multi store model of memory

• what is a theoretical model?

  • representation of memory
  • diagrammatic
  • allows us to make inferences
  • usually in distinct steps
• name 3 features of memory?

  1. capacity
  2. duration
  3. coding
• what is capacity?

  • amount of information that can be stored
• what is duration?

  • time
  • how long information is held for
• what is coding?

  • how the information is stored
• what did atkinson & shiffrin (1968) believe?

  • information we learn passes through a number of stores in order to become part of long term memory
• draw the multi store model?

  memory

  
• what is a sensory register?

  • a stimulus from environment passes into sensory
  • encodes information from each of 5 senses
• main 2 stores of sensory register?

  1. iconic - visual stimuli - images
  2. echoic - auditory - sound
• capacity of sensory register?

  very large
• duration of sensory register?

  limited
• coding of sensory register?

  iconic

  echoic
• research into capacity of stm?

  • jacobs digit span study 1887
• findings of jacobs 1887 study?

  • found that mean span for digits was 9.3 & for letters it was 7.3
• another research for capacity of stm?

  • millers 1956 study
  • can hold between 5/9 pieces of information 7+-2
  • can be increased by chunking
• what is chunking?

  • grouping small pieces of info from large amounts to remember easily
• research for coding of stm?

  • baddeleys 1966 study
• findings of baddeleys 1966 study?

  • remembered less acoustically similar words
  • as words sounded same p got confused & could not remember straight away
• research for duration of stm?

  • peterson & petersons 1959 study
• capacity of long term?

  • difficult to test empirically
  • potentially unlimited capacity
• research for duration of ltm?

  • bahricks 1975 study
• findings of bahricks 1975 study?

  • 90% of p were able to correctly match names within 15 yrs
  • for free recall it was 60%
  • after 48 yrs 70% for photo recognition & 30% for free recall
  • memories stored in ltm have unlimited duration & may last a lifetime/48 yrs
• research for coding of ltm

  • baddleys 1966 study
  • p remembered less semantically similar words
  • information is coded semantically
  • words have a deeper meaning (we remember based on what it means)
  • this is why words semantically similar were more difficult to remember
  • as they had similar meanings so were more hard to distinguish between caused confusion
• * evidence to support from hm

  • suffered from epilepsy
  • underwent major surgery to relieve epileptic fits
  • temporal lobes on both sides of brain removed
  • unable to transfer info from stm into ltm as he could not rehearse
  • shows that msm has separate unitary stores for different parts of memory as hm still has functioning stm but his inability to form new ltm provides evidence for linear aspect of model
• 4 x of msm

  1. too simplistic
  2. focuses mainly on attention & maintenance rehearsal - craik & lockhart
  3. evidence to contradict from kf
  4. evidence to contradict from clive wearing
• X too simplistic?

  • model suggests that both stm & ltm are single unitary stores but there is contradictory evidence
  • e.g procedural memory can be supported by hm & mirror drawing task
  • physical memory of drawing got better but had no recollection of ever doing
  • suggests that there is not just one store for stm & ltm meaning original unitary concept is oversimplified
  • does not explain memory in its entirety
  • does not take into account for complexity of each store
• X of focuses on attention?

  • elaborative rehearsal involves more meaningful analysis of processing info & leads to better recall
  • craik & lockhart suggested memories created by processing that you do rather than m.r
  • e.g look at phonetics,semantics,structures of words
  • assumed deeper we process the more it is recalled
  • provides evidence to contradict & suggests m.r alone is too simplistic to transfer info into ltm
• X evidence to contradict some components from clive?

  • clive wearing had damaged hippocampus - destroyed ltm
  • could not remember events from before accident such as wedding day/birth of children
  • he could rememeber how to play piano/walk/talk/read - procedural
  • model suggests there is just one unitary store for ltm however he had trouble remembering life events but he still had some procedural memories
  • shows there must be more than one type of ltm making msm too simplistic
• findings of peterson & petersons 1959 study?

  • stm has short duration of 18-30 seconds
  • p on average were 90% correct after 3 seconds
  • 20% correct after 9 seconds
  • 2% correct after 18 seconds
• X of evidence to contradict from kf?

  • kf injured in motorcycle accident
  • was able to recall stored info from ltm but stm for verbal was much worse than visual
  • had difficulty with sounds but not letters/digits
  • shows there must be multiple stores for different types of info in stm as kf only had impairements with certain types of info rather than stm as a whole
  • contradicts concept of single unitary stores
• procedure of jacobs digit span 1887?

  • researcher read 4 digits aloud & asked p to recall in correct order AKA serial recall length of number increased
• procedure of baddeleys 1966 study?

  • g1 - acoustically similar - words sound same
  • g2 - acoustically dissimilar - do not sound same
  • g3 - semantically similar - words have same meaning
  • g4 - semantically dissimilar - do not share meaning
  • p asked to recall words in correct order straight away
• procedure of peterson & peterson 1959 study?

  • p were given a triagram to remember
  • then asked to count backwards from a 3 digit number until told to stop - prevented rehearsal so info did not move from stm into ltm
• procedure of bahricks 1975 study?

  • examined 400 graduates (17-74yrs) on memory of former class mates
  • some asked to match name to picture
  • separate free recall test had to name with no image