Multi Store Memory Model

The Multi Store Memory Model (MSM) describes how information flows through the memory system which is made up of 3 stores.The sensory register consists of those received from our 5 senses. The two main parts are the iconic store - information is coded visually, and the echoic store - information is coded acoustically. The capacity of these stores is very high but their duration is very short - less than half a second. Very little of what goes into the sensory register passes further into the memory system unless you pay attention to it. STM has a limited capacity and can handle between 5 and 9 items of information. Information is coded acoustically in STM and lasts around 30 seconds unless it is rehearsed. Rehearsal loop/maintenance rehearsal occurs when we repeat information to ourselves. We can keep the information in our STMs as long as we rehearse it and if we rehearse it for long enough it gets passed to our LTM.LTM has an unlimited capacity and its duration is very long. When we want to recall information it has to be passed back to the STM through retrieval. No memories are retrieved directly from the LTM.

Supporting Research Evidence:Baddeley found that we tend to mix up words that have similar meanings when we use our LTM but we mix up words that sound similar when we use our STM. This shows coding in STM is acoustic and coding in LTM is semantic. This supports the MSM's view that these two memory stores are separate and independentProblems with the MSM:The MSM only identifies with one type of short term memory, however there could be more. Shallice and Warrington studied a patient (KF) who was suffering from amnesia. They found his recall of digits was very poor when they read them to him but much better when he read the digits himself. This shows that there may be a separate store for other types of information such as audio.The result of Craik and Watkins showed that repeating a list of words (maintenance rehearsal) does not lead to a commitment to LTM but reinforces retention in the STM. This requires relating the words to one's experience or thinking about its meaning (elaborative rehearsal) This cannot be explained by the MSM