AQA A Level Psychology - Multi-store Model of Memory PDF

Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources AQA A Level Psychology Your notes Multi-store Model of Memory & Types of Long-Term Memory Contents Multi-store Model of Memory (MSM) Types of Long-term Memory...

Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources AQA A Level Psychology Your notes Multi-store Model of Memory & Types of Long-Term Memory Contents Multi-store Model of Memory (MSM) Types of Long-term Memory Page 1 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Multi-store Model of Memory (MSM) Your notes Sensory register: coding, capacity & duration The multi-store model of memory (MSM) was proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968-1971) MSM describes a system for how memories are made and stored There are three stores: Sensory register Short-term memory Long-term memory The stores are linked by processes that enable information to flow from each store The multi-store model of memory - A Level psychology diagram Sensory register The sensory register (SR) (also referred to as sensory memory) is where all sensory information from the environment passes into or is held There are five senses that our body detects Eyes for sight Ears for sounds Nose for smell Tongue for taste Skin for touch/pressure Page 2 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources There are several registers (stores) within the brain for each of the senses Coding Your notes Coding is how the memory is stored e.g. acoustic codes, visual codes or semantic codes Coding in the SR depends on the sense involved, it is therefore modality-specific, e.g. Iconic memory is the register/store coding for visual information Echoic memory is the register/store coding for acoustic (sound) information Coding in the SR depends on the sense involved Capacity Capacity refers to how much data can be held in the memory store The SR has a very high capacity, e.g. the cells in the eye contain over 100 million cells, each storing visual data Duration Duration is how long a memory is held within a store Most sensory information is only held within the SR for milliseconds This is because the brain receives millions of pieces of information from the SR every second The brain would find it impossible to retain or give attention to this amount of data, nor does it need to Attention Attention is a key process connecting the SR to the short-term memory store (STM) Page 3 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources If attention is paid to the information passing into the SR then it can be passed onto STM Short-term memory: coding, capacity & duration Your notes Information that enters the short-term memory (STM) is used for present and immediate tasks e.g. for following directions or recalling someone's name immediately after learning it Coding Information entering the STM is typically acoustic (Baddeley 1966) Capacity The capacity of short-term memory is limited, only a certain number of items can be remembered through the STM Research (Miller 1956) suggests the capacity of STM is between five to nine items Miller's 'magic number 7' refers to this capacity (STM can hold 7 items at once + or - 2) Duration STM has a limited duration, around 18 seconds (unless the information is rehearsed) This means that STM is a temporary memory store Rehearsal For information to be passed from STM into long-term memory (LTM) it must be rehearsed Maintenance rehearsal is a surface-level repetition of the information (e.g. repeating a phone number in your head) Elaborative rehearsal involves deeper processing (e.g. learning lines for a play) Long-term memory: coding, capacity & duration Long-term memory is a permanent memory store of past events or items, e.g. your first day at primary school a birthday party or celebration the name of your favourite teacher To recall information that has passed into LTM it must be accessed and transferred to STM, this is known as retrieval Coding Information in LTM is coded semantically (based on meaning) Page 4 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Capacity The capacity of LTM is potentially unlimited Your notes Duration Duration is thought to be for the lifetime of each individual Items in LTM may be prone to forgetting Some research suggests that the memory was never actually stored in LTM in the first place i.e. it was displaced from STM Some LTMs may be unavailable i.e. resistant to retrieval This means that some memories in LTM decay Research using brain scanning techniques indicates that STM and LTM may be stored in different brain regions which may explain their differing durations Evaluation of multi-store model of memory in A Level Psychology Strengths Controlled lab studies on coding, capacity and duration support the theory of having separate memory stores Baddeley (1966) tested the recall of four groups of participants with different lists of words Baddeley found that similar-sounding (acoustic) words can get mixed up when using STM, but similar-meaning (semantic) words get mixed up when using LTM This suggests that there is a clear distinction between STM and LTM The case study of HM who suffered from epilepsy and underwent brain surgery to correct this, removing his hippocampus Following this surgery, HM could remember events and some information and details from before the surgery (LTM) but he could not form new memories (STM could not be transferred to LTM) This adds weight to the argument that the brain uses separate regions or structures for STM and LTM Limitations The MSM may be too simple: Research suggests that STM and LTM are made up of more than one store Page 5 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources The working memory model supports the above idea, as it includes five components of STM Much of the research into the MSM uses artificial tasks such as recalling a string of digits/letters Your notes Baddeley (1966)used artificial stimuli instead of meaningful material This suggests there is a limited application to real world memory use The use of artificial tasks and application means that the study lacks ecological validity Worked Example Here is an example of an AO3 question you might be asked on this topic. AO3: You need to analyse and evaluate key concepts, ideas, theories and research. Q. Evaluate the multi-store model of memory. [5 marks] Model answer: The MSM has been supported by both lab experiments and single case studies of brain- damaged patients; [1 mark] the results of which have pointed to there being two separate storage facilities for STM and LTM; [1 mark] The MSM does not explain how it is possible to remember some information without rehearsing it or why rehearsed information can be forgotten; [1 mark] Research shows that SM, STM and LTM are usually encoded in different forms and also differ in their duration and capacity; [1 mark] The MSM is an oversimplified account of memory, which does not provide details as to the nature of each memory type; [1 mark] Page 6 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Types of Long-term Memory Your notes Episodic, semantic & procedural Long-term memory consists of three stores Episodic Semantic Procedural Episodic memory Episodic memories (EM) recall events or "episodes" in the life of a person This involves personal events and experiences that have happened to an individual EM are time-stamped and often linked to a specific location, e.g. 'When I was five years old I broke my collar-bone falling from a tree in my grandma's garden' Emotions felt at the time of the event may also be remembered, e.g. 'I remember feeling frightened when I fell and then I cried until my grandma gave me an ice lolly: I felt fine after that!' The wider context of the event may also be part of the memory: relatives that were there, what clothing was worn, the weather, e.g. welcoming home a new pet as a child visiting a friend in hospital last week what was eaten for dinner last night Page 7 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Your notes Recalling what was eaten for dinner last night is an example of an episodic memory Semantic memory The semantic memory store recalls memories of facts and the meaning of the world around us Semantic memories are not time-stamped The memories are often not personal, e.g. knowing that the capital city of France is Paris knowing that daffodils are yellow knowing that 2 x 10 = 20 Procedural memory Page 8 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Procedural memories store how to carry out certain tasks or skills Little conscious thought is required to recall these memories Your notes The memory of the task or skill is formed from lots of practice and rehearsal, e.g. riding a bike tying a shoelace driving a car Examiner Tips and Tricks Be sure to learn some examples of each type of long-term memory as this is a common exam question with easy marks available. Evaluation Strengths There are supporting studies which give evidence for the idea of different memory stores for LTM: The case study of HM: HM suffered from epilepsy and underwent brain surgery to correct this, removing his hippocampus The findings show that episodic memory was affected by brain damage, however semantic memory and procedural memory were not The case study of Clive Wearing who contracted a virus of the brain, shows that he was able to retain procedural memory (e.g. he could remember how to play the piano) but he did not retain episodic memories (e.g. he could not remember learning to play the piano) Brain scans indicate that each type of LTM may be stored in different areas of the brain Episodic memory is associated with the hippocampus Semantic memory is associated with the temporal lobe Procedural memory is associated with the cerebellum This clinical evidence is high in reliability as it is objective i.e. scientific Limitations Page 9 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers  Head to www.savemyexams.com for more awesome resources Case studies cannot be generalised beyond their immediate subject to the general population This weakens their use as supporting evidence for separate LTM stores as a sample of one Your notes participant cannot come near to being representative of a wider population There are some cross-overs between episodic and semantic memories e.g. learning French at school is both semantic (understanding the language) and episodic (time-stamped to school experience) This suggests that LTM (three separate stores) is actually more complex Page 10 of 10 © 2015-2025 Save My Exams, Ltd. · Revision Notes, Topic Questions, Past Papers