Outline and Evalutate the Multi Store Model of Memory

The MSM was proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968). They claimed that human memory can be organised into 3 stores: Sensory Memory, Short Term Memory (STM) and Long Term Memory (LTM). We are inundated with data but cannot attend to it all. Data first enters the Sensory Store and it does so through our 5 senses. As there is so much incoming data, we are very selective with what we attend to. Sherry explained this in his Cocktail Party Phenomena where a person may be surrounded by numerous conversations and cannot attend to all incoming data (the conversations) so will be involved with just the one conversation they are having. However, if their name is called across the crowed, noisy room, they will look up as they have selected to attend to it (as it means something to them). This shows that we do not attend to all data and that we are selective with what we do attend to.

If information IS attended to in sensory memory, it is transferred to STM where it will quickly disappear unless it is rehearsed. This is because STM has a very limited capacity and duration. The MSM stresses the importance of rehearsal here; if data is not actively rehearsed it will disappear. If it rehearsed it is transferred to LTM which is potentially limitless in terms of duration and capacity. Once in LTM, Atkinson and Shiffrin claim that data can stay until it is needed, at which point it can be retrieved by STM. Retrieval cues can help bring data from LTM to STM.

STM and LTM differ in terms of capacity, duration and encoding.

The capacity of STM is very limited. Jacobs found that STM can hold 5-9 items at any time, whereas the capacity of LTM is arguably limitless. Miller demonstrated that the capacity of STM can be increased through chunking techniques where an ‘item’ can comprise of more than a single item.

STM encodes acoustically as was found by Conrad but Baddeley found that LTM encodes semantically.

Peterson and Peterson found that the duration of STM was limited...