Memory Models

• What is memory?


  A process by which we retain and recall information
• What is short-term memory?

  A limited-capacity memory store whereby coding is mainly acoustic sounds, capacity is between 5-9 items and duration is between 18 and 30 seconds
• What is long-term memory?

  A permanent memory store whereby coding is mainly semantic, capacity is unlimited and can store memories for up to a lifetime
• What is capacity?


  The amount of information that can be stored in a memory store
• What is coding?


  The format in which information is stored in various memory stores
• What is duration?


  The length of time information can be held in a memory store
• What are the two main types of memory stores?

  Short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM)
• What did Jacob find about digit span?

  9.3 digits
• What did Jacob find about letter span?

  7.3 letters
• What is chunking according to (1956)?

  It allows for unlimited capacity in memory
• What did Peterson and Peterson find about memory recall?

  Longer delays reduce material recalled
• What is the duration of STM according to Peterson and Peterson?

  18-30 seconds
• What did Badih et al. suggest about LTM duration?

  LTM potentially has unlimited duration
• What is a weakness of Peterson and Peterson's study?

  It may not reflect real-life memory use
• How does Baddely describe the coding of STM?

  STM is coded acoustically
• How does Baddely describe the coding of LTM?

  LTM is coded semantically
• What is the Multi-store memory Model?

  A representation of how memory works and describes how information is transferred from one store to another, how it is remembered and how it is forgotten
• What is the sensory register?

  The memory store for each of our 5 senses whereby the capacity is huge, coding in the iconic store is visual and the echoic store is hearing, and information lasts for a very short time (half a second)
• What is the supporting research for the multi-store model?

  • Baddeley found that we mix up words that sound similar when using short-term memory; have similar meanings when long-term memory is used.
  • This shows that short-term and long-term memory are qualitatively different and work separately
• What is a limitation of the multi-store model? (STM)

  • There is more than one type of short-term memory
  • Shallice found that there could be another short-term memory for non-verbal sounds
  • There must be at least one short-term memory store to process visual information and one to process hearing.
• What is a limitation of the multi-store model? (rehearsal)


  • The more you rehearse a list of words, the more likely it will be stored in the long-term memory; Craik says that may be incorrect
  • There are 2 types of rehearsal: Maintenance (in short-term memory) and Elaborative (in long-term memory)
  • Research shows that the multi-store model cannot explain why rehearsal may not be stored in the long-term memory.
• What is a limitation of the multi-store model? (long-term memory)

  • Long-term memory may not be a unitary store
  • Long-term memory for memories of facts about the world and one for memories of riding a bike
  • Suggesting there could be more than one Long-term memory and the multi-store model cannot explain this case.
• Discuss Patient HM


  • HM had seizures due to a cracked skull
  • Surgery to remove hippocampus
  • Sensory register, and short-term memory stayed the same
  • Long-term memory diminished
• What is retrograde amnesia?

  An inability to access memories or information from before a traumatic event or disease
• What is anterograde amnesia?

  An impaired capacity for new learning
• What are the 3 types of long-term memory?

  • Episodic
  • Semantic
  • Procedural
• What is episodic memory?

  A long-term memory store for personal events, and memories from this store have to be retrieved consciously and with effort.
• What is semantic memory?

  A long-term memory store for our knowledge of the world, with memories that need to be recalled deliberatlely.
• What is procedural memory?

  A long-term memory store for our knowledge of how to do things, and are able to recall memories without deliberate effort.
• Discuss Clive Wearing in terms of long-term memory

  • Suffered from herpes encephalitis
  • Hippocampus damaged
  • Procedural and semantic memory were intact; not episodic memory
• What is a strength of the types of long-term memory? (clinical evidence)

  • Episodic memory in Clive Wearing were severely impaired as a result of amnesia; procedural and semantic memory unaffected.
  • He knew the meaning of words; could not remember having a dog in the past.
  • Supports Tulving's view that there are different memory stores in long-term memory
• What are the real life applications for the types of long-term memory?

  • The ability to identify different aspects of long-term memory allows for psychologists to target certain kinds of memory to improve people's lives
  • Belleville demonstrated that episodic memories could be improved in older people who had mild cognitive impairment (usually affects those with damaged episodic memory)
  • This allows for specific treatments
• What is the working memory model?-

  A representation of short-term memory. It suggests that STM is a Dynamic processor of different types of information using sub-units coordinated by a central decision-making system
• What is the central executive?

  The component of the WMM that co-ordinates the activities of the three sub-systems in memory. It allocates processing resources of those activities
• What is the phonological loop?

  The component of WMM that processes information in terms of sound. This includes both written and spoken material. It is divided into the phonological store and articulatory process.
• What is the phonological store?

  Stores the words you hear, 'inner ear'
• What is the articulatory process?

  used for words that are heard or seen, allows for maintenance rehearsal
• What is the visuo-spatial sketchpad?

  The component of the WMM that processes visual and spatial information in a mental space often called our inner eye.
• What is the visual cache?

  Stores for visual data
• What is the inner scribe?

  records the arrangement of objects in the visual field