1. Models of Memory
Multi-Store Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)
Structure:
● Sensory Register (SR):
○ Coding: modality-specific (iconic = visual, echoic = auditory).
○ Capacity: very large.
○ Duration: milliseconds.
● Short-Term Memory (STM):
○ Coding: mainly acoustic.
○ Capacity: 7 ± 2 items (Miller, 1956).
○ Duration: 18–30 seconds (Peterson & Peterson, 1959).
● Long-Term Memory (LTM):
○ Coding: mainly semantic (Baddeley, 1966).
○ Capacity: unlimited.
○ Duration: potentially lifetime (Bahrick et al., 1975 – high school yearbook
study, recall after 48 years).
Process:
● Information flows SR → STM → LTM.
● Transfer to LTM requires rehearsal.
Evaluation (AO3):
✅ Support: Case of HM (anterograde amnesia, intact STM but damaged LTM).
Shows distinction between STM and LTM.
✅ Experimental support: Baddeley’s research on coding.
❌ Too simplistic: Treats STM/LTM as single stores. Later research (e.g., WMM,
Tulving’s LTM types) shows subdivisions.
❌ Rehearsal focus: Overemphasises rote rehearsal. Many memories enter LTM without it
(e.g., flashbulb memories).
Working Memory Model (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974)
Components:
● Central Executive (CE):
○ Allocates attention, integrates info.
○ Very limited capacity.
● Phonological Loop (PL):
○ Phonological store (“inner ear”) → stores words you hear.
○ Articulatory rehearsal process (“inner voice”) → repeats words to
keep them in STM.
○ Capacity = about 2 seconds of speech.
● Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (VSS):
○ Visual cache = stores visual data.
○ Inner scribe = spatial/arrangement of objects.
○ Capacity = about 3–4 objects.
Multi-Store Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968)
Structure:
● Sensory Register (SR):
○ Coding: modality-specific (iconic = visual, echoic = auditory).
○ Capacity: very large.
○ Duration: milliseconds.
● Short-Term Memory (STM):
○ Coding: mainly acoustic.
○ Capacity: 7 ± 2 items (Miller, 1956).
○ Duration: 18–30 seconds (Peterson & Peterson, 1959).
● Long-Term Memory (LTM):
○ Coding: mainly semantic (Baddeley, 1966).
○ Capacity: unlimited.
○ Duration: potentially lifetime (Bahrick et al., 1975 – high school yearbook
study, recall after 48 years).
Process:
● Information flows SR → STM → LTM.
● Transfer to LTM requires rehearsal.
Evaluation (AO3):
✅ Support: Case of HM (anterograde amnesia, intact STM but damaged LTM).
Shows distinction between STM and LTM.
✅ Experimental support: Baddeley’s research on coding.
❌ Too simplistic: Treats STM/LTM as single stores. Later research (e.g., WMM,
Tulving’s LTM types) shows subdivisions.
❌ Rehearsal focus: Overemphasises rote rehearsal. Many memories enter LTM without it
(e.g., flashbulb memories).
Working Memory Model (Baddeley & Hitch, 1974)
Components:
● Central Executive (CE):
○ Allocates attention, integrates info.
○ Very limited capacity.
● Phonological Loop (PL):
○ Phonological store (“inner ear”) → stores words you hear.
○ Articulatory rehearsal process (“inner voice”) → repeats words to
keep them in STM.
○ Capacity = about 2 seconds of speech.
● Visuo-Spatial Sketchpad (VSS):
○ Visual cache = stores visual data.
○ Inner scribe = spatial/arrangement of objects.
○ Capacity = about 3–4 objects.
