Multi - Store Model of Memory Evaluation

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  • Created by: Saf2202
  • Created on: 27-10-18 11:18

Multi - Store Model of Memory Evaluation

Advantages

  • A major strength of the MSM is that it is supported by research studies that show STM and LTM are indeed qualitatively different. E.g. Baddeley (1966) found that we tend to mix up words that sound similar when we are using our STMs. But we mix up words that have similar meanings when we use our LTM's.
  • The strength of this study is that it clearly shows that coding in STM is acoustic and in LTM it is semantic. So, they are different, and this supports the MSM's view that these two memory stores are seperate and independent.

Disadvantages

  • The MSM states that STM is a unitary store, in other words there is only one type of short - term memory. However, evidence from people suffering amnesia shows that this cannot be true. The working memory model is a better explanation for this finding because it includes separate stores.
  • The unitary STM is a limitation of MSM because research shows that at the very least there must be one short - term store to process visual information and another one to process auditory information. The working memory model includes these separate stores.
  • According to MSM, what matters in rehearsal is the amount of it that you do. So the more you rehearse some information (e.g. a list of words), the more likely you are to transfer it to LTM and remember it for a long time.
  • Craik and Watkins (1973) argued there two types of rehearsal - maintenance and elaborate. Maintenance is the one described in the MSM. But elaborative rehearsal is needed for long term storage. This occurs when you link information to your existing knowledge, or process it. This is a very serious limitation of the MSM because it is another research finding that cannot be explained by the model.
  • They discovered that there are two types of rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal is the type described in the MSM, but this does not transfer information into LTM. Just maintains it in STM. Elaborative rehearsal is needed for long - term storage. This occurs when you link the information to your existing knowledge, or you think about what it means. This is a very serious limitation of the MSM because it is another research finding that cannot be explained by the model.
  • A lot of the research studies that provide support for the MSM used no materials from real - life. Instead they used digits, letters and sometimes words. They even used what are known as consonant syllables that have no meaning. This suggests the MSM lacks external validity. Research findings may reflect how memory works with meaningless material in lab testing, but does not reflect how memory mainly works in real life.
  • There is a lot of research evidence that LTM is not a unitary store. We have one LTM store for memories of facts about the world (semantic), and a different one for memories of how to ride a bike (episodic).

Evaluation

Overall there seems to be more limitations than advantages of the multi - store model of memory, as it is oversimplified, and also it suggests that there is more than one type of STM, however KF study suggests there must be one short - term store to process visual information and another to process auditory information.

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