AO3 - Atkinson and Shiffrin's Multi-store Model

• Research to support Atkinson and Shiffrin’s multi-store model of memory comes from a case study of Clive Wearing. He suffers from amnesia in which he cannot transfer information from his STM to his LTM, this is evident as when his wife re-enters the room after leaving just seconds before, he greets her as if it is the first time he has seen her in years. This supports the multi-store model of memory because it shows that STM and LTM are separate stores, and that information must flow through in a linear way, first to STM then LTM.
• However, critics would argue that the case study to support the MSM is flawed, as it has low population validity. The research was a case study of just one person, Clive Wearing, who has an unusual illness involving damage to the brain. Therefore, it is difficult to generalise the findings to the wider population as their memory may operate differently, thus limiting the support that the research provides for the multistore model of memory, lowering the external validity.
• The multi-store model’s theory of rehearsal has been questioned. The theory states that the more a piece of information is rehearsed, the more likely it is to transfer from STM to LTM. However, some research has shown that this rehearsal will only keep information in the STM and for information to be transferred to LTM, elaborative rehearsal must take place. This occurs when the information is given a meaning. It is also argued that some information is remembered without rehearsal, for example an emotionally important event. Therefore, the multi-store model is flawed when explaining rehearsal.