MEMORY
PSYCHOLOGY EXAM PREPARATION/SUMMARY NOTES
(Questions & Example Answers)
• Question 1: Describe and evaluate the Multistore Model of Memory. (Refer to research
evidence)
• Question 2: Describe & evaluate the Working Memory Model. (Refer to research evidence)
• Question 3: Explain encoding, storage (duration & capacity) and retrieval in STM & LTM
• Question 4: Describe & evaluate 1 theory of forgetting (Refer to research evidence)
(3 example answers given: Interference theory, Cue-dependent + Motivated forgetting)
• Question 5: Describe factors that can affect eyewitness testimony (Refer to research evidence)
Q1: Describe & Evaluate the Multistore Model of Memory (MSM)
Description:
MEMORY has been defined as ‘’the retention of learning and experience’’/ a cognitive
process by which information about events that happened in the past is retained.
The idea that there are qualitatively different memory systems was first articulated by
William James (1890), who introduced the notion of primary and secondary memory; short-
term and long-term memory respectively. The first prominent successor of this view was the
multistore model of memory (MSM) proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), which
depicted both STM and LTM as unitary systems.
The MSM suggests that there are 3 main stores in the memory system:
• SENSORY MEMORY (SM)
• SHORT-TERM MEMORY (STM)
• LONG-TERM MEMORY (LTM)
SM receives information constantly which it is only capable of holding for a fraction of a
second. It is believed to have separate stores for different sensory experiences: iconic store
(visual information), echoic store (auditory information), haptic store (touch & feel); with
each store holding information very briefly in a relatively uninterpreted fashion. When it is
1
, not attended to, the info gets filtered out of the system. When paid attention to, however,
the info gets transferred from SM to STM where it can either be forgotten or if kept active by
rehearsal moved to the LTM. The info in LTM then again can either be forgotten or if
rehearsed can later be retrieved.
Evaluation:
• One of the strengths of MSM is that it recognizes that there are different types of
memory. Numerous research studies have supported this notion:
Sperling (1960)- evidence for SM
Scoville and Milner (1957)- HM case study (evidence for STM and LTM as distinct
systems)
HM (Henry Molaison) was suffering from severe epilepsy, which doctors failed to control and manage
by medications. In 1953, at the age of 27 he underwent surgery. Following a medial temporal lobe
resection, which damaged his hippocampus, hippocampal gyrus bilaterally as well as his amygdale,
HM had moderate retrograde as well as severe anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia - loss of
memory access to events that occurred + information that was learned before the onset of amnesia;
(Ribot’s Law- recent memories are more likely to be lost than the more remote ones. Not all patients
suffering from RA report these symptoms but in HM’s case this pattern was detected). Anterograde
amnesia - impaired capacity to for new learning; inability to store new sematic and episodic memories
in LTM). HM’s STM remained intact (had about 90 second memory span). However, he was no longer
able to form new semantic and episodic memories in his LTM. On the other hand, he could still form
new procedural memories, which suggests that LTM is not a unitary system as the MSM proposed!!!
• One of the weaknesses of this model is that it is oversimplified; arguing that STM and
LTM are both unitary systems.
Turving (1972) proposed that there are different kinds of long-term memories:
PROCEDURAL- responsible for knowing how to do things (automatic, not declarative)
SEMANTIC- responsible for storing general information about the world and meanings
of words (conscious thought, declarative)
EPISODIC- responsible for storing information about what individuals experience in
their lives (conscious thought, declarative)
2
PSYCHOLOGY EXAM PREPARATION/SUMMARY NOTES
(Questions & Example Answers)
• Question 1: Describe and evaluate the Multistore Model of Memory. (Refer to research
evidence)
• Question 2: Describe & evaluate the Working Memory Model. (Refer to research evidence)
• Question 3: Explain encoding, storage (duration & capacity) and retrieval in STM & LTM
• Question 4: Describe & evaluate 1 theory of forgetting (Refer to research evidence)
(3 example answers given: Interference theory, Cue-dependent + Motivated forgetting)
• Question 5: Describe factors that can affect eyewitness testimony (Refer to research evidence)
Q1: Describe & Evaluate the Multistore Model of Memory (MSM)
Description:
MEMORY has been defined as ‘’the retention of learning and experience’’/ a cognitive
process by which information about events that happened in the past is retained.
The idea that there are qualitatively different memory systems was first articulated by
William James (1890), who introduced the notion of primary and secondary memory; short-
term and long-term memory respectively. The first prominent successor of this view was the
multistore model of memory (MSM) proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), which
depicted both STM and LTM as unitary systems.
The MSM suggests that there are 3 main stores in the memory system:
• SENSORY MEMORY (SM)
• SHORT-TERM MEMORY (STM)
• LONG-TERM MEMORY (LTM)
SM receives information constantly which it is only capable of holding for a fraction of a
second. It is believed to have separate stores for different sensory experiences: iconic store
(visual information), echoic store (auditory information), haptic store (touch & feel); with
each store holding information very briefly in a relatively uninterpreted fashion. When it is
1
, not attended to, the info gets filtered out of the system. When paid attention to, however,
the info gets transferred from SM to STM where it can either be forgotten or if kept active by
rehearsal moved to the LTM. The info in LTM then again can either be forgotten or if
rehearsed can later be retrieved.
Evaluation:
• One of the strengths of MSM is that it recognizes that there are different types of
memory. Numerous research studies have supported this notion:
Sperling (1960)- evidence for SM
Scoville and Milner (1957)- HM case study (evidence for STM and LTM as distinct
systems)
HM (Henry Molaison) was suffering from severe epilepsy, which doctors failed to control and manage
by medications. In 1953, at the age of 27 he underwent surgery. Following a medial temporal lobe
resection, which damaged his hippocampus, hippocampal gyrus bilaterally as well as his amygdale,
HM had moderate retrograde as well as severe anterograde amnesia. Retrograde amnesia - loss of
memory access to events that occurred + information that was learned before the onset of amnesia;
(Ribot’s Law- recent memories are more likely to be lost than the more remote ones. Not all patients
suffering from RA report these symptoms but in HM’s case this pattern was detected). Anterograde
amnesia - impaired capacity to for new learning; inability to store new sematic and episodic memories
in LTM). HM’s STM remained intact (had about 90 second memory span). However, he was no longer
able to form new semantic and episodic memories in his LTM. On the other hand, he could still form
new procedural memories, which suggests that LTM is not a unitary system as the MSM proposed!!!
• One of the weaknesses of this model is that it is oversimplified; arguing that STM and
LTM are both unitary systems.
Turving (1972) proposed that there are different kinds of long-term memories:
PROCEDURAL- responsible for knowing how to do things (automatic, not declarative)
SEMANTIC- responsible for storing general information about the world and meanings
of words (conscious thought, declarative)
EPISODIC- responsible for storing information about what individuals experience in
their lives (conscious thought, declarative)
2
