Memory
AQA A Level Psychology · Paper 1 (3.1.2) · New Spec 2025 · Print on A4
SPEC 1 M U LT I - S TO R E M O D E L — AT K I N S O N & S H I F F R I N
→ → → →
Sensory Register pay STM LTM
rehearsal
Large capacity · ¼–½ sec · Sensory coding attention Limited · 18–30 sec · Acoustic Unlimited · Lifelong · Semantic
Each store can be damaged independently · If STM damaged → new LTMs can't form · If LTM damaged → SR & STM still work
★ S T U DY S U P P O RTS — C A PA C I T Y & D U R AT I O N
Sperling (1960) — SR Capacity Jacob (1887) + Miller (1956) — STM Peterson & Peterson (1959) — STM
3 grids of letters shown for 50ms. Capacity Duration
Recall whole grid = ~5 letters Jacob: digit span → letters 7.3, numbers 9.3 24 undergrads · trigrams + count backwards to prevent
Recall one row = ~3 letters Miller: 7 ± 2 chunks → STM has limited capacity. Word rehearsal
→ Must have stored whole grid first = large capacity length effect seen when combining chunks. AKer 3 sec = 80% correct
but only recalled 4–5 before trace faded = very short
duration AKer 18 sec = <10%
→ Duration = 18–30 sec. Without rehearsal → not
passed to LTM
★ S T U DY S U P P O RTS — LT M D U R AT I O N & CO D I N G
Bannick (1975) — LTM Duration Baddeley (1966) — Coding
392 Americans tested on classmates' names 15 & 48 yrs aKer school 4 word lists: acoustically similar/different · semantically similar/different
Recognition: 90% → 70% · Recall: 60% → 30% → More difficulty with acoustic similarity when tested immediately
LTM better when recognising than recalling spontaneously → More difficulty with semantic similarity aKer 20 min
High ecological validity STM = acoustic coding · LTM = semantic coding
Can't control EVs — may have seen classmates in everyday life
★ S E PA R AT E S TO R E S E V I D E N C E
HM Case Study Brain Imaging Studies
Henry Molaison — LTM store damaged without affecting STM → supports idea of Neuroimaging: looking inside brain to see which parts active during tasks
separate stores for LTM and STM Frontal lobe → STM | Hippocampus → LTM
→ Separate stores confirmed
★ E VA LU AT I O N — M S M
Not supported by case studies Over-simplified Too much emphasis on rehearsal
KF shows STM has separate verbal & visual components Says there's only one type of STM — contradicted by KF Flashbulb memories form without rehearsal — people can
— MSM treats STM as one single unitary store + dual-task studies showing separate verbal/visual STM transfer info to LTM without conscious repetition
stores
,
AQA A Level Psychology · Paper 1 (3.1.2) · New Spec 2025 · Print on A4
SPEC 1 M U LT I - S TO R E M O D E L — AT K I N S O N & S H I F F R I N
→ → → →
Sensory Register pay STM LTM
rehearsal
Large capacity · ¼–½ sec · Sensory coding attention Limited · 18–30 sec · Acoustic Unlimited · Lifelong · Semantic
Each store can be damaged independently · If STM damaged → new LTMs can't form · If LTM damaged → SR & STM still work
★ S T U DY S U P P O RTS — C A PA C I T Y & D U R AT I O N
Sperling (1960) — SR Capacity Jacob (1887) + Miller (1956) — STM Peterson & Peterson (1959) — STM
3 grids of letters shown for 50ms. Capacity Duration
Recall whole grid = ~5 letters Jacob: digit span → letters 7.3, numbers 9.3 24 undergrads · trigrams + count backwards to prevent
Recall one row = ~3 letters Miller: 7 ± 2 chunks → STM has limited capacity. Word rehearsal
→ Must have stored whole grid first = large capacity length effect seen when combining chunks. AKer 3 sec = 80% correct
but only recalled 4–5 before trace faded = very short
duration AKer 18 sec = <10%
→ Duration = 18–30 sec. Without rehearsal → not
passed to LTM
★ S T U DY S U P P O RTS — LT M D U R AT I O N & CO D I N G
Bannick (1975) — LTM Duration Baddeley (1966) — Coding
392 Americans tested on classmates' names 15 & 48 yrs aKer school 4 word lists: acoustically similar/different · semantically similar/different
Recognition: 90% → 70% · Recall: 60% → 30% → More difficulty with acoustic similarity when tested immediately
LTM better when recognising than recalling spontaneously → More difficulty with semantic similarity aKer 20 min
High ecological validity STM = acoustic coding · LTM = semantic coding
Can't control EVs — may have seen classmates in everyday life
★ S E PA R AT E S TO R E S E V I D E N C E
HM Case Study Brain Imaging Studies
Henry Molaison — LTM store damaged without affecting STM → supports idea of Neuroimaging: looking inside brain to see which parts active during tasks
separate stores for LTM and STM Frontal lobe → STM | Hippocampus → LTM
→ Separate stores confirmed
★ E VA LU AT I O N — M S M
Not supported by case studies Over-simplified Too much emphasis on rehearsal
KF shows STM has separate verbal & visual components Says there's only one type of STM — contradicted by KF Flashbulb memories form without rehearsal — people can
— MSM treats STM as one single unitary store + dual-task studies showing separate verbal/visual STM transfer info to LTM without conscious repetition
stores
,
