Multi-Store Model/ Short Term Memory Flashcards
What type of Approach is memory based off and why?
The cognitive approach
Thoughts and processes are put together into a ‘model’ that includes boxes/ arrows to explain the different processes
Define memory
The brain’s ability to store/recall information
What do we need memory for and what are four examples of what we remember?
We need our memory to store information about the world and to complete everyday tasks.
E.g previous birthdays, bike riding, math, and what someone said said five minutes ago.
What are the two divisions of memory?
Short term and long term memory
What are the three key terms regarding memory?
Capacity
Duration
Coding
Define capacity, what are 2 examples and what is the analogy?
This is how much info our memory can hold.
E.g how many numbers you can remember, or how much colours you can remember.
It’s like data on a hard drive, so is the amount of info being held at one time.
Define duration and what is it typically measured in?
This is the length of time information can be held in our memory before it’s lost. We measure this is units of time, e.g seconds, milliseconds, minutes and hours
Define Coding and what are the 5 examples of sense we can store?
This is the format in which info is stored in our memory. This is like the file type on a computer.
We can store: sounds, pictures, tastes, smells and the feeling of what we touch.
What are the two things that define our short term memory/ working memory?
-our memory for things in our immediate past, e.g a waiter remembering orders
-Info in our STM is only available to us to use for active tasks.
What are the two things that define our long term memory and provide three examples for what LTM consists of.
-where you store ‘proper memories’ so they can be remembered later
-assume LTM is limitless as no research suggests it has a limited capacity
E.g childhood, school or even from last night is LTM
Who proposed the Multi-Store Model (MSM) ?
Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968)
What does the MSM propose ? (3 things that make it up)
- proposes the memory is split into 3 stores, each with a different role to play in our memory process.
- cognitive model as it focuses on thought processes
- info described as moving from left to right of the model, moving from one store to the next.
What is the Sensory Register (SR) ?
This is where information from your senses is temporarily kept so that it is available for processing.
What are the 6 types of sensory store / info that the SR can process?
Visual Info (Iconic store)
Acoustic info (Echoic Info, ears)
Tactile Info (haptic store, touch)
Olfactory Info (Smell)
Gustatory Info (taste)
What are the four steps to how the Sensory Register work?
- Lots of sensory info is available at any time, but the combined data from senses would be too overwhelming if we paid attention
-Therefore, attention system chooses what info to pay attention to
-This is then transferred into our STM
-Info that isn’t selected decays, typically in a second
What did Sterling (1960) do (procedure) that supports the capacity of the SR and what did he find from this?
He showed a brief visual display of 12 letters. Ppts had to report all 12 letters and write just one row of three down.
He found that the Visual SR can hold a lot of information but that it decay within 2 seconds.
What are the three things that define the STM?
— SR info is transferred here
— Temporarily info is stored so we can perform tasks
— Limited capacity and if info isn’t used quickly/ transferred to LTM, it decays and is forgotten.
What did Jacobs (1887) use and to see what In the ppts? (STM Capacity)
He used the digit span technique to see how many digits / letters someone could hold in their STM at once (digit span is the amount)
What was the method to Jacobs (1887) digit span technique? (3 steps) (STM Capacity)
- involves giving a ppt a random number of a certain number of digits
- asked them to repeat and then gave them another number to remember with one more digit in it.
- continued this, each time giving a new, random number with one additional digit until they made a mistake
What was the result from Jacobs (1887) digit span technique and what does this suggest? (STM Capacity)
Found all ppts could remember 9.3 digits but only 7.3 letters
Suggested this is because there only 9 digit possibilities (1-9) but 26 letters.
What did Miller (1956) review and find? (STM Capacity)
He reviewed psychological research and found the ‘magic number’ to be 7 + / 2 d items
What did Miller (1956) find and what does this mean? (STM Capacity)
He noted we can remember 5 words as easily as we can remember 5 letters
Means our brain can ‘chunk’ info together into meaningful groups to remember them more easily
What did Cowan (2001) investigate and review? (STM Capacity)
He investigated the amount of info that can be remembered, and reviewed many studies on STM
What did Cowan (2001) find from his investigation/review? (2 findings) (STM Capacity)
He found that for many people, four chunks of info is the most common capacity.
However, a chunk can be quite large (e.g put kettle on) so more info can be recalled of it is chunked together.
