MSM and WWM

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The Multi Store Memory Model ( Atkinson + Shiffrin 1968)

Short term memory (STM):

Encoding= acoustic capacity= 5-9 items duration=18-30 seconds(without rehearsal)

Long term memory (LTM)

Encoding=semantic capacity=unknown duration=relatively permanent

Outline the MSM A01 (6marks)

* The MSM is a LINEAR and SEQUENTIAL model which contains THREE UNITARY STORES. These stores are SEPARATE. They are the SM, STM and LTM

* Information starts in the sensory memory, coming here from the senses. If ignored it is lost, if attention is paid the info is passed on to the STM.

* The STM has a capacity of 5-9 items, a duration of 18-30 seconds, and encodes acoustically. The information can be kept for longer in the rehearsal loop by using MAINTENANCE REHEARSAL. This extends the duration.

* Forgetting occurs here through decay (end of duration) or displacement (lack of capacity)

* Elaborative rehearsal sends the information to the LTM. This store has a lifetime duration, a large capacity, and encodes semantically. Information can be forgotten here due to retrieval failure.

Evaluate the MSM (6 marks)

For:

1) Point: Glanzer and Cunitz(1966) research supports the MSM of memory with their " primary recency effect"

Evidence: They found the first words from a list (primary) were remembered as ppts had time to rehearse them

Evaluation: this shows that rehearsal DOES mean words are placed in the LTM

Evidence 2#: they found that the last words in the list of words (recency) were remembered in the STM

Evaluation 2#: this means that words are stored in the rehearsal loop. Only a small number were remembered here ( capacity of STM) and if ppts completed a distraction task these were forgotten ( decay due to short duration of STM)

2) Point: Baddeley (1966) supports the MSM with his research into encoding

Evidence: He found that when ppts were asked to recall a list of words in order that sounded similar, the ppts really struggled

Evaluation: This means that because the ppts mixed words up with similar sounds this shows they were encoding the words by how they sound. Therefore STM RELIES HEAVILY ON ACOUSTIC ENCODING.

3) Point: Case study on KF supports the MSM

Evidence: KF was in a motor cycle accident and was shown to have a damaged STM but his LTM still wotked.

Evaluation: This shows that the LTM and STM are unitary and separate- which is what the MSM states.

4)Point : Peterson and Peterson (1959) supports the MSM with their investigation into STM

Evidence: In their experiment where rehearsal was prevented, only 10% of people could recall the trigram after 18 seconds.

Evaluation: Short-term memory has a limited duration when rehearsal is prevented. It is thought that this information is lost from short-term memory from trace decay. The results of the study also show the short-term memory is different from long-term memory in terms of duration. Thus supporting the multi-store model of memory.

Against:

1) Point: A case study on KF contradicts the MSM. The MSM says that STM is unitary but it is wrong.

Evidence: KF showed damage in the verbal part of the STM and not the visual part

Evaluation: Therefore there are multiple parts to the STM; it is not unitary. It must be made up of more than one component Therefore the MSM of memory is incorrect.

2) Point: another criticism of the MSM is that us suggest rehearsal is the only means of transferring information from the STM to the LTM.

Evidence: you are able to remember things that are very memorable. For example, things that are very upsetting or things that have made you very happy.

Evaluation: The MSM of memory can not account for this so the concept of rehearsal is too simplistic.

T

The working memory model- Baddeley and Hitch (1974)

The different components:

Central executive.

Phonological loop (phonological store and articulatory control system).( capacity/ duration of 2 seconds) .

episodic buffer.

visuospatial sketch pad.

Central executive: This is the key component for working memory which deals with tasks requiring attention. Is responsible for monitoring and coordinating the operation of the slave systems. Decides with information is attended to and which parts of the working memory to send that information to, to be dealt with.

Phonological loop:

Phonological store: acts as the inner ear and holds information in speech- based form for 1-2 seconds

Articulatory control system: acts as the inner voice rehearsing information from the phonological store. As long we keep repeating it, we can retain the information in working memory. Also converts written material into an articulatory code and transfers it to the phonological loop.

Episodic buffer: acts as a back up store which communicates with both LTM and the components of working memory.

Visuospatial sketch pad: acts as an inner eye that deals with visual and spatial information. stores 2D and 3D images.

Outline the WMM AO1 ( 6 marks)

For:

1) Point: The case study of KF supports the WMM as the WMM says the STM is not unitary and the two slave systems are separate.

Evidence: KF was in a motorcycle accident and showed damage in the verbal part of his STM so has difficulty remembering what someone has said even for a few seconds but his visual part of his STM is in tact and so is his LTM

Evaluation: This shows there are multiple parts to the STM and it is not unitary therefore the WMM is correct.

Evaluation 2: This also shows that the two slave systems really are separate since we can damage one and not the other.

2) Point: Smith and Jonides (1999) findings support the WMM.

Evidence: Found that brain scans show brain activity in one side of the brain when ppts did visual taks and activity in the other side when the ppts did verbal tasks.

Evaluation: Therefore the slave systems really separate as the brain scan shows the VSS and PL are in separate parts of the brain.

Points 1 and 2 shows that the model predicts that you can use both slave systems at once ( multi-tasking by doing a visual and verbal task at once)

3) Point: Dual task experiments support the WMM (eg Gathercole and Baddeley 1993)

Evidence: ppts who were asked to follow a moving point of light while performing a verbal task could do this easily . ppts who had to follow the light and perform a visual task ( eg describing) found it difficult.

Evaluation: This shows two separate slave systems can be used simultaneously. But it also shows that on slave system cannot do two tasks because it has limited capacity.

Against:

1)Point: There is little known about the CE. It is supposed to have limited capacity

Evidence: Little is known about the CE. it is not clear on HOW it works or WHAT it does. Our understanding of this component is vague and it has not been verified clearly with scientific research

Evaluation: As the MAIN PART of the model is not explained, then this model is not finished and might be wrong!

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