Memory: The multistore model

Question 1

Capacity

Answer 1

The amount of information that can be stored

Question 2

Duration

Answer 2

How long the information can be stored for

Question 3

Encoding

Answer 3

The form the information is stored as

Question 4

Assumptions of the multistore model

Answer 4

It is a structural model
Memory consists of 3 separate stores, which differ in terms of capacity, duration and encoding
Information passes through the model in a linear way
STM and LTM are unitary stores which consist of just one component

Question 5

Long term memory - capacity, duration and encoding

Answer 5

Capacity: unlimited
Duration: thought to be a lifetime
Encoding: semantic

Question 6

Memory stores

Answer 6

Sensory register/sensory memory
Short term memory
Long term memory

Question 7

Multistore model of memory

Answer 7

Created by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
Information first enters the sensory register, and if attended to, information is transferred from the sensory register to STM
Information is transferred from STM to LTM through rehearsal

Question 8

Sensory register - capacity, duration and encoding

Answer 8

Capacity: difficult to measure because the duration is so short
Duration: retains information long enough for us to decide whether it needs processing (2 seconds)
Encoding: modality-specific

Question 9

Short term memory - capacity, duration and encoding

Answer 9

Capacity: between 5 and 9 items (7 +/- 2) although further research suggests closer to 5 than 9
Duration: retains information for around 20 seconds unless rehearsed
Encoding: acoustic

Question 10

Strengths of the multistore model

Answer 10

Research by Baddeley shows that coding in STM is acoustic whereas coding in LTM is semantic
Brain scans have shown that the prefrontal cortex is active when a person is using STM and the hippocampus is active when LTM is used
HM’s LTM was damaged but his STM still functioned perfectly when tested

Question 11

Weaknesses of the multistore model

Answer 11

The original model only refers to rehearsal as a method of transferring info from STM to LTM, but Craik and Watkins (1973) showed that there are two types of rehearsal (elaborative and maintenance)
Clive Wearing had problems with his episodic memory but not his procedural memory
KF’s memory for digits was poor when read aloud to him, but fine when he could read them himself
Research studies for the multistore model are not representative of real life