2 most important stores = brief temporary story (STM) & a permanent store (LTM)
STM has a limited capacity - it can only take in + process a small number of items
LTM = memories that have been well understood and practised. Has an unlimited amount of information
Types of LTM:
Episodic memory = memory for life events
Semantic memory = memory for facts
Procedural memory = memory for skills
1 of 4
Processes in memory
Memory = an active process
3 key process: Encoding, storage & retrieval
Encoding = taking new information into memory (input process)
Storage = process of maintaining information in temporary/permanent memory over time.
Retrieval = accessing the stored information when you need it. (Output process)
Ways information can be retrieved:
Recognition = the information is repeated and the person compares it to what is in their memory
Cued recall = the person gets a cue - a prompt/reminder of some kind.
Free recall = the person retrieves the infomation directly from memory
Memories are formed by repetition - it povides more chances for information to be encoded.
To build a new memory. the best way is to link the new item to what is understood already.
2 of 4
Multi store model of memory
The multi store model of memory (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968) proposed that these 2 stores are connected together via a process called rehearsal.
Sensory memory = a brief store, allowing sensations such as sounds and images to be retained for a moment
The multi store model states that this new sensory information can only be transferred from sensory to short - term memory if we pay attention to it.
The serial position curve (Murdock - 1962) - supports the msm
Results found that words at the start of the list were better remembered than those in the middle = primacy effect
Words at the end were better remembered too = recency effect
3 of 4
Evaluating MSM
Strengths:
People suffering from brain damage display evidence that STM and LTM are separate stores when they lose one but not the other
Studies do seem to support it, for example Terry's Study seems to suggest the two stores are separate.
Weakness:
The theory ignores individual differences, not everybody's memory is the same. For example, some may have a larger STM capacity than others. The theory does not explain this.
The theory places too much emphasis on rehearsal for LTM, but some is remembered without rehearsal for example childhood memories
The theory is an over simplistic view of the complex memory system, some people argue that the STM has sub-systems to deal with sound and visual information separately.
Comments
No comments have yet been made