Multi-Store Model of Memory

• What does the Multi-Store Memory model illustrate?

  How information flows through memory
• What are the three stores in the Multi-Store Memory model?

  • Sensory Register
  • Short Term Memory
  • Long Term Memory
• What is the duration of the sensory register?

  Half a second
• What is the capacity of the sensory register?

  Very high
• What happens to information in the sensory register?

  It only passes further with attention
• How is short-term memory (STM) characterized?

  As a temporary store
• What is the main coding method in short-term memory?

  Acoustic
• What is the capacity range of short-term memory?

  5-9 objects
• What is the duration of short-term memory?

  About 18 seconds
• What is maintenance rehearsal?

  Repeating material to ourselves
• What happens if we rehearse information long enough?

  It goes into long-term memory
• What are the characteristics of long-term memory (LTM)?

  • Permanent store
  • Mainly semantic coding
  • Unlimited capacity
  • Duration for a lifetime
• What is retrieval in the context of long-term memory?

  Recalling information back into STM
• What research supports the Multi-Store Memory model?

  • Baddeley (1966) on acoustic vs. semantic confusion
  • Studies on capacity and duration
• What did Baddeley (1966) find about short-term memory?

  We mix up similar-sounding words
• What did Baddeley's research suggest about long-term memory?

  We mix up similar-meaning words
• What is a limitation of the Multi-Store Memory model regarding validity?

  Studies use digits instead of real-life items
• What did Shallice & Warrington (1970) find about short-term memory?

  • Studied client KF with amnesia
  • Poor recall for digits read aloud
  • Better recall when reading digits silently
• What does KF's case suggest about short-term memory?

  There is more than one STM store
• What is elaborative rehearsal according to the Multi-Store Memory model?

  • Linking new information to existing knowledge
  • Important for long-term storage
• What did Craik & Watkins (1973) find about rehearsal?

  Elaborative rehearsal is needed for LTM
• What does the Multi-Store Memory model fail to explain?

  How long-term storage is achieved
• What is a strength for the Multi-Store Model of Memory?

  Research Support

  • Baddeley (1966) found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using our short term memory but we mix up words that have a similar meaning when we use our long term memory
  • Further support comes from the studies of capacity and duration
  • These studies clearly show that short term memory and long term memory are separate and independent memory stores, as claimed by the Multi Store Memory model
• What is a limitation for the Multi-Store Model of Memory?

  Low Validity

  • In daily life, we form memories related to all sorts of useful things like faces, names, facts and places 
  • But many of the studies that support the Multi Store Memory model use digits, letters, words and even consonants instead
  • This means that the Multi Store Memory model may not be a valid model of how memory works in our everyday life
• What is a limitation for the Multi-Store Model of Memory?

  More than One Short Term Memory Store

  • Shallice & Warrington (1970) studied a client called KF who had amnesia
  • KF’s short term memory for digits was very poor when read aloud to him but recall was much better when he read the digits to himself
  • This evidence suggests that the Multi Store Memory model is wrong in claiming that there is just one short term memory store processing different types of information
• What is a limitation for the Multi-Store Model of Memory?

  Elaborative Rehearsal

  • According to the Multi Store Memory model, prolonged rehearsal is most vital part of transferring information to the long term memory
  • But, Craik & Watkins (1973) found that elaborative rehearsal, when you link the information to your pre-existing knowledge, is needed for long term storage, rather than prolonged rehearsal
  • This means that the Multi Store Memory model does not fully explain how long term storage is achieved