multi store model of memory

• The Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM) explains how memory is stored, transferred between different stores, retrieved, and forgotten
• The MSM consists of 3 stores: the sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM)
• The sensory register has one sub-store for each of the 5 senses, like an echoic store for auditory information, with a huge capacity but a duration of less than half a second
• Short-term memory (STM) is acoustically encoded, has a capacity of 7+/- 2 items, a duration of 18-30 seconds, and involves maintenance rehearsal to keep information in the STM
• Prolonged maintenance rehearsal allows information to pass into the long-term memory (LTM), while a lack of rehearsal causes forgetting
• Long-term memory (LTM) is semantically encoded, has an unlimited capacity, and a very long duration (over 46 years), requiring 'retrieval' to transfer information back into the STM
• Different types of LTM include procedural, semantic, and episodic, as proposed by Tuvling et al, which the MSM does not represent as it sees LTM as a single store
• The MSM suggests that maintenance rehearsal determines the likelihood of information passing into the LTM, while Craik and Watkins (1973) argue that elaborative rehearsal is crucial for transferring information from STM to LTM by making links with existing knowledge
• The MSM accurately distinguishes between STM and LTM by representing them as separate stores, with STM being acoustically encoded and LTM being semantically encoded with a longer duration
• The MSM incorrectly portrays STM as a single store, as evidenced by Shallice and Warrington's study on amnesiac patient KF, suggesting there may be multiple types of STM
• The MSM does not account for the qualitative differences between types of rehearsal in transferring information to LTM
• KF's ability to differentiate and recall both verbal and non-verbal sounds indicates the presence of multiple types of STM, contrary to the MSM's unitary representation