The Multi Store Model

Question 1

Who proposed the MSM

Answer 1

-Atkinson and Shriffin (1968)

Question 2

What is the MSM often referred to as

Answer 2

he modal model as it was widely used for a long time

Question 3

How does the MSM explain memory

Answer 3

-A linear process involving three distinct stores: the sensory memory, STM and LTM.
-information flows from one store to the next in a sequential manner, depending on the processes of attention rehearsal and retrieval

Question 4

3 components of the MSM

Answer 4

-Sensory memory
-STM
-LTM

Question 5

Function of the sensory register

Answer 5

-Briefly stores information from our senses (e.g sights, sounds). Each sense has its own sensory register.

Question 6

What are the different types of sensory register

Answer 6

-Iconic memory
-Echoic memory
-Haptic memory

Question 7

What is iconic memory

Answer 7

-visual information

Question 8

What is echoic memory

Answer 8

-Auditory information

Question 9

What is haptic memory

Answer 9

-tactile information (what we feel)

Question 10

Capacity of the sensory register

Answer 10

-Very large. It briefly holds all sensory information that we encounter

Question 11

Duration of the sensory register

Answer 11

-Very brief, lasting only milliseconds if information is not attended to.

Question 12

How is information coded in the sensory register

Answer 12

-Depends on which sense is involved. E.g if the information is visual, it is coded into iconic store

Question 13

Where does information from the sensory register transfer to if attended to

Answer 13

STM

Question 14

What will happen if information is not attended to in the sensory register

Answer 14

Rapidly decay

Question 15

duration of the STM

Answer 15

-Limited to around 18-30 seconds unless rehearsal is used to keep it active

Question 16

Capacity of the STM

Answer 16

7 + or _ 2 items (miller)

Question 17

How can the capacity of the STM be increased

Answer 17

By chunking information

Question 18

What type of coding is used in the STM

Answer 18

Information is coded acoustically. This means it store information based on sound

Question 19

How is information in the STM transferred to the LTM

Answer 19

-Maintenance rehearsal is used to keep the memory active or transfer it to the LTM

Question 20

Capacity of the LTM

Answer 20

Potentially unlimited

Question 21

Duration of the LTM

Answer 21

-Potentially life long

Question 22

Type of coding used by LTM

Answer 22

-Primarily semantic, meaning it stores information based on meaning.

Question 23

What are the 3 key processes of the MSM

Answer 23

-Attention
-Maintainence rehearsal
-Retrieval

Question 24

What happens during the process of attention

Answer 24

-If a person focuses on a sensory input and attends to it, the information is transferred form the sensory register to the STM

Question 25

what happens during the process of maintenance rehearsal

Answer 25

-When information in the SM is repeated, it is strengthened, increasing the likelihood that it will be transferred to LTM

Question 26

What happens during the process of retrieval

Answer 26

-Information stored in the LTM can be brought back to the STM when needed for immediate use.

Question 27

Sperling (1960)- capacity and duration of the sensory memory study

Answer 27

-AIM: to identify the capacity and duration of the sensory memory -METHOD: participants saw a grid of digits and letters for 50 milliseconds. hey were then asked to wither recall the entire grid or after a specific tone, recall a particular row. -RESULT: participants had a higher recall accuracy for the indicated row, suggesting SM can hold all information for a brief time but can decay rapidly if not attended to -CONCLUSION: SM has a large capacity but limited duration

Question 28

Jacob’s (1887)- Digit span technique study for the capacity of STM

Answer 28

-AIM: to measure the capacity of STM for letters and numbers -METHOD: participants were read a sequence of numbers or letters gradually increasing until they could no longer recall the sequence in the correct order. -RESULT: the mean span for digits was 9.3 items, while for letters it was 7.3 items -CONCLUSION: STM has a limited capacity

Question 29

Strength of criticism of Jacob’s digit span study for STM capacity

Answer 29

-Lacks validity - Early research lacked adequate controls -Conformed by other research E.g Miller, conforming its reliability

Question 30

Miller (1956)- STM capacity study

Answer 30

-AIM: to investigate capacity of STM -METHOD: observations of everyday memory patterns, including studies on digit span and chunking -RESULTS: STM can hold around 7+ or - 2 chunks of information. The capacity can be increased by chunking information -CONCLUSION: STM has limited capacity but can hold much more using the method if chunking

Question 31

Strength and criticism of MIller’s research on STM capacity

Answer 31

-Supported by earlier research. E.G Jacob’s -Overestimation of its capacity- Cowan: closer to 4 chunks of information -Real world application. Chunking is a widely used strategy for memory.E.G phone number recall

Question 32

Peterson and Peterson (1959) study on duration of STM

Answer 32

-AIM: to investigate the duration of STM when rehearsal is prevented -MEHOD: participants presented with trigrams (e.g JFW) and asked to count backwards to prevent rehearsal, with recall, intervals from 3 to 18 seocnds. -RESULTS: the accuracy of recall dropped significantly after a few seconds, with only 10% recall after 18 seconds -CONCLUSION: STM duration is vey limited (around 18-30 seconds) when rehearsal is prevented, supporting the MSM’s claim of discrete memory components

Question 33

Strength and criticism of Peterson and Peterson

Answer 33

-Use of laboratory setting- control EV’s= high internal validity -Lack of ecological validity due to use of meaningless trigrams which may not accurately reflect memory processes in real world contexts -Demand characteristics- the sample consisted of psychology students so may have been able to guess the purpose of the study or had previous knowledge of memory studies. GENERALISABLE??

Question 34

Bahrick et al (1975) study on LTM duration

Answer 34

-AIM: to investigate duration of LTM using real life memories -METHOD: 392 American graduates aged 17-74 were tested on their recall of high school classmates names from yearbook photos through recognition and free recall tasks -RESULTS: participants achieved 90% accuracy for recognition after 15 years and 70% after 48 years, although accuracy for free recall was lower. -CONCLUSION: LTM has a potentially lifelong duration especially for meaningful info

Question 35

Strength and criticism of Bahrick et al

Answer 35

-High ecological validity due to use of year book photos- reflects memory in real life contexts where memory tends to be more meaningful. Can be applied to real life contexts. -Sample consisted of only American graduates- lacks generalisability. People form different education system backgrounds may perform differently on similar tasks -Potential confounding variables- some may have kept in close contact with class mates- memory is reinforced. Affects trie interpretation for duration of LTM

Question 36

Baddeley et al (1968) study on LTM and STM coding

Answer 36

-AIM: to investigate how information is coded in the STM and LTM -METHOD: participants were presented with 4 lists of words: acoustically similar and dissimilar, and semantically similar and dissimilar. They were then asked to recall them, immediate and delayed recall was tested -RESULTS: STM recall was more challenging with acoustically similar words. LTM recall was harder for semantically similar words -CONCLUSION: STM primarily uses acoustic coding while LTM primarily uses semantic coding

Question 37

Strength and limitation of Baddeley

Answer 37

-Controlled word lists- clear evidence for different coding methods (support MSM). More reliable -Use of word lists may lack ecological validity- does not reflect ,Emory processes in real life contexts where info is usually more meaningful -Ignores olfactory and visual coding- limits understanding of the complexity and flexibility of memory

Question 38

What support is there from case studies from the MSM

Answer 38

-HM (Scoville and Milner) -Clive Wearing

Question 39

How does HM’s case study support the MSM

Answer 39

-HM had severe epilepsy and underwent surgery to remove his hippocampus. Post surgery, he was unable to form new long term memories but retained memories from before the operation, demonstrating that his STM was functional, but information could not be transferred to the LTM. -This supports the MSMs claim that STM and LTM are separate stores as HM could not transfer information between them

Question 40

What is the problem with using case studies for evidence

Answer 40

-Case studies often lack generalisability. (E.g HM had unique injuries as his memory deficits were caused by surgery, so does not reflect typical memory processes)

Question 41

How does Clive Wearing’s case study support the MSM

Answer 41

-Clive Wearing contracted a virus that caused amnesia. He could only remember information for 20-30 seconds but could recall events from before his illness, such as his wife’s name -Like HM this demonstrates the separation of STM and LTM, as information couldn’t be transferred between stores

Question 42

What is the problem with Clive Wearings study in supporting the MSM

Answer 42

-His ability to recall procedural memories (e.g playing the piano) challenges the MSM, suggesting that LTM is not a unitary store

Question 43

Evidence from brain scans by Beardsley in supporting the MSM

Answer 43

-Brain scans show that the prefrontal cortex is active during STM tasks but not during LTM

Question 44

Evidence from brain scans by Squire in supporting MSM

Answer 44

-The hippocampus is active when LTM is engaged

Question 45

Strength of brain scanning evidence for the MSM

Answer 45

-These findings provide biological evidence supporting the MSM’s claim that STM and LTM are distinct systems

Question 46

Limitation of brain scanning evidence for the MSM

Answer 46

-Brain activity does not explain how information is transferred between stores or why done memories are forgotten despite rehearsal

Question 47

Criticism of the MSM

Answer 47

-Evidence by Baddeley and Hitch suggests that LTM and STM aren’t as unitary as the model proposes. They proposed the WMM, which shows that the STM is divided into multiple components (PL, VS) -Furthermore, Tulving (1985) proposed that the LTM consists of separate stores: episodic memory, semantic, and procedural -These findings challenge the MSM’s simplicity, suggesting it does not fully explain the complexity of memory