MSM

• sensory memory

  The memory of sensory information through the senses.
• capacity of sensory memory

  unlimited capacity
• duration of sensory memory

  very low (milliseconds)
• How is sensory memory encoded?

  modality specific.
• the multi store model of memory (Atkinson) suggests that memory is transferred between three separate memory stores.
• sensory register: the first stage of memory, where information is stored in the senses, collected by eyes, ears and nose etc.
• information moves from the sensory register to the short term memory store via the sensory store, if attention is focused on the sensory store. if not, the info is lost.
• information is held in short term memory. In order for it to go into long term memory, it must be repeated and rehearsed first.
• maintenance rehearsal is when information is repeated to maintain the information in the LTM. the more it is rehearsed the better it is remembered.
• elaborative rehearsal involves linking new information with existing knowledge. this helps transfer the info from STM to LTM
• When memory is in LTM it can now be accessed. This means that information has to be transferred back to short-term memory to be recalled.
• Weakness of MSM

  It is oversimplistic. States that STM and LTM are single ‘unitary’ stores but doesn’t take the type of memory into acccount, as STM is divided into many different stores within itself. Thus MSM is too simplistic of an explanation of memory.
• Strength of MSM

  research support from lab controlled studies on capacity, duration and encoding. Brain scans show prefrontal cortex is active for STM but not LTM. This proves the basis that there are separate stores in the MSM, thus it can be generalised.
• Weakness of MSM

  It emphasises maintenance rehearsal for memories to be transferred to LTM. Studies have proved that memories are created by processing rather than rehearsal (more words remembered in deep processing task than shallow processing task). therefore the model is too simplistic as it doesn’t fully explain the full process of creating long term memories.
• strength of MSM

  Case studies from patients with brain damage. HM’s hippocampus was removed and could no longer form new LTM’s but could remember the old ones prior to the removal. Proves the models explanation of separate stores, STM and LTM.