MSM (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968)

• what 3 types of memory stores are there?

  sensory memory, short term memory, long term memory
• sensory memory?

  encoded in memory via 5 sensory register.

  capacity: 3-4 items

  duration: half a second

  retrieval: scanning through info

  forgetting: decay (pay attention!!!)
• STM?

  largely acoustic and verbal

  capacity: 5-9 items

  duration: 15-30 seconds (Peterson/Peterson used interference task with trigrams)

  retrieval: sequential search (search in order)

  forgetting: decay through displacement (so rehearse!!!)
• LTM?

  mainly semantic and temporal

  capacity: potentially limitless (Brady, 2,500 objects shown 87-92% object correctly identified)

  duration: potentially lifetime (Bahrick 1975 tested 400Ps with memory tests of names/faces from high school)

  retrieval: semantic/temporal search

  forgetting: decay and interference
• what is phonological similarity effect?

  letters and words of similar sound are more difficult to recall, due to STM encoding acoustically so confused by similar sounding words
• evidence?

  • case studies of brain damaged patients, aka HM. unable to transfer STM -> LTM, meaning two separate stores.
  • primary recency effect (Glanzer and Cunitz 66) can remember things at beginning and end of list well but forget things in middle.

  
  

  • rehearsal doesn‘t transfer info to LTM, Bekerian and Baddeley 80s saw people didn’t know BBC radio wavelengths changing despite hearing info 1000 times, other processes?
  • model isn’t linear, use LTM to help STM (eg footballers predicting scores)
• methodology?

  • lab experiments use standardised procedures and can be replicated. Also able to manipulate IV, allowing ability to infer cause and effect links. (credible!)

  Lab experiments are artificial (Peterson and Peterson used trigrams) may not reflect how memory works in everyday life and reductionist!!!
• applications?

  idea of rehearsal helping memory is used in educational practices (exams)
• alternative theory?

  working memory model