the multistore model of memory Flashcards
who proposed it
Atkinson and Shiffrin-Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin’s (1968, 1971) multi-store model (MSM) describes how information flows through the memory system (see diagram below). The model suggests that memory is made up of three stores linked by processing
what does the model suggest
Memories are formed sequentially and information passes from one component to the next, in a linear fashion.
Each of the specific components has its own:
• Type of Coding
• Capacity
-Duration
MSM
Environmental stimuli
Sensory memory
-iconic-visual elements
-echoic-auditory elements
-other sensory stores
-capacity for sensory memory is very large-always taking in information via senses-lot of space to hold a lot of things
-duration very short
attention-bits of information we pay attention to-arrow to short term memory
short term memory-duration 18-30s-capacity of 7+/-2 items-coded acoustically
spinning arrow looping around STM- maintenance rehearsal-repeating information to ourselves to keep in minds-kept in STM-do this for long enough it becomes prolonged rehearsal-moves information to LTM
arrow to LTM labelled rehearsal-arrow back to STM labelled retrieval-brings LTM information back to STM
forgetting in MSM
sensory memory-decay-information not payed attention to fades to nothing
STM- decay and displacement-new memories push old memories out STM
LTM-interference and retrieval failure
MSM information
• Information enters the sensory register via our senses.
• Our sensory register has an unknown (but supposedly unlimited) capacity and a very limited duration of less than one second (approximately 250 milliseconds).
• As information enters from all five senses the coding is modality specific and said to be raw, or unprocessed, information.
• Information that is attended to is passed to STM, which has a limited capacity of 7+/-2 ‘chunks’ of information and a limited duration of approximately 20-30 seconds.
- Information in our STM is coded in an acoustic format. Maintenance rehearsal is used to keep information in short-term memory. For example, if you were trying to remember a phone number, you might repeat the number over and over in your head.
• Thereafter, rehearsed information is transferred to LTM, which has an unlimited capacity and a lifetime’s duration.
Information in LTM is coded semantically (by meaning) and can be retrieved from LTM to STM when required.
• Forgetting can occur at any stage in various different ways.
• In sensory memory information decays rapidly if not paid attention to.
• In STM decay or displacement can occur.
• LTM is prone to retrieval failure and interference.
strength-research support
Research support for the idea of LTM and STM being different and separate stores was provided by Baddeley (1966)
In his study on coding he gave participants 1 of 4 lists of words to remember and he found that acoustically similar words were harder to recall immediately and semantically similar words were harder to recall after 20mins.
It was concluded that acoustic confusion was occuring in STM and semantic confusion in LTM, suggesting STM codes acoustically and LTM semantically. - found that STM codes acoustically and LTM semantically
-also other results from previous studies on duration.
Shows that the two types of memory are different entities.
counterpoint to research support-artificial stimuli/tasks
Despite such apparent support, in everyday life we form memories related to all sorts of useful things - peoples faces, their names, facts, places, et cetera.
But many of the studies that support the multi store model use none of these materials. Instead they use digits, letters, and sometimes words. They even use what’s known as consonant syllables that have no meaning.(XYG)
This means that the multi store model may not be an accurate or valid model of how memory works in our everyday lives, where we have to remember much more meaningful information than is often used in research studies.
limitation-different types of STM
The MSM states that STM is a unitary store i.e. there is only one type. However evidence from patients suffering from amnesia suggests that this is not true.
Shallice and Warrington (1970) studies a patient known as KF.
KFs STM for digits was very poor when they read them aloud to him, but his recall was much better when he was able to read digits to himself. This suggests that there is more than one ST store - one for sounds and one for images.Further studies of KF show there could be another short term store for non-verbal sounds eg noises.
Such research challenges the MSM as it shows that there must be at least 2 types of short-term store, rather than just 1 unitary store as the model suggests.
limitation-elaborative rehearsal
Another limitation of the MSM is that prolonged rehearsal is not needed for transfer to LTM.
According to the MSM, what matters about rehearsal is the amount of it - the more you rehearse something, the more likely it is to transfer to LTM. This is prolonged rehearsal. But Fergus Craik and Michael Watkins (1973) found that the type of rehearsal is more important than the amount. Elaborative rehearsal is needed for long-term storage.
This occurs when you link the information to your existing knowledge, or you think about what it means. This means that information can be transferred to LTM without prolonged rehearsal.
This suggests that the MSM does not fully explain how long-term storage is achieved.
sensory register
All stimuli from the environment (eg. the sound of someone talking) pass into the sensory register
(SR). This part of memory comprises several registers (sensory memory stores), one for each of our five senses. Coding in each store is modality-specific (i.e. it depends on the sense). For example, the store coding for visual information is iconic memory and the store coding acoustically (i.e. for sound) is echoic memory. There are other sensory stores for touch, taste and smell information.
Duration of material in the SRs is very brief - less than half a second (see Apply it at top of facing page). The SRs have a very high capacity, for example over one hundred million cells in one eye, each storing data.
Information passes further into the memory system only if you pay attention to it (so attention is the key process.)
