The Multi-Store Memory Model Flashcards
Who was the MSM developed by and when?
Attkinson and Shiffrin in 1968
How many stores is it made up of?
Three: The sensory register, STM store, and LTM store.
What passes into the sensory register?
All environmental stimuli.
How many memory stores in the sensory register?
5- one for each sense.
What are the main two sensory stores in the sensory register?
Iconic (visual) and echoic (acoustic)
What is the duration of the sensory register?
Less than half a second
What is the capacity of the sensory register?
Very high. E.g. over 100 million cells in one eye each storing data.
How does information transfer from the sensory register to the STM store?
If attention is paid to the information.
What is the STM?
A limited capacity store of temporary duration.
How is STM encoded?
acoustically
What is the duration of the STM?
18 seconds without rehearsal.
What is the capacity of STM?
7+/-2 items
How does information transfer from the STM store to the LTM store?
Maintenance rehearsal (when we repeat material to ourselves). We can maintain information in the STM as long as we rehearse it, if it is rehearsed for long enough it enters the LTM.
What is the LTM?
A permanent memory store.
How is LTM encoded?
semantically (in terms of meaning)
What is the duration of LTM?
Up to a lifetime
What is the capacity of LTM?
Potentially Unlimited
How do we recall information from LTM?
It has to be transferred back to STM by a process called retrieval.
Strength of the MSM
Baddeley’s 1966 study shows that STM and LTM are encoded separately, supporting the idea of two different independent memory stores.
Counterpoint for the research supporting separate memory stores
The studies don’t use everyday information- they use digits, letters, or trigrams. The MSM therefore may not be a valid model of how memory works in everyday life.
Limitation of the MSM- What was Shallice and Warrington’s 1970 study?
It suggested that there is more than one STM store. KF with amnesia’s recall for digits was poor when he heard them, but better when he read them. The MSM is wrong to claim that there is just one STM store.
Limitation of the MSM- What was Craik and Watkins’ 1973 argument?
2 types of rehearsal- maintenance and elaborative. Elaborative is needed for LTM storage- when you link information to existing knowledge. The MSM does not fully explain how LTM storage is achieved as only maintenance rehearsal is described.
