The multi-store model of memory

• Capacity

  The amount of information held in a memory store
• Duration

  The length of time information can be held in the memory store
• Capacity of STM

  5-9 items average
• Duration of STM

  18 - 30 seconds
• Capacity of LTM

  Unlimited
• Duration of LTM

  Potentially a lifetime
• Encoding

  How a memory trace is internally represented
• Encoding of STM

  Acoustic (sound)
• Encoding of LTM

  Semantic (meaning)
• Atkinson and Shifrin (1968) multi-store model of memory

  attention transfer

  Sensory store ———> STM ———> LTM

  <———

  retrieval