Memory AO3 :
Multi-Store Memory Model :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. The primacy and recency effect supports the 1. The MSM is too simple
MSM because it argues that STM & LTM are 2 - The MSM suggests that both STM & LTM
separate stores in memory. are single ‘unitary’ stores BUT research
- In Murdock’s study, ppts had to learn a list doesn’t support this.
of words that varied in length from 10 to 30 - The working memory model shows that
words and free recall them, with each word STM is divided into a number of
being viewed for 2 seconds. qualitatively different stores → eg not just
- The results were the words from the a difference in terms of capacity &
beginning of the list (primacy) and words duration BUT in the kind of memory stored
from the end of the list (recency) were there.
remembered. - THEREFORE this suggests that the MSM
- However the words in the middle may be oversimplified.
(Asymptotes) were usually forgotten. 2. Lab experiments used
- Words early in the list were stored in LTM - This lacks ecological validity therefore
because the person had time to rehearse creates an artificial environment and so
the word and the words at the end of the the model is flawed as it doesn't explain
list were still fresh in STM so they were how memory works in real life situations.
easily recalled. - Eg in Murdock’s primacy-recency effect
- Asymptotes had been there too long to be study the ppts were aware they were
in the STM however weren’t rehearsed partaking in a psychological study → issue
enough to be stored in the LTM, so they of demand characteristics
were discarded through displacement. - Therefore they would have tried to please
- Although this study supports the model as the experimenter creating unreliable data.
it shows that two separate stores are used
in recalling the words, the study does lack
ecological validity as it is not an everyday
life experience to recall words.
2. The study of HM supports the model because it
shows that the LTM & STM are two distinct stores.
- After having his hippocampus accidently
removed due to surgery for epilepsy, his
STM remained intact.
- However after the accident, HM’s LTM had
been damaged as he was unable to form
new memories.
- He couldn’t transfer new information into
his LTM. Despite being able to remember
people he had known long ago, new
people he had encountered were like
strangers to him.
- There are specific deficits in which some
abilities, such as learning new information
are impaired whilst others like language
are quite normal.
Capacity :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Miller’s theory is supported by psychological 1. Miller’s research into STM did not take into
research account other factors
- For example, Jacobs (1887) conducted an - For example, age could also affect STM
experiment using a digit span test, to - Jacobs (1887) research acknowledged that
examine the capacity of STM for numbers STM gradually improved with age.
and letters. - HOWEVER Miller did not consider this in
- Pppts had to repeat back a string of his experiments which is therefore limiting
numbers or letters in the same order and and suggests his conclusions have a
the number of digits/letters was gradually limited explanatory power.
increased, until the ppts could no longer
recall the sequence.
- Jacobs found that the student had an
average span of 7.3 letters and 9.3 words.
- THEREFORE this supports Miller’s notion
of 7+/-2.
Duration :
Strengths : Limitations :
, 1. Lab study 1. Low levels of ecological validity
- Highly controlled as it took place in a lab - it could be argued that Peterson &
in Indiana Uni. Peterson’s study has low levels of
- it controls extraneous variables therefore ecological validity.
you can establish a cause and effect - In this study participants were asked to
relationship by determining how the IV will recall three letter trigrams, which is an
affect the DV. artificial stimuli as we are unlikely to
- The study can be easily replicated as remember this in everyday life. .
he/she uses standardized methodology. - As a result we are unable to apply these
results to everyday examples of memory
and are unable to conclude if the duration
of short-term memory may be longer for
more important information i.e.
memorising a phone number.
Coding :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Reliable study 1. Baddely may not have tested LTM
- It uses standardised procedures so can be - Baddely’s methodology has been criticised
easily replicated as in his study STM was tested by asking
- Baddeley improved the reliability of his ppts to recall a word list immediately after
own study by getting rid of the read-aloud hearing it and LTM was tested by waiting
word lists (some participants had hearing just 20 minutes.
difficulties) and replacing them with slides. - HOWEVER it is questionable as to whether
Everyone saw the same word for the same this is really testing LTM.
amount of time (3 seconds). - THEREFORE this casts doubt on the
validity of Baddely’s research because he
wasn’t testing LTM after all.
Working Memory Model :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Support for WMM comes from the case study of 1. Lab studies
KF - Most of the supporting research has been
- For example, KF suffered a motorcycle conducted in a controlled laboratory
accident and was left with considerable setting.
damage to his memory. His short-term - This is an advantage, in that we can
establish a causal relationship
forgetting of auditory information was
- BUT it lacks ecological validity and
greater than for visual information, mundane realism. This means that we
suggesting that his memory damage was cannot generalise the findings to everyday
restricted to the phonological loop. life and it has limited usefulness.
- This is a strength because it demonstrates - Also this creates demand characteristics
that it’s possible to damage just part of as Ppts know that they are taking part in
the short-term memory, which can be an experiment so will try to please the
accounted for by the WMM, as if all experimenter.
short-term memories were stored in the 2. A criticism of the WMM is that the idea of a
same place KF’s entire STM would be central executive is too vague
damaged. - Some psychologists believe it may actually
2. Supporting research comes from Baddeley and consist of separate components and that
Hitch 1976 and their study of dual task this is not explained fully in the WMM.
performance - HOWEVER there is some evidence to
- They found that ppts could do both a support the idea of the CE. Braver et al
verbal reasoning task (which used the (1997) performed brain scans of ppts whilst
central executive) and a digit span task they were doing tasks involving the CE.
(which used the phonological loop) at the They found that as the task became
same time. harder, activity in the prefrontal cortex
- The number of errors did not increase increased. This suggests the CE may have
when the digit span task increased. some physical reality in the brain.
- They concluded that people are able to
do this complex task because it is utilising
different areas of the working model of
memory which therefore supports the idea
of there being multiple memory stores as
highlighted in the WMM.
Types of LTM AO3 :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Case studies of brain damaged patients support 1. Research into the different types of LTM have
Multi-Store Memory Model :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. The primacy and recency effect supports the 1. The MSM is too simple
MSM because it argues that STM & LTM are 2 - The MSM suggests that both STM & LTM
separate stores in memory. are single ‘unitary’ stores BUT research
- In Murdock’s study, ppts had to learn a list doesn’t support this.
of words that varied in length from 10 to 30 - The working memory model shows that
words and free recall them, with each word STM is divided into a number of
being viewed for 2 seconds. qualitatively different stores → eg not just
- The results were the words from the a difference in terms of capacity &
beginning of the list (primacy) and words duration BUT in the kind of memory stored
from the end of the list (recency) were there.
remembered. - THEREFORE this suggests that the MSM
- However the words in the middle may be oversimplified.
(Asymptotes) were usually forgotten. 2. Lab experiments used
- Words early in the list were stored in LTM - This lacks ecological validity therefore
because the person had time to rehearse creates an artificial environment and so
the word and the words at the end of the the model is flawed as it doesn't explain
list were still fresh in STM so they were how memory works in real life situations.
easily recalled. - Eg in Murdock’s primacy-recency effect
- Asymptotes had been there too long to be study the ppts were aware they were
in the STM however weren’t rehearsed partaking in a psychological study → issue
enough to be stored in the LTM, so they of demand characteristics
were discarded through displacement. - Therefore they would have tried to please
- Although this study supports the model as the experimenter creating unreliable data.
it shows that two separate stores are used
in recalling the words, the study does lack
ecological validity as it is not an everyday
life experience to recall words.
2. The study of HM supports the model because it
shows that the LTM & STM are two distinct stores.
- After having his hippocampus accidently
removed due to surgery for epilepsy, his
STM remained intact.
- However after the accident, HM’s LTM had
been damaged as he was unable to form
new memories.
- He couldn’t transfer new information into
his LTM. Despite being able to remember
people he had known long ago, new
people he had encountered were like
strangers to him.
- There are specific deficits in which some
abilities, such as learning new information
are impaired whilst others like language
are quite normal.
Capacity :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Miller’s theory is supported by psychological 1. Miller’s research into STM did not take into
research account other factors
- For example, Jacobs (1887) conducted an - For example, age could also affect STM
experiment using a digit span test, to - Jacobs (1887) research acknowledged that
examine the capacity of STM for numbers STM gradually improved with age.
and letters. - HOWEVER Miller did not consider this in
- Pppts had to repeat back a string of his experiments which is therefore limiting
numbers or letters in the same order and and suggests his conclusions have a
the number of digits/letters was gradually limited explanatory power.
increased, until the ppts could no longer
recall the sequence.
- Jacobs found that the student had an
average span of 7.3 letters and 9.3 words.
- THEREFORE this supports Miller’s notion
of 7+/-2.
Duration :
Strengths : Limitations :
, 1. Lab study 1. Low levels of ecological validity
- Highly controlled as it took place in a lab - it could be argued that Peterson &
in Indiana Uni. Peterson’s study has low levels of
- it controls extraneous variables therefore ecological validity.
you can establish a cause and effect - In this study participants were asked to
relationship by determining how the IV will recall three letter trigrams, which is an
affect the DV. artificial stimuli as we are unlikely to
- The study can be easily replicated as remember this in everyday life. .
he/she uses standardized methodology. - As a result we are unable to apply these
results to everyday examples of memory
and are unable to conclude if the duration
of short-term memory may be longer for
more important information i.e.
memorising a phone number.
Coding :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Reliable study 1. Baddely may not have tested LTM
- It uses standardised procedures so can be - Baddely’s methodology has been criticised
easily replicated as in his study STM was tested by asking
- Baddeley improved the reliability of his ppts to recall a word list immediately after
own study by getting rid of the read-aloud hearing it and LTM was tested by waiting
word lists (some participants had hearing just 20 minutes.
difficulties) and replacing them with slides. - HOWEVER it is questionable as to whether
Everyone saw the same word for the same this is really testing LTM.
amount of time (3 seconds). - THEREFORE this casts doubt on the
validity of Baddely’s research because he
wasn’t testing LTM after all.
Working Memory Model :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Support for WMM comes from the case study of 1. Lab studies
KF - Most of the supporting research has been
- For example, KF suffered a motorcycle conducted in a controlled laboratory
accident and was left with considerable setting.
damage to his memory. His short-term - This is an advantage, in that we can
establish a causal relationship
forgetting of auditory information was
- BUT it lacks ecological validity and
greater than for visual information, mundane realism. This means that we
suggesting that his memory damage was cannot generalise the findings to everyday
restricted to the phonological loop. life and it has limited usefulness.
- This is a strength because it demonstrates - Also this creates demand characteristics
that it’s possible to damage just part of as Ppts know that they are taking part in
the short-term memory, which can be an experiment so will try to please the
accounted for by the WMM, as if all experimenter.
short-term memories were stored in the 2. A criticism of the WMM is that the idea of a
same place KF’s entire STM would be central executive is too vague
damaged. - Some psychologists believe it may actually
2. Supporting research comes from Baddeley and consist of separate components and that
Hitch 1976 and their study of dual task this is not explained fully in the WMM.
performance - HOWEVER there is some evidence to
- They found that ppts could do both a support the idea of the CE. Braver et al
verbal reasoning task (which used the (1997) performed brain scans of ppts whilst
central executive) and a digit span task they were doing tasks involving the CE.
(which used the phonological loop) at the They found that as the task became
same time. harder, activity in the prefrontal cortex
- The number of errors did not increase increased. This suggests the CE may have
when the digit span task increased. some physical reality in the brain.
- They concluded that people are able to
do this complex task because it is utilising
different areas of the working model of
memory which therefore supports the idea
of there being multiple memory stores as
highlighted in the WMM.
Types of LTM AO3 :
Strengths : Limitations :
1. Case studies of brain damaged patients support 1. Research into the different types of LTM have
