Essay
Outline and evaluate the multi-store model of memory
A level psychology 16 mark essay full marker on memory.
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Discuss the multi-store model of memory, refer to research evidence in your answer (16marks)
The multi-store model of memory was first created by Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin
in 1968 and consists of three memory stores, linked to each other by the processes that
enable transfer of information from one store to the next.
The first store of the multi-store memory is referred to as the sensory register. The sensory
register is where information is held at each of the senses and the corresponding areas of
the brain. The sensory registers are constantly receiving information, however, without
attention it remains in the sensory register for a very short duration of a few milliseconds. In
contrast, the capacity of the sensory register is extremely large.
The second store is the short-term memory. Information is transferred here from the
sensory register when attention is given to it. In this store, any information is used for
immediate tasks, such as remembering the directions to a friend’s house. This is because
our short-term memory has a very limited duration of around 18 seconds and will decay if it
isn’t rehearsed. This was demonstrated in a study by Lloyd and Margaret Peterson in which
they showed that participant’s ability to recall a consonant syllable was very limited from 18
seconds onwards. If new information enters our short-term memory, it will displace any
information currently in there due to the limited capacity of the short-term memory.
However, if information is continuously repeated, the process of maintenance rehearsal will
eventually create a long-term memory. Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that there was a
direct relationship between maintenance rehearsal in the STM and the strength of the LTM.
Our LTM is potentially unlimited in capacity and duration and encodes semantic memories.
To get information from our LTM to STM for use, a process of retrieval must be undergone.
A strength of the multi-store model of memory is all the controlled lab evidence supporting
the capacity, duration, and coding of a separate long-term and short-term store, which is
the basis of the multi-store model. These include Llyod and Margaret Peterson’s study as
mentioned above as well as Bahrick’s study on the duration of LTM. In this study, Bahrick
tested several people of various ages on their memory of their classmates, finding that there
was a 90% accuracy in identifying faces within 15 years of graduating and a 70% accuracy
after 48 years. Further studies using brain scanning techniques have also demonstrated that
the short-term memory and long-term memory are separate from one another. For
example, Beardsley (1997) found that the prefrontal cortex is active during STM but not LTM
tasks and Squire et al (1992) found that the hippocampus is active when long-term memory
is engaged. However, lab studies to suffer from low ecological validity, making it hard for
these studies to represent real life situations.
Psychologists have also demonstrated that different areas of the brain are involved in STM
and LTM through case studies on individuals with brain damage. One case involved a man
known as HM who had brain damage caused by an operation to remove the hippocampus
from both sides to treat epilepsy. As a result of this operation, HM was unable to form new
long-term memories but could remember events prior to the surgery. This is in line with the
evidence provided by Squire et al (1992) linking the hippocampus to our long-term
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