DESCRIBE AND EVALUATE THE MULTI-STORE MODEL OF MEMORY
Task! Label the diagram below:
Who came up with the idea of the multi-store model of memory? What year?
Each part of the multi-store model has different qualities, relating to the capacity, duration and type of encoding that
occurs.
What does ‘capacity’ mean, in relation to memory?
What does ‘duration’ mean, in relation to memory?
What does encoding mean, in relation to memory?
The multi-store model was the first theory that attempted to explain how we retain information in our memory, and
why we forget some information, and remember other information for a long period of time.
Describe the sensory memory store, using capacity, duration and encoding:
You can also talk about the difference between echoic and iconic modalities.
Describe the short-term memory store, using capacity, duration and encoding:
Describe the long-term memory store, using capacity, duration and encoding:
EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF SENSORY MEMORY:
Sperling (1960) conducted experiments into iconic memory, and how long it lasts. Outline the findings of this research
below. How does this support the MSM?
EVIDENCE FOR THE EXISTENCE OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF ENCODING IN SHORT-TERM AND LONG-TERM
MEMORY:
Research into semantic encoding in long term memory
Baddeley (1966) presented participants with four lists to remember:
List 1: man map can cap
List 2: try pig hut pen List 1 contains similar sounding words and list 2
List 3: great big huge wide contains non similar sounding words. When
List 4: run easy tug end participants were then asked to recall words after
Participants had to recall as many words as twenty minutes they recalled list 4 better than list
possible immediately after presentation of lists 3, list 4 contains words with non similar meaning
and then try again 20 minutes later. words and list 3 contains words with similar
Baddeley found that the immediate recall was meanings.
better for list 2 than for list 1 and with little There was little difference in recall for lists 1 and
difference in recall between lists 3 and 4. 2.
Outline the procedures, findings and conclusions of these experiments (include both STM and LTM).
What are the methodological issues with this research?
RESEARCH INTO THE CAPACITY OF SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
Miller (1956) came up with the idea of the ‘magic number 7’. Explain:
355, 352, RESEARCH INTO THE DURATION OF SHORT-TERM MEMORY:
349, 346,
343,
Peterson and Peterson (1959) aimed to find out the duration of short-term memory by
340… preventing the rehearsal of information. They gave participants lists of nonsense trigrams to
remember (like BLM and TVP), and then asked them to count backwards in 3s from a random
3 digit number. They did this for either 3, 6, 9. 12. 15 or 18 seconds.
Outline the findings below, making sure to discuss what this tells us about the
MSM:
RESEARCH INTO THE DURATION OF LONG-TERM MEMORY:
Bahrick et al. (1975): very long-term memories — a study of duration in LTM
Aim To study very long-term memories in a real-life setting.
Procedures There were three tasks:
1 In a free recall test, 392 people were asked to list the names of their ex-classmates.
2 In a photo recognition task, participants were shown photographs of their ex-classmates and asked if they could
remember the names.
3 In a name recognition task, participants were given names of their ex-classmates and asked to find the matching
photographs.
Findings Within 15 years of leaving school, participants were 60% accurate in the free recall task and could recognize
90% of the faces and names. Within 48 years of leaving school, participants were 30% accurate in the free recall task
and could recognise 75% of the faces and names. Free recall memory had declined more than photo and name
recognition memory.
Which test produced more accurate recall? Why?
What results did they get in relation to years out of school? When did recall start to decline?
What does this show about LTM and the MSM?
Are there any problems with this research?
Evidence from case studies of brain damaged patients:
Both KF and Clive Wearing suffered memory damage as a result of either accident or illness, which affected the brain.
Outline the memory deficits in these two men, and decide whether these cases support or go against (or both!) the
MSM.
EVALUATION:
Obviously the multi-store model of memory does not give a full picture of memory. Generally evaluate the strengths
and weaknesses of this model below: