Multistore model of memory

Question 1

name the three stores of the multistore model?

Answer 1

sensory register, short term memory, long term memory

Question 2

how is information encoded in sensory memory?

Answer 2

by all 5 senses- mainly echoic (processes sounds) and iconic ( processes visual)

Question 3

what is the capacity and duration of sensory memory?

Answer 3

capacity- unlimited (very large)
duration- less than half a second

Question 4

how is information transferred from sensory memory to STM?

Answer 4

by paying attention

Question 5

what is the capacity and duration of STM?

Answer 5

capacity- 7+/- 2 items
duration- 18-30 secs(without rehearsal)

Question 6

how is information encoded in STM?

Answer 6

acoustic (by sound)

Question 7

how is information kept in short term memory for as long as you want?

Answer 7

maintenance rehearsal

Question 8

how is information transferred from STM to LTM?

Answer 8

prolonged rehearsal

Question 9

what is the capacity and duration of the long term memory?

Answer 9

capacity- vast/unlimited
duration- up to a lifetime

Question 10

how is information coded for in LTM?

Answer 10

semantically (by meaning)

Question 11

how is information transferred from the LTM back to the STM?

Answer 11

retrieval

Question 12

what did Peterson and Peterson measure?

Answer 12

duration of STM

Question 13

how did Peterson and Peterson measure duration of STM?

Answer 13

trigrams recalled after delay of seconds (3,6,9…)
rehearsal prevented by counting backwards
80% accurate recall after 3 secs
10% accurate recall after 18 secs

Question 14

what conclusions were made from Peterson and Peterson research?

Answer 14

STM has a limited duration of approx 18 secs
results show that if we are unable to rehearse info, it can’t be transferred to LTM
STM and LTM must be separate stores

Question 15

why has Peterson and Peterson study been criticised for lacking external validity?

Answer 15

trigrams are artificial materials that lack meaning

so using this study may not fully show how memory works in real life when presented with materials that have meaning

Question 16

what did Jacob’s measure?

Answer 16

capacity of STM

Question 17

how did Jacob’s measure capacity of STM?

Answer 17

used the digit span technique!
-increase number of digits each time and participants had to recall.
Digit span is how many they recalled correctly.

mean number of letters in STM 7.3
mean number of numbers in STM 9.3

Question 18

what conclusion was made from Jacob’s study (support for MSM?

Answer 18

capacity of STM is limited to 7 +/- 2 items
so STM limited vs LTM unlimited so they must be different stores

Question 19

how does Miller’s research support Jacobs?

Answer 19

wrote an article “the magic number 7 plus of minus two”

came up with idea of chunking which means more information can be stores in STM by chunking into 7 +/- 2

Question 20

how can Millers and Jacobs research be criticised?

Answer 20

there is evidence to suggest that 7 items is an overestimate, more likely to be around 5

Question 21

what did Baddeley measure?

Answer 21

coding in STM and LTM

Question 22

how did Baddeley measure coding in STM and LTM?

Answer 22

participants shown a list of words and had to recall the list immediately after and after 20 mins

semantically similar/ diff
acoustically similar/diff

Question 23

what were the findings of Baddeley’s study?

Answer 23

immediately after; worst remembered were acoustically similar because similar sounds get confused in STM

20 mins after; semantically similar were worst remembered because similar words get confused in LTM and start adding new ones

Question 24

how does Baddeley’s research support the MSM?

Answer 24

coding is acoustic in STM and semantic in LTM
also supports idea that they are two different stores

Question 25

what did Bahrick measure and how?

Answer 25

duration of LTM participants tested on recognising photos from year book and naming people in the year book

Question 26

what were the results of Bahrick's study and how does this support the MSM?

Answer 26

48 years after; 70% accuracy photo recall and 30% accuracy free recall shows LTM lasts a lifetime so supports MSM

Question 27

explain the Clive Wearing case?

Answer 27

uncontrolled infection led to him only being able to remember for 7 seconds he could remember how to play piano but not that he had just played music. he couldn't transfer from STM to LTM

Question 28

how does the case of Clive Wearing suggest that LTM is not a single store?

Answer 28

his procedural LTM was intact because he could remember how to play piano. His semantic (factual) and episodic (events) memories were damaged. so there must be 3 different LTM's

Question 29

why is memory studies being in controlled lab settings a strength of the MSM?

Answer 29

establish cause and effect- any effect on the DV is due to manipulation of the IV

Question 30

what is the evidence to show that STM is not unitary (there is more than one type) ?

Answer 30

The case of KF motorbike accident he could remember digits when he read them but not when they were read to him so there must be different types of STM for visual and acoustic info

Question 31

what has research into the MSM been criticised for?

Answer 31

using artificial materials e.g. word lists, trigrams and digits artificial materials lack meaning so results for studies may not apply to how memory works in real life for meaningful material- so low external validity

Question 32

why might there also be criticism for not using artificial materials in research?

Answer 32

using meaningful materials will cause info to be transferred to LTM so can't accurately measure STM

Question 33

why is the MSM saying info is transferred from STM to LTM by maintenance rehearsal a limitation?

Answer 33

elaborative rehearsal is more effective. By making associations between new info you're trying to learn and the information you already know, you make your brain process the info in a more in-depth way