MEMORY ESSAY PLANS
Describe and evaluate the multi-store model of memory (16)
AO1: Atkinson + Shiffrin - 3 separate, permanent memory structures, linked by processes of
attention & rehearsal. Structural model, flow of information is linear. STM and LTM are unitary.
Emphasises important processes in the transfer of information from one store to another,
attention for sensory -> STM and rehearsal for STM -> LTM. Argues that stores differ in capacity,
encoding, and how information is lost. SR - contains info from senses, visual info = iconic memory
and auditory info = echoic memory. Duration = 0.25 seconds but capacity very large. If attention
is paid to the sensory info then it is transferred to STM but it is lost through decay if not. STM -
acoustically encoded, temporarily stored. Duration = 18 seconds. If rehearsed, info is not lost to
decay. Capacity = 5-9 pieces of information. When capacity is full, displacement occurs.
Rehearsal acts as a buffer between SR and LTM by maintaining incoming information. Also
enables info to be transferred to LTM. LTM encoded semantically. Unlimited capacity and duration.
No storage limits.
AO3: KF had brain damage. STM severely impaired, could only recall one or two digits at a
time. LTM for events occurring after the event was perfectly fine. Supports the idea of STM
and LTM being separate.
AO3: Brain scan evidence to support the idea of separate memory stores. Beardsley -
prefrontal cortex is active during STM tasks but not LTM. Squire et al - hippocampus active
when LTM is active but not STM. Suggests distinct areas of the brain that we use when
performing certain tasks that involve the different stores.
AO3: Murdoch - free recall task, found that words presented at beginning (primacy effect)
and end (recency effect) were recalled well but not those in the middle. Start = rehearsed
so embedded in LTM. End words were still in the duration of the STM. Words in the middle
were displaced due to the STM’s small capacity. Lab based evidence to support the
concepts of displacement and rehearsal.
, Describe and evaluate the working memory model (16)
AO1: STM only. Baddeley & Hitch - STM is an active processor of information rather than simply
being unitary as suggested by MSM. Consists of the central executive that controls 3 slave
systems - visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop (articulatory control system + phonological
store), and the episodic buffer. CE = filters information that is and is not attended to and directs it
to one of the slave systems. Processes any sensory information but only has a limited capacity
and can only cope effectively with one strand of information at a time. Used when performing a
task that is demanding and allows us to switch attention between different inputs of information,
and balances it when attention needs to be divided between them. VSSP = relationship between
visual and spatial information, store for what items are and their location. Visually coded. Helps
individuals navigate and interact with the physical environment. Info is rehearsed and encoded
through the use of mental pictures (inner eye). PL = rehearsal system with limited capacity -
amount of information spoken out loud in around 2 seconds. Preserves order of information
heard. Articulatory process = active rehearsal system where words that we are preparing to
speak are held (inner voice), and the primary acoustic store = passive store that stores words
heard (inner ear).
AO3: PET scans show that tasks that require visual, articulatory, or acoustic memory use
different parts of the brain. Supports the idea of a working memory being divided into
separate components.
AO3: Can better explain KF’s memory issues. His digit span for acoustic information was 2
but his digit span for visual information was in the expected range of 5-9. Demonstrated
more than one type of STM. Explained by slave systems of the WMM, VSSP intact but PL not.
AO3: Baddeley & Hitch - Dual tasks supports the existence of independent slave systems.
Participants struggled to do 2 visual tasks at the same time but they could do a visual and
a verbal task at the same time with ease. Supports the idea that VSSP is separate to PL as
tasks that require the same slave system are more difficult to complete than 2 tasks that
require different ones.
Describe and evaluate the multi-store model of memory (16)
AO1: Atkinson + Shiffrin - 3 separate, permanent memory structures, linked by processes of
attention & rehearsal. Structural model, flow of information is linear. STM and LTM are unitary.
Emphasises important processes in the transfer of information from one store to another,
attention for sensory -> STM and rehearsal for STM -> LTM. Argues that stores differ in capacity,
encoding, and how information is lost. SR - contains info from senses, visual info = iconic memory
and auditory info = echoic memory. Duration = 0.25 seconds but capacity very large. If attention
is paid to the sensory info then it is transferred to STM but it is lost through decay if not. STM -
acoustically encoded, temporarily stored. Duration = 18 seconds. If rehearsed, info is not lost to
decay. Capacity = 5-9 pieces of information. When capacity is full, displacement occurs.
Rehearsal acts as a buffer between SR and LTM by maintaining incoming information. Also
enables info to be transferred to LTM. LTM encoded semantically. Unlimited capacity and duration.
No storage limits.
AO3: KF had brain damage. STM severely impaired, could only recall one or two digits at a
time. LTM for events occurring after the event was perfectly fine. Supports the idea of STM
and LTM being separate.
AO3: Brain scan evidence to support the idea of separate memory stores. Beardsley -
prefrontal cortex is active during STM tasks but not LTM. Squire et al - hippocampus active
when LTM is active but not STM. Suggests distinct areas of the brain that we use when
performing certain tasks that involve the different stores.
AO3: Murdoch - free recall task, found that words presented at beginning (primacy effect)
and end (recency effect) were recalled well but not those in the middle. Start = rehearsed
so embedded in LTM. End words were still in the duration of the STM. Words in the middle
were displaced due to the STM’s small capacity. Lab based evidence to support the
concepts of displacement and rehearsal.
, Describe and evaluate the working memory model (16)
AO1: STM only. Baddeley & Hitch - STM is an active processor of information rather than simply
being unitary as suggested by MSM. Consists of the central executive that controls 3 slave
systems - visuo-spatial sketchpad, phonological loop (articulatory control system + phonological
store), and the episodic buffer. CE = filters information that is and is not attended to and directs it
to one of the slave systems. Processes any sensory information but only has a limited capacity
and can only cope effectively with one strand of information at a time. Used when performing a
task that is demanding and allows us to switch attention between different inputs of information,
and balances it when attention needs to be divided between them. VSSP = relationship between
visual and spatial information, store for what items are and their location. Visually coded. Helps
individuals navigate and interact with the physical environment. Info is rehearsed and encoded
through the use of mental pictures (inner eye). PL = rehearsal system with limited capacity -
amount of information spoken out loud in around 2 seconds. Preserves order of information
heard. Articulatory process = active rehearsal system where words that we are preparing to
speak are held (inner voice), and the primary acoustic store = passive store that stores words
heard (inner ear).
AO3: PET scans show that tasks that require visual, articulatory, or acoustic memory use
different parts of the brain. Supports the idea of a working memory being divided into
separate components.
AO3: Can better explain KF’s memory issues. His digit span for acoustic information was 2
but his digit span for visual information was in the expected range of 5-9. Demonstrated
more than one type of STM. Explained by slave systems of the WMM, VSSP intact but PL not.
AO3: Baddeley & Hitch - Dual tasks supports the existence of independent slave systems.
Participants struggled to do 2 visual tasks at the same time but they could do a visual and
a verbal task at the same time with ease. Supports the idea that VSSP is separate to PL as
tasks that require the same slave system are more difficult to complete than 2 tasks that
require different ones.
