The Multi-Store Model (MSM)

Question 1

MSM

Answer 1

Representation of how memory works in its 3 stores; sensory, STM and LTM
Describes how info = transferred from one store to another, how it’s remembered and forgotten

Question 2

Sensory register

Answer 2

The memory stores for each of our 5 senses; vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store). Coding in the iconic sensory register = VISUAL and in the echoic sensory register = ACOUSTIC
CAPACITY OF SENSORY REG = huge (millions of receptors), info lasts for a very SHORT time (less than 1/2 a second)

Question 3

Who introduced the MSM

Answer 3

Atkinson and Shiffrin

Question 4

When did the creators introduce the model

Answer 4

1968 and 1971

Question 5

How does info get passed through the system from the sensory register

Answer 5

Not much of what goes into the sensory register passes further into the system. Only if you pay ATTENTION to it.

Question 6

What is the capacity of STM

Answer 6

5-9 items (although research suggest its more likely 5 rather than 9)

Question 7

How is STM encoded and how long does it last

Answer 7

ACOUSTICALLY - between 18-30 seconds unless rehearsed

Question 8

What is maintenance rehearsal

Answer 8

When you REPEAT material over and over again. You can keep the info in your STM as long as you rehearse it. If rehearsed long enough - passes through to LTM

Question 9

What kind of store is the LTM

Answer 9

The PERMANENT store (for info that has been rehearsed for a prolonged time)

Question 10

What is the capacity of LTM

Answer 10

UNLIMITED - lasts for many years eg: Bahrick’s yearbook study - P’s were able to recognise names/faces of former classmates 48 years after graduating

Question 11

How is LTM encoded

Answer 11

SEMANTICALLY (in terms of meaning)

Question 12

What is retrieval

Answer 12

When we want to recall info - it has to be transferred back into STM

Question 13

What was the individual HM suffering from

Answer 13

Epilepsy

Question 14

When did HM have his surgery

Answer 14

When he was a child

Question 15

What part of his brain was removed

Answer 15

His hippocampus from BOTH SIDES of his brain

Question 16

What were the effects of his brain surgery

Answer 16

His memory = assessed in 1955. HM thought the year was 1953 and that he was 27 y/o (he was 31).
HM had very little recall of operation and he couldn’t remember speaking with someone only an HOUR earlier

Question 17

What (of his memory) never improved with practice and what were the effects of this

Answer 17

His LTM.

HM read the same magazine repeatedly without remembering it. He couldn’t recall what he had eaten earlier that day

Question 18

What did HM perform well in

Answer 18

Tests of immediate memory span (a measure of STM)

Question 19

Evaluation: Artificial tasks (negative)

Answer 19

The model lacks REALISM - cannot be generalised to population and can’t be applied to real life

Question 20

Evaluation: Oversimplifying LTM (negative)

Answer 20

MSM depicts just one type of LTM and doesn’t give details about the diff types; episodic, procedural, semantic.

Question 21

Evaluation: Flow (positive)

Answer 21

Shows how memory FLOWS and works with diff stores

Question 22

Evaluation: Fails to show memory in depth (negative)

Answer 22

Some stores do NOT travel from one store to the other

Question 23

What is a major strength of MSM

Answer 23

It is supported by RESEARCH that show how STM and LTM are DIFFERENT eg: Baddeley’s study - shows that coding in STM = acoustic and coding in LTM = semantic
Other support: Jacobs, Miller, Peterson&Peterson

Question 24

What is a weakness of MSM (KF)

Answer 24

MSM states: STM is a UNITARY STORE - however people with AMNESIA disagree

Question 25

Who conducted a study using the participant KF

Answer 25

Shallice and Warrington

Question 26

When was the KF study

Answer 26

1970

Question 27

What did Shallice and Warrington find

Answer 27

KF’s STM for digits = POOR when read aloud TO HIM. His recall was better when he read the digits TO HIMSELF.
Suggests: there could even be another STM for non-verbal sounds (eg. noises)

Question 28

Evaluation: MSM - ‘Unitary STM’

Answer 28

Research shows that at the very least, there MUST be one short term store to process VISUAL info and ANOTHER to process AUDITORY info

Question 29

Evaluation: More than 1 type of rehearsal (negative)

Answer 29

According to MSM - the more you rehearse info (list of words) the more likely you are to transfer it to LTM and remember for LONG TIME. BUT - Craik and Watkins (1973) found this to be WRONG - what matters = TYPE OF REHEARSAL (not amount). 
Maintenance rehearsal (in MSM) doesn't transfer info into LTM, it only maintains it in STM
ELABORATIVE REHEARSAL is needed for long-time storage - occurs when you link info to your existing knowledge or think of its meaning.

Question 30

Evaluation: Artificial materials (negative)

Answer 30

Everyday life: form memories (ppl’s faces/names/facts/places). Research studies used digits/letters/words/consonant syllables that are MEANINGLESS

Question 31

Evaluation: More than 1 type of LTM (negative)

Answer 31

Lots of research about how STM and LTM aren’t UNITARY STORES. Eg: we have 1 LTM store for our memories of facts about the world, and a different one for our memories of how to ride a bike.
These diff types of memory are episodic, procedural and semantic

Question 32

Who conducted a study to investigate the duration of sensory memory

Answer 32

Sperling (1960)

Question 33

What was Sperling’s procedure

Answer 33

P’s shown a letter - then after SHORT time interval - shown another letter

Question 34

What were Sperling’s results

Answer 34

If time interval was less than 100 ms - SUPERIMPOSITION occurred eg: “F” then “L” becomes “E”
If time interval was MORE than 100 ms = DISPLACEMENT occurred eg: “F” then “L” becomes “L”

Question 35

What was Sperling’s conclusion

Answer 35

Iconic store lasts for circa 100 ms - iconic store FORGETS by displacement

Question 36

Who conducted a study to investigate the capacity of iconic memory

Answer 36

Averbach & Coriell (1961)

Question 37

What was Averbach and Coriell’s procedure

Answer 37

P’s = shown 2 rows of 8 random letters for 50 ms - a small mark appeared over one letter position
P’s had to say which letter had been in this position

Question 38

What were Averbach and Coriell’s results

Answer 38

Letter identification = 75% correct

Question 39

What was Averbach and Coriell’s conclusion

Answer 39

12 letters can be held in iconic memory (75% of 16 letters shown)