The Multi-Store Model of Memory
AO1:
● The first psychologists who attempted to explain how memory might work
was Atkinson and Shiffrin, who developed the multi-store model.
● Proposes that memory is divided into a number of stores, and information
flows through a system - from one store to the other.
● Each store has its own capacity and duration limits, and encodes
information in different ways.
● Information from one of the 5 senses first enters the sensory register - this
store has unlimited capacity.
● If paid attention to, this info will then be passed onto STM - this is a
temporary store.
● Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating information over and over, and
this allows it to enter LTM.
● The LTM store has unlimited capacity and duration & info here can be
accessed by STM for use by the process of retrieval.
● Coding is the process of transforming sensory input so that it can be
registered in memory. There are different ways of encoding information in
memory - by sound, visually, or by meaning.
● Capacity is the process of holding or retaining information until it is
needed.
● Duration concerns how long the memory lasts for.
, The Multi-Store Model of Memory
AO3:
+ Evidence from a researcher suggests that there are 2 main memory stores
(LTM and STM). The serial position effect shows that words from the
beginning and end of a list are better remembered than those from the
middle. This is called the primacy-recency effect. Concluded that this
supports the idea of STM and LTM being 2 separate and distinct memory
stores.
➔Researchers also used brain scans to support MSM and found that
different areas of the brain were active during the primary-recency
tasks which shows that the stores of MSM are separate.
+ Researchers studied a man (HM) who had his hippocampus removed to
treat his epilepsy. He was then unable to form new long-term memories,
but could still form short-term memories. This therefore suggests that the
store for long-term memory is separate to the store for short-term memory,
providing evidence for the MSM.
➔However, this was a case study, so it may not be generalisable.
- The MSM has been criticised for being too simplistic. It implies that
long-term memory is a single store, however it has been found that there
are different kinds of long-term memories that encode information in
different ways which the MSM does not account for.
➔ May be better explanations of memory, e.g. the working memory
model which states that short-term memory consists of many
different components.
, The Sensory Register
AO1:
● The sensory register is an automatic response to sensory information.
● It retains information through the senses
● Information that is remembered is passed onto STM.
● Coding - a stimulus from the environment will pass into the sensory register,
and within this store there is a separate store linked to each sense. Visual
information is coded visually and auditory information is coded by sound.
● Capacity - the capacity of each part of the sensory register is large, with a
constant flow of ever changing information, which is unprocessed.
➔Evidence comes from Sperling - flashed a 3x4 grid of letters onto a screen
for 1/20 of a second. He asked participants to remember as many letters
as they could. He found that while they could only recall around 4 of the
letters before the grid faded from their sensory memory, they typically
reported seeing a lot more than they had time to report.
➔We know there are lots of letters and this supports that the sensory
register has a large capacity. But we have a short duration so cannot
remember them all.
● Duration - each of the stores within the sensory register have a limited duration,
though the actual duration differs. In each case it is very short.
➔Sperling delayed when participants were asked to recall the letters on the
grid. He found that more and more information was lost - only 50% was
available after 0.3 sec delay and only 33% after a 1 sec delay.
AO3:
● Sperling’s work was a lab experiment.
+ High ecological validity.
+ Controlled environment - researcher has control of the variables meaning
the study can be repeated, so high reliability.
- Findings cannot be generalised as it is not in a realistic environment.
AO1:
● The first psychologists who attempted to explain how memory might work
was Atkinson and Shiffrin, who developed the multi-store model.
● Proposes that memory is divided into a number of stores, and information
flows through a system - from one store to the other.
● Each store has its own capacity and duration limits, and encodes
information in different ways.
● Information from one of the 5 senses first enters the sensory register - this
store has unlimited capacity.
● If paid attention to, this info will then be passed onto STM - this is a
temporary store.
● Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating information over and over, and
this allows it to enter LTM.
● The LTM store has unlimited capacity and duration & info here can be
accessed by STM for use by the process of retrieval.
● Coding is the process of transforming sensory input so that it can be
registered in memory. There are different ways of encoding information in
memory - by sound, visually, or by meaning.
● Capacity is the process of holding or retaining information until it is
needed.
● Duration concerns how long the memory lasts for.
, The Multi-Store Model of Memory
AO3:
+ Evidence from a researcher suggests that there are 2 main memory stores
(LTM and STM). The serial position effect shows that words from the
beginning and end of a list are better remembered than those from the
middle. This is called the primacy-recency effect. Concluded that this
supports the idea of STM and LTM being 2 separate and distinct memory
stores.
➔Researchers also used brain scans to support MSM and found that
different areas of the brain were active during the primary-recency
tasks which shows that the stores of MSM are separate.
+ Researchers studied a man (HM) who had his hippocampus removed to
treat his epilepsy. He was then unable to form new long-term memories,
but could still form short-term memories. This therefore suggests that the
store for long-term memory is separate to the store for short-term memory,
providing evidence for the MSM.
➔However, this was a case study, so it may not be generalisable.
- The MSM has been criticised for being too simplistic. It implies that
long-term memory is a single store, however it has been found that there
are different kinds of long-term memories that encode information in
different ways which the MSM does not account for.
➔ May be better explanations of memory, e.g. the working memory
model which states that short-term memory consists of many
different components.
, The Sensory Register
AO1:
● The sensory register is an automatic response to sensory information.
● It retains information through the senses
● Information that is remembered is passed onto STM.
● Coding - a stimulus from the environment will pass into the sensory register,
and within this store there is a separate store linked to each sense. Visual
information is coded visually and auditory information is coded by sound.
● Capacity - the capacity of each part of the sensory register is large, with a
constant flow of ever changing information, which is unprocessed.
➔Evidence comes from Sperling - flashed a 3x4 grid of letters onto a screen
for 1/20 of a second. He asked participants to remember as many letters
as they could. He found that while they could only recall around 4 of the
letters before the grid faded from their sensory memory, they typically
reported seeing a lot more than they had time to report.
➔We know there are lots of letters and this supports that the sensory
register has a large capacity. But we have a short duration so cannot
remember them all.
● Duration - each of the stores within the sensory register have a limited duration,
though the actual duration differs. In each case it is very short.
➔Sperling delayed when participants were asked to recall the letters on the
grid. He found that more and more information was lost - only 50% was
available after 0.3 sec delay and only 33% after a 1 sec delay.
AO3:
● Sperling’s work was a lab experiment.
+ High ecological validity.
+ Controlled environment - researcher has control of the variables meaning
the study can be repeated, so high reliability.
- Findings cannot be generalised as it is not in a realistic environment.
