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A 16 mark essay on the MSM for the memory topic in AQA A level Psychology
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This document is a 16 mark essay from when I did my A levels on the multi-store model of memory with reference to case studies.
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Discuss the multi-store model of memory. Refer to case studies in your answer (16 marks)The multi-store model of memory, proposed by Attkinson and Shiffrin, states that memory is consisted of
three stores; sensory memory, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). Information is
detected by the sensory organs and enters the sensory memory store whereby an unlimited amount of
information can be held for a duration of 250 milliseconds. The encoding for this store is sense specific.
Following this, the model states that if the information is paid attention to, it enters STM. This store is
acoustically encoded with a duration of 18-30 seconds and a capacity of 5-9 items. This information is only
transferred to LTM if the information is rehearsed and if maintenance rehearsal does not occur, the
information is forgotten. LTM is encoded semantically and has an unlimited duration and capacity. The
model states that we can access the information located in LTM through retrieval as it enters our STM
again.
One case study that supports the model is the study of HM who underwent surgery due to the fact he
developed severe seizures as a result of his epilepsy. During this surgery, his hippocampus was accidentally
removed and he was unable to form new memories afterwards, therefore suggesting his LTM had been
damaged. However, his STM remained intact which meant he couldn’t transfer any new information from
STM into his LTM. This supports the model as it shows that the long term and short term memories are
two distinct stores.
Another case study is Clive Wearing, who of which suffers from chronic anterograde and retrograde
amnesia. He lacks the ability to form new memories and also cannot recall aspects of past memories but he
can still read music and play a piano. Therefore, this case study may indicate that the model is an
oversimplification because the fact he can still read music and play the piano, suggests there are different
types of LTM such as procedural, episodic and semantic. The model only proposes one LTM store.
Another strength of the model is that brain scanning techniques provide supporting evidence that we do
have more than one memory store, as the model suggests. Beardsley found that during memory tasks, the
prefrontal cortex is active during STM but not LTM tasks whereas Squire et al found the hippocampus
active when LTM was engaged.
A negative criticism of the model is that lasting memories may be created by the depth of processing you
do rather than maintenance rehearsal as the model suggests. Craik and Tulving gave participants a list of
nouns with a processing task to do and then found that participants recalled more words when the task
involved deep processing. This proves that deep processing is essential for making LTM and the model may
be an over simplification.
In support of the model, Baddeley conducted an experiment on the coding of words in STM and LTM and
found that acoustic coding is used in STM whereas semantic coding is used in LTM. This therefore supports
the idea of separate memory stores that the model proposes.
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