The multi store model of memory

• What does the MSM propose?

  The MSM, developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968), proposes that memory consists of three separate stores: sensory register, short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Information flows linearly between these stores.
• What is the sensory register in the MSM?

  The sensory register is the first store where sensory information is held for a very brief time. It has a high capacity but a short duration of less than one second.
• Name two types of sensory registers.

  Iconic memory (visual information). 2. Echoic memory (auditory information)
• How does information pass from the sensory register to STM?


  Information must be paid attention to in order to move from the sensory register to STM.
• What are the characteristics of STM

  Capacity: 7±2 items (Miller, 1956). Duration: 18-30 seconds (Peterson & Peterson, 1959). Coding: Acoustic (Baddeley, 1966
• What is maintenance rehearsal in the MSM?

  Repeating information keeps it in STM and can transfer it to LTM if rehearsed enough.
• What are the characteristics of LTM?

  Capacity: Unlimited. Duration: Potentially lifelong (Bahrick et al., 1975). Coding: Semantic (Baddeley, 1966).
• How is information retrieved in the MSM?

  Information is transferred from LTM to STM when it is recalled.
• What are some criticisms of the MSM

  Oversimplifies memory: Assumes STM and LTM are unitary stores. 2. Ignores processes like the Working Memory Model (WMM). 3. Emphasis on rehearsal: Not all information requires rehearsal to enter LTM (e.g., flashbulb memories).
• What evidence challenges the MSM?

  KF case study (Shallice & Warrington, 1970): KF had impaired STM for verbal information but intact STM for visual information, suggesting STM is not unitary.
• How is the MSM applied in real life?

  It helps in understanding how to improve memory through rehearsal and designing effective educational strategies (e.g., chunking to improve STM capacity).
• Murdock


  Murdock’s study supports the MSM as he developed the serial position effect where the positions of words in a list affects how likely it is to be recalled . The primacy effect ( people remember the first five words from the beginning of the list) suggests that information must be rehearsed for it to be transferred to the long-term memory and has more time to go through. The recency effect ( remembering the last five words from the end of the list is better recalled as it is in STM . This supports the validity of the MSM.