recalling the words increased, the effect of the recency effect decreased; however, the primacy effect remained constant over all 3 conditions.

Conclusion ->
There are distinct memory stores. This is suggested as the primacy effect was unchanged across conditions and this would be because the information moved into long-term memory. However, the recency effect was affected by a delay and this would be because information in short-term memory lasts 30 seconds and so, after a 30-second delay the information was removed and the recency effect was diminished.

Evaluation ->

✔
✔

❌
❌

Question 3

Wood and Cowan (1995)

Answer 3

Aim ->
To investigate the role of attention on recall

Method ->
(if using as support) - They played two different audio tracks in the right or left ear of headphones to the participants. Participants either paid attention to the right track or the left track. They were then asked a series of questions at the end of the tracks.

(If using as a whole study) - They played two different audio tracks in the right or left ear of headphones to the participants. There were four conditions: pay attention to right track, left track is played normally; pay attention to right track, left track is played normally but has a 30-second section where the audio is played backwards, pay attention to left track, right track is played normally, and a control group that heard no audio, Participants were instructed to shadow the track they were told to pay attention to (to ensure they were actually paying attention to the correct track). Everyone was asked a series of questions at the end of the tape-playing.

Results -> Ppts who paid attention to the left-ear message (the message that most ppts were told to ignore) did better in a test of the content in that message than anyone else.

Conclusion -> Recall is better with attention.

Evaluation ->

✔ High validity -> Good control and clear operationalisation. Laboratory experiments pay particular attention to eliminating the effects of other, extraneous variables, by controlling them (i.e. removing or keeping them constant) in an artificial environment. This makes it more likely for researchers to find a causal effect, having confidence that no variables other than changes in an IV can affect a resulting DV. This allows there to be a high certainty that there is a cause and effect relationship between the variables.
✔ Supports/supported by MSM

❌ Low ecological validity -> the artificial nature of laboratory experiments can cast doubt over whether the results reflect the nature of real-life scenarios (we don’t listen to headphones playing different audio in each ear, and then get tested on the audio played. This prompts the questioning of whether these results can be used to predict what would happen in real life accurately.
❌