Multi store memory model

What does memory mean?

• Memory is the process of encoding, storing and retrieving information.
• However there are 5 stages of memory which is: input, encoding, storage, retrieval and output.

How does the MSM work?

• The multistore model is a model by Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968, it proposes that there is one single unit in order for memory to be processed.
• This is through the stage of:
• environmental stimuli,
• sensory memory,
• attention,
• short term memory,
• maintenance rehearsal or elaborative rehearsal
• and long term memory.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oATZz_pTa5g (Enclavar)

Sensory memory

• Environmental stimuli such as taste, smell, noise is detected by the sensory organs then encoded into the sensory memory.
• The techinical terms for each sense includes:
• ionicic memory- visualising and sights
• haptic memory- touching and muscle tensions
• echoic- acoustic and hearing
• Also factory and taste.
• However the duration only lasts upto 2 secs maximum, but the capacity is very large.
• Studies which supports this includes:
• Sperling 1960
• He presented a grid of letters for less than a second using a tachiscope.
• On average people recalled 4 letters, which also showed that information decayed in 2 seconds.
• Evidence for duration^

Short term memory

• If the experience is given attention then it is transported into the short term memory.
• The encoding is acoustically, even if it is presented visually.
• The capacity is not huge, it is 5-9 digits or 7+ or -2 digits. However the duration only lasts upto 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed (into the long term memory).
• The main studies that support this include:
• Encoding : Conrad 1964
• Conrad presented participants letters one at a time and found that letters which were accoustically similar were hard to recall from the STm because it would be confusing. However letters which were accoustically dissimilar were easier to recall.
• Capacity:: Jacobs used digit span test 1887, continued to Miller 1996. who did a meta analysis and found the magic numbers. However can be increased by chunking.
• Duration: Peterson and Peterson 1959
• Ptps asked to recall trigrams after longer and longer intervals (used brown peterson technique to prevent rehearsal). Found that after 30 seconds participants could not recall.

Long term memory

• Anything that is repeated is called maintenance rehersal and elaborative rehearsal is the systematic way of rehearsing something- known to get stored in the LTM.
• The encoding of the long term memory is semantically (with meaning). Also both capacity and duration is unlimited.
• Studies to support this includes:
• Encoding- Baddeley 1966, found that words which were semantically similar had lower recalls compared to sematically dissimilar due to confusion
• Duration- Bahrick 1975
• Graduates were asked to recall their classmates faces after 15 years and there was 90% accuracy. Also after 48 years 80% recalled names and 70% faces. Implying that the duration is of a lifetime and the capacity is potentially unlimited.

The serial position effect

• The serial position effect is also known as he primacy and recency effecy.
• This is introduced by Glazer and Cuitz 1960.
• Basicallly the primacy effect is when words are remembered because they are stored in the LTM by rehearsal.
• Whereas the recency effect. The words in between are lost due to displacement.