Multi-store model of memory

• Multi-Store Model of Memory (MSM)


  Also known as the "Three Stage Model", proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968
• Multi-Store Model of Memory

  • Information within memory travels in a linear way through three distinct stores of memory which are separate and function independently
  • Memory is viewed as coming from information within our environment which then transfers to short-term and long-term memory stores
  • The concept of rehearsal is an important aspect of the MSM as it is needed to keep the information within STM, but also to transfer information from STM to LTM
• Information categorised in each memory store

  • Amount of information held (Capacity)
  • How long the information is stored for (Duration)
  • The way/form in which the information is represented (Encoding)
• Sensory Register Store


  • Constantly receives information from the environment and is coded through an individual's senses
  • Information is modality specific (e.g. sight, hearing)
• Sensory store can potentially hold lots of information but it decays and is lost rapidly after a few seconds
• Most information entering the sensory store receives no attention and will be forgotten as it decays over time, however information which is attended to will transfer into the short term memory
• Jacobs (1887) found the capacity of STM is between 5 and 9 items
• As people get older, their ability to hold information in STM appears to decrease
• Short-Term Memory (STM) Store

  • Information which has been attended to transfers from the Sensory register store into STM
  • Information in STM is coded mainly through a sound format, not meaning
  • STM has a limited capacity of 6-12 items unless chunking occurs to increase capacity
  • Information in STM does not remain there for very long and has a limited duration of 20 seconds unless maintenance rehearsal occurs to increase duration
• A lot of information within STM is forgotten through displacement (being 'pushed out'), however if information which is lovingly rehearsed will be transferred into LTM
• Long-Term Memory (LTM) Store


  • Information which has been elaboratively rehearsed enters LTM
  • Information in LTM is coded mainly through making sense of the information by meaning
  • LTM can hold a lot of information and has a potentially unlimited capacity
  • Information in LTM remains there for a very long time and has a potentially unlimited duration
• It is possible that information within LTM is lost temporarily through issues with accessibility and retrieval failure rather than through permanent forgetting
• The MSM oversimplifies memory as information which was not rehearsed can still be retrieved from LTM, and information which has been rehearsed can sometimes not be retrieved
• Gist memories and flashbulb memories, which do not need rehearsing, are more likely to be remembered
• Laboratory experiments used to evaluate the MSM have low ecological validity as recalling words and digits does not reflect how memory is used in everyday life
• Case studies on individuals with amnesia provide in-depth information about how memory works, but the findings may lack generalizability in explaining everybody's experience of memory