The Multi-store Model of Memory

Question 1

What is the MSM:
- who created it?
- a simplified diagram

Answer 1

• Created by Atkinson and Shiffrin
• Stimulus >Sensory register >STM >LTM

Question 2

What is the sensory register’s role + features?

Answer 2

• Where all information from environment enters
• Has several registers
• Coding is modality specific
• Duration is less than half a second
• Capacity is very high

Question 3

What is the STM’s role?

Answer 3

• Duration is 18 seconds unless rehearsed (Peterson & Peterson - trigram)
• Limited capacity of 5-9 words (Jacobs - digit span)
• Information is stored acoustically (Baddeley - recall)

Question 4

What is the LTM’s role?

Answer 4

• Duration may be up to a lifetime (Bahrick - yearbook photo recognition)
• Capacity is potentially unlimited
• Encoded mostly semantically (Baddeley - recall after 20m)

Question 5

What was the case of HM?

Answer 5

HM was a patient who suffered sever epilepsy. However, after his surgery his hippocampus was mistakenly destroyed meaning he would be left with anterograde amnesia which prevented him from creating conscious memories

Question 6

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the MSM of memory?

Answer 6

Strengths:
- Supported by empirical research (Baddeley) and case studies (HM)
Weaknesses:
- Over-simplified model
- Low ecologically valid tests
- Case studies are ungeneralisable