The Multi-store Model Of Memory

Question 1

What is the multi-store model?

Answer 1

An explanation of memory based on three separate memory stores, and how information is transferred between these stores.

Question 2

Who described the multi-store model?

Answer 2

Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968

Question 3

What are the 3 memory stores?

Answer 3

Sensory register
Short-term memory
Long-term memory

Question 4

What is the sensory register?

Answer 4

The place where information is held at each of the senses, and the corresponding areas of the brain.

Question 5

What’s the capacity of sensory registers?

Answer 5

Very large

Question 6

What’s the duration of the sensory register?

Answer 6

They are constantly receiving information, but most of this receives no attention and remains in the sensory register for a very brief duration (milliseconds)

Question 7

What is attention?

Answer 7

The first step in remembering something

Question 8

How does attention affect memory?

Answer 8

If a persons attention is focused on one of the sensory stores, then the data is transferred to short-term memory.

Question 9

Why is information held in the STM?

Answer 9

So it can be used for immediate tasks, such as working on a maths problem or remembering the directions to a friends house.

Question 10

Why must STM be rehearsed?

Answer 10

It will disappear (decay) relatively quickly if it isn’t rehearsed - maintenance rehearsal (mainly verbal)

Question 11

How does information disappear in the STM?

Answer 11

If new information enters, pushing out (or displacing) the original information.

Question 12

Why does information disappear in the STM?

Answer 12

It has a limited capacity

Question 14

What does repetition do (or Maintenance rehearsal)?

Answer 14

Keeps information in STM but eventually such repetition will create a long-term memory (LTM).

Question 15

What’s the direct relationship between rehearsal in STM and the strength of the LTM?

Answer 15

The more information is rehearsed, the better it is remembered - Maintenance rehearsal

Question 16

What is retrieval?

Answer 16

The process of getting information from LTM involves the information passing back through STM.
It is then available for use.

Question 17

What are the evaluative points?

Answer 17

Supporting evidence
Case studies

The multi-store model is too simple
LTM involves more than maintenance rehearsal
How separate are STM and LTM?

Question 18

What is meant by supporting evidence?

Answer 18

Controlled lab studies on capacity, duration and coding support the existence of a separate STM and LTM store, which is the basis of the MSM.

Studies using brain scanning techniques have also demonstrated that there is a difference between STM and LTM.
For example, Beardsley (1997) found that the prefrontal cortex is active during STM but not LTM tasks.

Squire (1992) also used brain scanning and found the hippocampus is active when LTM is engaged.

Question 19

What is meant by case studies?

Answer 19

Psychologists have also shown that different areas of the brain are involved in STM and LTM from their study of individuals with brain damage.

One case involved a man referred to as HM (Scoville and Miller, 1957). His brain damage was caused by an operation to remove the hippocampus from both sides of his brain to reduce the severe epilepsy he had suffered.

HM’s personality and intellect remained intact but he could not form new LTMs, although he could remember things from before the surgery.

Question 20

What is meant by the multi-store model is too simple?

Answer 20

The MSM suggests that both STM and LTM are single ‘unitary’ stores. However, research does not support this.

The working memory (STM) is divided into a number of qualitatively different stores, i.e. it isn’t just a difference in terms of how much the memories hold or how long they last but a difference in terms of the kind of memory that is stored there.

The same is true for LTM.
Research shows there are a number of qualitatively different kinds of LTM and each behaves differently.
For example, maintenance rehearsal can explain long-term storage in semantic memory but doesn’t explain long-term episodic memories.

Question 21

What is meant by LTM involves more than maintenance rehearsal?

Answer 21

Craik and Lockhart (1972) suggested that enduring memories are created by the processing that you do, rather than through maintenance rehearsal; things that are processed more deeply are more memorable just because of the way they are processed.

Craik and Tulving (1975) - found this ‘deep’ or elaborative processing is a key process in creating long-term memories.

Question 22

What does deep processing mean?

Answer 22

Doing more complicated things with the item to be remembered rather than just repeating it.

Question 23

What did Craik and Tulving do?

Answer 23

1975 - gave participants a list of nouns and asked a question that involved shallow or deep processing - asked whether a word was printed in capital letters (shallow processing) or asked whether the word fitted in a sentence (deep processing).

The participants remembered more words in the task involving deep processing rather than shallow processing.
This ‘deep’ or elaborative processing is a key process in creating long-term memories.

Question 24

What is meant by how separate are STM and LTM?

Answer 24

The multi-store model suggests that STM is involved before LTM.

However, Logie (1999) pointed out that STM actually relies on LTM and therefore cannot come ‘first’ as suggested in the MSM.

Consider the following lists of letters: AQABBCITVIBM. In order to chunk this you need to recall the meaningful groups of letters and such meanings are stored in LTM.

Ruchkin (2003) demonstrated this by asking participants to recall a set of words and pseudo- words (sound like real words, but have no meaning).

Question 25

What did Ruchkin do?

Answer 25

Asked participants to recall a set of words and pseudo- words (sound like real words, but have no meaning).

Brain activity was monitored and they found large differences in the two conditions.
If words and pseudo-words involved just STM then activity should have been the same for both conditions, but there was much more activity when real words were processed, indicating the involvement of other areas of the brain.

Ruchkin concluded that STM is actually just a part of LTM.

Question 27

What is Maintenance rehearsal?

Answer 27

You repeat things you want to remember over and over again.