The multi-store model of memory (MSM) Flashcards
Proposal and when?
- Atkinson and Shiffrin
- 1968
Coding (encoding)
Form in which information is stored
Capacity
How much information can be stored
Duration
How long information can be stored for
What does the model consist of?
- Sensory register
- Short term memory
- Long term memory
Sensory registers
- Store of sensory information that lasts no more than a few seconds
- Automatic response
- Information by sense organs
Coding in the SR - Research
Crowder - 1993
- Information retained in iconic store for ms
- Information retained in echoic - 2/3 seconds
SUPPORT - code info in different stores + durations
Sperling’s experiments into iconic memory - capacity
Sperling - 1960
TACHISTOSCOPE
- Flashed 3 x 4 array of letters onto screen
- 1/20th second
- Different tones - High/top, medium/middle and low/bottom
= Indicate recall of row
SUPPORT - high recall - capacity is large
- Large capacity, info decays and is lost rapidly
Evaluation - SR
- Lacking in mundane realism - experiments = estimates
Duration of SR
- Limited
- Stores decay at diff rates
- Evidence = duration decreases with age
Duration of SR - Research (2)
- Walsh and Thompson - 1978
- Iconic - 500 ms
- Decreases w/ age - Treisman - 1964
- Echoic - 2 secs
- Identical auditory info - slight delay
Evaluation - Duration of SR
Brief duration - engrams fading quickly
= Biological basis
Evolutionary - focus on info w/ survival values
Short term memory
- Temporary memory store that holds limited amount of information for a short period of time
- Receive info from SR - attention
- Active - conscious
- Contains info currently being formed
Characteristics of STM
- Limited capacity
- Short duration
- Acoustic encoding
Coding in STM
- Encoded by STM in a form - dealt with easier
Coding in STM - Classic research
- Baddeley - 1966
- Aim - coding in STM/LTM is mainly acoustic or semantic
- 75 ppts w/ 1/4 word list repeated 4 times
List A - sound the same
List B - sound different
List C - mean the same
List D - Different meaning
STM - List of original words in wrong order + asked to rearrange in correct order
LTM - List of original words in wrong order + asked to rearrange in correct order - 20 min interval before recall so performed another task
= STM - acoustic
= LTM - semantic
- Lab study, can be replicated - may lack ecological validity
Capacity of STM
- Limited
- 5-9 items
- Chunking = increase capacity
Capacity of STM - Research (2)
Jacobs - 1887
- Digit span test - support 5-9
- Increasingly long list of letters or numbers
- Lacks mundane realism
Miller - 1956
- Capacity - 5-9
- Chunking increases capacity - varies Simon (1974)
Influence of STM capacity
- Age
- Practice
Duration of STM
- 18-30 seconds
- Extended - Rehearsel = LTM
Duration of STM - Research
- Peterson and Peterson (1959)
- Nonsense trigrams - diff each trial - easier to remember?
- Counted backward in 3 = no rehearsel
90% = 3 secs 5% = 18 secs
- Supports STM limited capacity
- Lacks mundane realism
- Not a lot of research
Long term memory
- Permanent store where limitless amounts of info can be stored for long periods of time
- May change over time - long stored info may be lost
Tulving - 3 types;
1. Episodic
2. Semantic
3. Procedural
Coding in LTM
- Deeper processing = better recall
- Mainly semantic (Baddley)
Coding in LTM - Research
- Frost (1972)
- 16 drawings in 4 categories
- Order of recall = ppts used visual + semantic
Nelson and Rothbart (1972)
= Acoustic coding also in LTM - ppts recall errods in homophones - night and knight
- Coding - several varities
Capacity of LTM
- Unlimited
- Info lost by decay or interference
Capacity of LTM - Research
- Wagenaar - 1986
- Diary of 2400 events over 6 years - self test on events
- Excellent recall - case study + not representative of pop
- Bias + subjective
Capacity of LTM - evaluation
- Assumed limitless - no research determining this - depends on life span
- Evolutionary basis = survival
- Longer duration = well coded
- Tulving = better on skills than facts
Duration of LTM - Research
Bahrick - 1975
- 400 ppts between 17 and 74 - showed photos and names = some old school friends
Last 15 years = 90%
Left 48 years = 70%
Memory for faces = long lasting
Duration of LTM - Evaluation
- Might have issues accessing memories
- Ppts better at recognising stimuli than recall
SR summary
Coding
- Separate memory stores for diff sensory inputs
- Crowder
Capacity
- Large
- Sperling
Duration
- Brief
- Varies between diff stores
- Walsh and Thompson
STM summary
Coding
- Mainly acoustic
- Baddeley - immediate recall study
Capacity
- Limited
- 5-9 items
Duration
- Short - 18-30 seconds
- Peterson and Peterson
LTM summary
Coding
- Mainly semantic
- Baddeley
Capacity
- Large
- Wagenaar
Duration
- Potential lifetime
- Bahrick
Evaluation of MSM
- 1st explanation = influential
- Supported by HM
- Separate memory stores
Criticism
- Oversimplified
- WMM = STM x3 components
Evaluation
- Cohen - 1990
- memory capacity can’t be measured by amount of info
BUT - nature of info - Some things are easier to recall
