Multi store model of memory

• shows input comes from environment and through senses to sensory store; data held for short period but eventually decays; if paid attention to before decays, it's passed to short term memory
• data held in short term memory for short period of time before it decays; short term memory has small capacity so older info can be replaced by newer info; if data is rehearsed long and frequent enough, it'll be transferred to long term memory
• data has potential to stay in long term memory forever and has infinite capacity; data has to be retrieved back into short term memory to be used but sometimes can't be done; known as retrieval failure
• sensory store - lasts about 2 seconds - capacity is large but limited - data is coded through modality specific coding (same format as it enters memory)
• short term memory - lasts 15 to 30 seconds - capacity of about 7 chunks - coded mainly auditorily
• long term memory - lasts potentially forever - capacity is unlimited - coding is mainly semantic (stored in abstract way based on its meaning)
• criticisms?

  * overemphasizes role of rehearsal in memory; critics would say memory depends on meaning of data instead of rehearsal of it; for example we're more likely to remember something which is important to us

  * model over generalises by assuming everyone's memory works exactly the same, eg not the same thing is important to everyone

  * there's more than one long term store; eg after an accident some people lose some long term memories but not all