Evaluation for Multi-Store Memory Model - contains principles of memory flow between stores, but very simplistic and therfore highly flawed

Sensory Register

Crowder
found the sensory register only retains info in iconic store for a few milliseconds, but in echoic store for 2-3 seconds - supports idea that info is coded into different sensory stores, for each of the 5 senses - proven by having different durartions of retention

Support - existance of Seperate STM and LTM stores

Shown to be qualitativly different in Baddley's study, we tend to mix up accousticaly simmilar words when using STM, but mix up semantically simmilar when using LTM. This study clearly shows coding in STM = accoustic and coding in LTM = semantic - they sre therefore sepertate and inderpendant, backs up two segments of model

Inacurate depiction of STM as a unitary store

Limmitation: stated to be a unitary store (one type of STM), however research critisises simplicity of this segment of the model


Research on Amnesia patient KF, conducted by Shallice and Warringtondisroves this: when digits were read out loud, his memory of them was very poor, but much better when he read them to himself, showing presence of seperate STM stores to process visual and auditory information

Inacuratly depicts effectivness of rehursal

MSM asumes the more you rehuse info in STM, the more likely it is to be transfered to LTM, however Craik and Watkins found the prediction to be incorrect and the type of rehersal is more important for effectivness, there are 2 types:

  • maintanance rehersal (described in MSM, retains in STM mainly, not very useful to transfer to LTM)
  • elaborative rehersal (link to past memories/schemas, attach meaning)

Different areas of brain involved in STM and LTM


Case study on HM, Scoville and Milner
HM had brain damage caused by operation removing hippocampus from both sides of brain to reduce his severe epilepsy


his personality and intellect remained the same, but couldn't form new long term memories, while still able to form short term memories (but had no recolection of after minutes) - couldn't transfer memories to LTM


he would read the same magazine over and over, after moving house it took him 6 years to memorise the route to his house, and experienced the grief of his mother dying over and over again


Supported by case study: as his ability to create short term memories remained intact, but couldn't transfer (using pathway located in the hippocampus) memory from STM to LTM (disconected link) - showing they are seperate and function differently in different parts of the brain, and memories are transfered into LTM using elaborative rehursal

Lack of validity in Studies used to support model, as Artificial Stimuli is used to test Memory

In everyday life we form memories related to things such as people's names and faces, facts, places, experiences...


However a lot of the research used to support this model don't have real life applicaton in memory recall as they insted test ppt's recall on digits, letters, consonant sylables and words - have no meaning attached - easy to standardise but don't reflect real life

Craik and Lockhart suggested elaborative processing is a key process involved in making a LTM that lasts a long time, rather than just maintainance rehursal, as when proessed deeply they become more memorable - use info to do more complicated things


Craik + Tulving - participants given list of nouns and asked a question: that involved either shallow or elaborative processing - better recall for words proccessed elaboratively

STM doesn't always come before LTM

Logie pointed out that STM equaly relies on LTM - unlike in the MSM which suggests STM is used before LTM


For example in order to chunck a group of letters with a collective meaning 'AQA', 'BBC'; you must reacall the meaningful group which is stored in LTM

LTM is not actualy a unitary store either

  • storage of semantic memories, about the world around us is explained by maintanance rehursal


  • this doesn't explain how Episodic memories (things you have experienced) are stored in LTM

Tulving proposed that there are infact 3 qualitively different LTM stores, containing different types of information

Eposodic Memory

  • events experieced in life
  • concious/ declaritive/ explicit way of accesing info
  • personal
  • time-stamped, remember distinct moment

Semantic Memory

  • info about world (facts, figures)
  • socialy relevent facts; peoples names, meaning of words
  • concious/ declarative/ explicit