Multistore model Flashcards
(28 cards)
who was the multi-store model proposed by?
atkinson & shiffrin, from 1968-1917
what does the MSM describe?
it describes a system for how memories are made & stored.
what are the three stores outlined by the MSM?
-sensory register
-short term memory
-long term memory
the stores are linked by processes that enable info to flow from store to store.
what is the sensory register?
-the sensory register (SR)is where all sensory information from the environment passes into/is held
-all coding in the SR depends on the sense involved, this is modality specific (e.g iconic memory is the register for visual info)
what is coding?
the way in which information is changed so that it can be stored in memory.
what is capacity?
-it refers to the amount of data which can be held in each store, with the SR having a very high capacity (eg- 1 million eye cells, which each store visual data)
what is duration?
-the amount of time that memory spends in a specific store
-most info is only held in the SR for miliseconds
why does info stay in the SR for such a short period of time?
info only stays in the SR for a small amount of time as the brain receives millions of pieces of information from the SR every second, thus the brain would find this impossible to retain/give attention to this amount of data.
what happens if attention is held in the SR?
attention is held in the SR?
attention is a key process to connecting the SR to the STM; if attention is paid to the info passing into the SR then it can be passed into the STM.
what is info passed into the STM used for?
it’s used for present & immediate tasks e.g- following directions
how is info encoded into the STM?
it’s coded acoustically usually (discovered by baddely in 1966)
what is the capacity of the STM?
it’s limited, only 5+/-2 items can be remembered through it.
who’s research proves the capacity of the STM?
miller (1956)- he suggested ‘miller’s magic 7’ in which only 5-9 items, 5<7<9.
what is the duration of the STM?
it has a very limited duration; only around 18 seconds (unless info is rehearsed)
what are the 2 types of rehearsal?
maintenance rehearsal- surface level repetition of information (eg repeating a phone number)
elaborative rehearsal- involves deeper processing (eg learning lines)
what is the LTM?
it’s a permanent memory store of past events/items
how can info passed into the LTM be accessed?
it must be accessed and transferred into the STM 9called retrieval)
how is info coded into the LTM?
it’s coded semantically (based on meaning)
what is the capacity of the LTM?
it’s potentially unlimited.
what is the duration of the LTM?
it is THOUGHT to be the lifetime of the individual however they may be prone to forgetting ——> thus some memories in the LTM are subject to ‘decay’.
what have brain scanning techniques indicated about the LTM?
research have indicated that the STM & LTM may be stored in different brain regions, which may explain their differing durations.
what are the 2 main strengths of the multi-store model?
-controlled lab studies on coding, capacity & duration support the theory of having separate memory stores.
-the case study of HM supports the theory that the STM/LTM are separate.
how do controlled lab studies support the idea of of separate memory stores?
baddely (1966) tested the recall of 4 groups of participants with different lists of words ———> he found that similar sounding (acoustic) words can get mixed up when using the STM , but similar meaning (semantic) words get mixed up when using the LTM
-this suggests that there is a clear distinction between the STM & LTM
what happened to HM?
he was living case study that suffered a brain injury age 12, resulting in severe epilepsy, in which he underwent significant brain surgery, removing his hippocampus.
