multistore model of memory

• developed by Atkinson + Shiffrin 1968
• called multistore model as it consists of three memory stores linked to each other by processes that enable transfer of information from one store to the next
• three memory stores

  • sensory register
  • short term memory
  • long term memory
• sensory register

  • place where information is held at each of the senses
  • receives information from environmental stimuli
  • durations is very short (milliseconds) but capacity is very large
  • information is then passed into the short term memory store through attention
• short term memory

  • limited duration
  • information will disappear if not rehearsed
  • information is passed into the long term memory through maintenance rehearsal
• long term memory

  • potentially unlimited duration and capacity
  • information from long term memory is put back into the short term memory by retrieval where it is then available for use
• (+) research support

  • controlled lab studies on capacity, duration, and encoding support existence of short and long term memory
  • Miller (1956): duration of short term memory is 7 +/- 2
  • Bahrick et al (1975): duration of long term memory is approx 48 years
  • supports idea of separate short and long term memory
• (-) research going against

  • long term memory encoding requires more than maintenance rehearsal
  • study found that enduring memories are created by the processing that you do, rather than through maintenance rehearsal
  • explanation given for long term memory encoding is lacking and overly simplistic
• (-) the whole theory of multistore model of memory is overly simplistic

  • theory suggests short and long term memory are both single unitary stores
  • however, research suggests that short term memory is divided into a different number of stores for different kinds of memory
  • also shown there are qualitatively different stores for long term memory (semantic, episodic, memory)