The multi store model of memory Flashcards
Stores: Sensory register, Short term memory and long term memory Features of each store: Coding, Capacity, and Duration
What is the multi-store model of memory?
A representation of how memory works in terms of three stores, the sensory register, short term memory, and long term memory. It also describes how information is transferred from one store to another.
What is the sensory register?
The memory stores for each of our five senses, such as vision (iconic store) and hearing (echoic store). (visual and acoustic).
The multi store model of memory diagram
! environmental stimuli
[SENSORY REGISTER]
! attention
[SHORT TERM MEMORY]
!;¡ rehearsal / maintenance rehearsal /retrieval
[LONG TERM MEMORY]
Sensory Register features
Encoding : Modality specific (depends on the senses)
Capacity : Very Large
Duration: 250ms
Short Term Memory features
Encoding : Acoustic
Capacity : 7 plus or minus 2
Duration: 18s
Long Term Memory features
Encoding : Semantic (meaningful)
Capacity : Potentially unlimited
Duration : Potentially unlimited
What is the process of the Multi- Store Model of memory?
- All stimuli from the environment pass into the sensory register
- SR comprises several registers, one for each five senses
- Information passes further into the memory system if you pay attention to it
- Maintenance rehearsal occurs when we rehearse material from the STM over and over again, we can keep the information in the STM as-long as u rehearse it
- When rehearsed long enough it passes into the LTM. (Elaborative rehearsal)
- When we want to recall information from the LTM, it has to be transferred back into the STM by a process called retrieval
What happened to HM?
HM had surgery to remove his hippocampus to treat epilepsy.
How was HM’s memory affected?
STM was intact (could hold conversations), but he couldn’t form new LTM (e.g. forgot people he met minutes later).
How does the case of HM support the Multi store model of memory?
Shows STM and LTM are separate stores—damage to LTM didn’t affect STM.
HM’s LTM was damaged, but his STM coding (acoustic) still worked, while he struggled with semantic encoding for LTM — supporting the MSM’s claim that STM and LTM use different coding types (STM = acoustic, LTM = semantic).
What is a strength of the case of HM for evidence of the multi store model of memory
Real-life evidence supporting biological basis of MSM. Supports MSM structure: Clear distinction between STM and LTM aligns with the MSM’s stages.
What is a weakness of the case of HM for evidence of the multi store model of memory?
Case study: HM had brain damage, so findings may not generalise to people with normal memory.
Oversimplified model: MSM assumes STM and LTM are single stores, but HM showed that not all types of LTM were equally affected (e.g. he could learn motor skills).
What evidence supports the idea that STM and LTM are separate stores?
Baddeley (1966) found STM is confused by acoustically similar words, while LTM is confused by semantically similar words. This supports the MSM’s claim that STM and LTM are separate and use different encoding systems.
Why might the research supporting MSM lack validity?
Studies like those by Baddeley and Jacobs often used artificial materials (e.g. digits, letters), which lack ecological validity. Real-life memory involves meaningful information (e.g. names, facts), so the MSM may not apply well to everyday memory.
What case study challenges the idea that STM is a single store?
Shallice & Warrington (1970) studied KF, who had amnesia. His STM for digits was poor when heard but better when read, suggesting there are separate STM stores for different types of information (e.g. auditory vs. visual).
How does the type of rehearsal challenge the MSM?
But Craik & Watkins (1973) found it’s not how long you rehearse, but how you rehearse that matters.
Elaborative rehearsal (thinking about the meaning or linking it to what you already know) is better for storing things in long-term memory.
So the MSM is too simple — it ignores the importance of elaborative rehearsal.
