outline and evaluate the multi-store model of memory
The Multi-store model of memory
The Multi-store model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968. It describes the structural features of the memory system, and various control processes used by individuals to manipulate the information flowing through the system. It uses the theory that memory is characterized as a flow of information. The system is divided into a set of stages and information passes through each stage in a fixed sequence. There is capacity and duration limitations at each stage and the transfer of information between stages may sometimes require re-coding. The three stages the multi-store model comprises of are sensory, short-term and long-term memory.
External stimuli from the environment first enter sensory memory, where they can be registered for very brief periods of time before decaying. Information can only stay in the sensory memory for fractions of a second after the physical stimuli has gone, unless it is given attention, in which case it is passed on to the short-term store. The short-term memory contains only the small amount of information that is actually active ta any one time. The information is usually encoded acoustically. Memory traces in the short-term memory are fragile and can be lost within roughly 30 seconds through displacement or decay. To prevent this, information must be repeated and rehearsed so that it can be passed on to the long-term store.
Information in the long-term store can remain there for a lifetime. However loss is still possible from this store through decay, retrieval failure or interference. It is assumed that coding in the long-term memory is in terms of meaning i.e. semantic.
There are many strengths of the multi-store model. Firstly, it distinguishes between short-term and long-term stores in terms of duration, capacity and encoding. There has been evidence in support of these distinctions from case studies of individuals with brain damage that has given rise to memory
The Multi-store model of memory was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968. It describes the structural features of the memory system, and various control processes used by individuals to manipulate the information flowing through the system. It uses the theory that memory is characterized as a flow of information. The system is divided into a set of stages and information passes through each stage in a fixed sequence. There is capacity and duration limitations at each stage and the transfer of information between stages may sometimes require re-coding. The three stages the multi-store model comprises of are sensory, short-term and long-term memory.
External stimuli from the environment first enter sensory memory, where they can be registered for very brief periods of time before decaying. Information can only stay in the sensory memory for fractions of a second after the physical stimuli has gone, unless it is given attention, in which case it is passed on to the short-term store. The short-term memory contains only the small amount of information that is actually active ta any one time. The information is usually encoded acoustically. Memory traces in the short-term memory are fragile and can be lost within roughly 30 seconds through displacement or decay. To prevent this, information must be repeated and rehearsed so that it can be passed on to the long-term store.
Information in the long-term store can remain there for a lifetime. However loss is still possible from this store through decay, retrieval failure or interference. It is assumed that coding in the long-term memory is in terms of meaning i.e. semantic.
There are many strengths of the multi-store model. Firstly, it distinguishes between short-term and long-term stores in terms of duration, capacity and encoding. There has been evidence in support of these distinctions from case studies of individuals with brain damage that has given rise to memory