Multi Store Model

Calvin Laverick

Why have a model?

• A model is useful so we can test and investigate how memory works.– Without one, this would be very difficult because

the mind is not a physical thing.

3 Key Concepts

• You need to know the meaning of the following to understand the following slides:– Capacity

• This is how much information the store in question can hold.

– Duration• This is for how long the store can hold the information.

– Encoding• This is how the information is stored in the memory.

– An example of this is audio stimuli are encoded as auditory memories.

The Multi Store Model (MSM)

• Proposed by Atkinson And Schiffrin in 1968.• The following picture, also found as a visual

recall aid, is a visual representation of the MSM.

• It is a structural model.– This is because it focuses on the memory as

something with several structures.

Sensory Memory (SM)

• Very limited Capacity• Very Brief Duration• It interprets the environmental stimuli we deal with

every day.– This includes visual, semantic, touch and auditory

stimuli.• 3 sub stores within the SM:– Iconic (visual)– Echoic (auditory)– Haptic (touch)

Evidence For SM

• The evidence for the MSM can be found in the Sperling (1960) study.– The outline for this, and other studies, can be

found here.

Conclusions Of Research About The SM

• Items remain in the SM very briefly:– Thought to be less than 2 seconds.

• Information in the sensory memory is unprocessed.

• Information is passively registered in the SM:– We cannot control what enters it but we can choose

what we pay attention to and consequently what is passed on to out STM.

• There are separate stores for visual, audio and haptic stimuli.

Distinction Between STM and LTM

• The main differences between the 2 stores are:– Their duration– Their capacity– How information is encoded– How information is lost (forgetting)

Glanzer and Cunitz (1966)

• Possibly the most famous memory study.• This study showed that STM and LTM are separate

stores.• An outline can be found here.– This is an external link and will take you to the study

outline page of my website.• However, the graph on the next slide will assist with

understanding the functional disassociation effect without extensive knowledge of the experiment.

Other factors affecting one part of the serial position curve

• Glanzer (1972) found these factors which only affected the primary effect:– Rate of presentation:• The slower it was presented, the better the memory

performance.

– Age of the participant:• Elderly people remember fewer items than younger

people.

– Familiarity of Words:• More familiar words are remembered better.

Neuropsychological evidence for a distinction between STM and LTM.

• These are found in people who suffer memory deficits, usually as a result of accidents.

• The key studies are that of:– HM– KF

Milner (1966): HM

• HM was involved in an accident in which he had to have part of his temporal lobes and hippocampus removed.

• HM had a defective LTM and could not recall past events from the last 10 years. However he could recall 6 items after a short time.– This suggests that his STM was not damaged

however his LTM was impaired as he could not recall any long term memories.

Warrington (1970): KF

• KF was in a motorcycle accident. • This caused him to have an impaired LTM but

a fully functioning STM.

How are these evidence for the MSM?

• The studies of HM and KF are evidence for the multi store model as it shows that one store can be damaged whilst the others work.– This means it is a multi-store model instead of a

single store.

Capacity Of The LTM

• The LTM is accepted to have unlimited capacity as people can recall events from all throughout their life.– This is not including the concept of childhood

amnesia, this is something I hope to cover in a separate independent learning PowerPoint at some point.

Capacity Of The STM

• The STM is thought to have very little storage space and so it’s capacity is said to be low.

• Jacobs (1887) found that the average amount of items someone can hold in their STM is 7.– The items were then named “chunks” by George

Miller in his famous article “The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Seven”.• The external link to this can be found here.

Other Factors Affecting The STM

• Baddeley (1999)– Reading aloud increases the “memory trace”. This

is thought to be because it stores them also in the echoic store instead of just the iconic store.

• Naveh Benjamin and Ayres (1986)– Found that speakers who pronounced it in less

time, such as English compared to Arabic speakers, remember many more digits.

• Individual Differences

Duration Of The LTM

• Duration of memories in the LTM is thought to be unlimited.– This does not mean that it is not affected. It is

affected by many factors, age being the largest of these.• A study by Bahrick et al (1975) is detailed in a hidden

slide here.

Other Factors Affecting Duration In The LTM

• Experimental techniques:– As shown in the Bahrick et al study people may

remember better dependent on what kind of task they are given.• E.g. Recognition rather than recall.

• Nature of material to be learned:– Some things are just naturally easier to learn than

others.

Duration in the STM

• The STM is thought to only be able to hold information for a very short amount of time.– The key study for this is that of Peterson and

Peterson (1959).• A study outline for this can be found, on my website,

here.

Other Factors Affecting Duration of STM

• Rehearsal:– If something is rehearsed many times then it is

more likely to stay in the STM.• Intention to Recall:– Sebrechts et al (1989) found that if you intend to

recall the information then you are more likely to remember it.

• Amount of information to be recalled:– The less chunks, the better.

The 3 types of Encoding

• Encoding is what format a memory is stored in.• There are 3 kinds of encoding:– Acoustic Coding:

• The sound of a stimulus.

– Visual Coding:• The physical appearance of a stimulus.

– Semantic Encoding:• The meaning of the stimulus. This is also often known as

association.

Encoding In The LTM

• It is thought that semantic coding is usually used in the STM.– This is the meaning of an object.

• The main study for this is Baddeley (1966):– The link to this study outline can be found on my

website here.

Encoding In The STM

• STM mainly uses acoustic encoding.• The main study for this is that of Conrad

(1964).– The link to this study outline can be found on my

website here.

Strengths of the Multi Store Model (MSM)

• It can be applied to real world situations.• Allows research to be carried out on memory.– This is because it becomes a structure and not

simply an idea.

Weaknesses Of The Multi Store Model (MSM)

• It is too simplified.– This means it can not account for evidence against it.

• Does not account for the case study of KF.– This is because if his LTM was fully functional but not

his STM then he would not be able to recall long term information. He could.

• Takes no account of individual differences and takes no account of different things that need to be remembered.