MSM

• What is the multi-store model of memory?

  A model of memory which shows how information flows through the memory system.

  A) Sensory Register

  
• What is the sensory register?


  • Part of the memory that has several stores e.g:
  • Iconic - visual info
  • Echoic - auditory/sound imagery
  • Sensory registers have a high capacity
  • Duration is <1/2 a second
• How does the STM operate in MSM?

  • If you pay attention to info from the environment it passes into the STM

  As long as info is rehearsed it'll remain in the STM

  • Duration is 18-30 seconds
  • Capacity is 5-9 items
  • Coding = acoustic
• How does the LTM operate in the MSM?


  • If info is rehearsed enough it can be transferred to the LTM
  • Even though its stored in the LTM if we wish to recall this info, it must be transferred into the STM via retrieval
• What research support do we have for the MSM?

  The serial position effect - Murdock

  Method: Lists of words that varied in length from 10-40 words presented at intervals of 2 seconds. Pps asked to recall words in any order

  Results: Words at the beginning of the list had been rehearsed and transferred to the LTM, words at the end were still in the STM and words in the middle had been displaced

  Supports the idea that STM and LTM stores are separate
• What research support do we have for the MSM?


  • HM underwent surgery to relieve epilepsy
  • hippocampus was removed from both sides of his brain - hippocampus is central to memory function
  • After memory assessment, he had little recall of the operation + couldn't remember speaking with someone an hour earlier
  • HM's case shows its possible to damage one of these stores whilst the other is relatively unaffected
  • HM case supports MSM's central feature - independent stores of LTM and STM