Multi-Store Model Flashcards
(22 cards)
What does the MSM describe?
How information flows through three separate memory stores
What are the 3 memory stores in the MSM?
- Sensory Register (SR)
- Short-Term Memory (STM)
- Long-Term Memory (LTM)
How is information passed?
Information passes linearly from one store to the next through attention and rehearsal
How is the Sensory Register encoded?
Modality-specific (e.g. iconic for visual, echoic for sound)
What is the capacity of the Sensory Register?
Very large
What is the duration of the Sensory Register?
Very brief (less than half a second)
What is the key process in the Sensory Register?
Attention - if attended to, information passes to STM
How is Short-Term Memory encoded?
Mainly acoustic
What is the capacity of the Short-Term Memory?
7 ± 2 items (Miller, 1956)
What is the duration of the Short-Term Memory?
About 18-30 seconds (Peterson & Peterson, 1959)
What is needed to keep information in the Short-Term Memory?
Maintenance rehearsal
What is needed to move information from the Short-Term Memory to the Long-Term Memory?
Prolonged rehearsal
How is the Long-Term Memory encoded?
Mainly semantic
What is the capacity of the Long-Term Memory?
Unlimited
What is duration of the Long-Term Memory?
Potentially lifetime
What needs to happen to retrieve information from Long-Term Memory?
Retrieval - Info must be transferred back to STM to be recalled
Supporting Evidence: HM Case Study?
Could not form new LTMs after hippocampus damage but STM was intact - shows separate systems
Evaluation for the MSM
- The model is oversimplified
+ Rehearsal isn’t the only way to transfer info - Most research has only been done on college students
+ The model is easy for psychologists to test
- The model is oversimplified (PEE)
P: The mode is oversimplified
E: LTM and STM are not unitary stores (e.g. different types of LTM: episodic, semantic, procedural)
E: Decreases validity, there is unexplained parts
+ Rehearsal isn’t the only way to transfer info (PEE)
P: Rehearsal isn’t the only way to transfer info
E: Craik and Tulving (1972) found that lasting memories are made by deeper levels of processing (i.e. meaning)
E: Decreases validity
- Most research has only been done on college students
P: Most research has only been done on college students
E: Peterson & Peterson duration of STM (24 psychology students)
E: Can’t generalise to the wider population
+ The model is easy for psychologists to test
P: The model is easy for psychologists to test
E: Baddeley (1966) conducted a lab experiment that demonstrated how STM is encoded acoustically while LTM is encoded semantically.
E: MSM makes clear, testable predictions about memory increases internal validity and scientific credibility
