When psychologists refer to a dual store model of memory they are referring to a model that?

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Multi-Store Model of Memory

Having memories is a natural part of being human. We all have them, whether positive or negative, short or long-term, and we acquire them through life experiences. But how do these experiences get stored as memory? What is the process behind memorising your notes for an exam? And how does this process differ from learning your phone number for a longer period? Several models have attempted to explain long and short-term memory. Here we will outline and describe the multi-store model of memory (MSM).

In this explanation, you will get an introduction to the Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) Multi-Store Model of Memory.
The multi-store model of memory will then be described.
Moving on from this, the explanation will outline and evaluate the Multi-Store Model of memory.
Then, the strengths and weaknesses of the multi-store memory model will be presented.
Last, the explanation will review the difference between the multi-store model of memory and working memory.

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) Multi-Store Model of Memory

The multi-store model of memory, also known as the modal model, was proposed byRichardAtkinsonandRichard Shiffrinin 1968. This is one of the earliest models of memory. The MSM describes the flow between three store components: ie., the process of placing newly acquired information into memory. Each of the store components has its characteristics.

Three variables can be used to describe the stores that information passes through: capacity, coding, and duration. First, capacity refers to the amount of information that can be stored in memory. Second, coding refers to how information from the environment is changed to store memory. Information entering the brain via the senses is stored in various forms.

There are three main ways in which information can be encoded:

Visual codingrefers to transferring information that you see to memory, for example, reading a map.
Acoustic codingrefers to transferring information that you hear to memory, for example, by listening to podcasts.
Semantic codingrefers to transferring meaning that you understand to memory, for example, the concept of infinity in maths.

Last, duration refers to the measure of how long the information is available for retrieval or lasts in the memory store.

Describe the Multi-Store Model of Memory

The MST has three-store components: the sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Each store is a unitary structure. Memory is formed sequentially, and information passes from one store component in the model to the next in a fixed and linear order.

Sensory Register

The sensory register (SR) is the first store in the MSM, which includes information from all five senses. Information is coded differently according to the senses, so five stores are in the sensory register. The main stores include iconic memory (visual information is coded visually) and echoic memory (auditory information is coded acoustically).

The capacity of the sensory register is substantial as it includes all sensory experiences. Sensory registers have a brief duration, lasting around ¼ to ½ a second. Information passes from the sensory register to short-term memory only when attention is paid to establishing the linear sequence.

Short-term Memory

Short-term memory (STM) has a limited duration. Information in STM will quickly decay if not rehearsed. Also, STM has a limited capacity of only 7 +/- 2 items; information will be displaced by new information entering STM. Information in the STM is coded mainly acoustically.

Rehearsal is needed to keep information in STM. This process is called maintenance rehearsal. Further prolonged rehearsal (a long rehearsal period) will move information from STM to long-term memory (LTM) to establish the linear sequence.

Long-term memory

Long-term memory (LTM) has potentially unlimited capacity and duration. Information in LTM is mainly coded semantically. Obtaining information from LTM entails the process of information travelling back through STM, known as retrieval. Forgetting can occur if you cannot locate the memory in LTM or if the memory was never made permanent in the first place.

	Sensory register (SM)	Short-term memory (STM)	Long-term memory (LTM)
Encoding	Different stores for each sense	Mainly acoustic	Mainly semantic
Capacity	Very larger capacity (Including all sensory experience)	7 +/- 2 items	Unlimited
Duration	¼ to ½ second	0-18 seconds	Lifetime

Outline and Evaluate the Multi-Store Model of Memory

The MSM has been tested in multiple psychological studies. The MSM has successfully explained behavioural change due to brain damage. In 2008, Wilson, Kopelmand and Kapur assessed patient CW, a professional musician who suffered from amnesia after being diagnosed with a neurological disorder.

Patient CW was able to recognise his handwriting as well as clips of himself. However, he reported not being conscious at the time of the clips. This case study provides evidence of a sensory register that processes memory from the sense.

Difference between the Multi-Model of Memory and Working Memory

Challenging Atkinson and Shiffrin's (1968) ideas. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed a working memory model (WMM). The central distinction of Baddeley and Hitch's (1974) theory was that they believed short-term memory did not consist of a single store but included multiple stores. The three components of short-term memory are:

The phonological loop: stores information in verbal form. It refers to the inner voice.
The phonological store: stores information from speech coming through the ear.
The visuospatial sketchpad: stores visual information and leads to visual memory.

Central executive: is the component that allocates information to any of the two memory stores. It is involved in other higher-order processing such as cognitive tasks including problem-solving or mental arithmetic. It can be seen as the memory organiser or boss who is involved in the most complex processes and organises information into the two memory stores.
Visuospatial Sketchpad: this is the working memory component that stores and processes visual information. The visuospatial sketchpad is central for humans to be able to navigate the world.
Phonological loop: this is the component in charge of semantic material both spoken and written. It has two subdivisions that deal with different information.
- The phonological store processes speech and stores words. This can be understood as the inner ear which holds information for a very short amount of time (1-2 seconds)
- The articulatory control process is the memory system in charge of the articulation and production of speech. It can be understood as the inner voice.

According to Baddeley and Hitch, information comes together at the central executive, creating a situation's whole picture. According to this model, information that is rehearsed in short-term memory will also be stored in long-term memory. Furthermore, Baddeley and Hitch explained that multi-tasking is only possible if two different components of working memory are involved.

For example, if a task requires an individual to use the visuospatial sketchpad, for example remembering the route from the grocery shop back home. Then the individual would not be able to also remember the route from home to school. However, if multi-tasking involves two memory stores, then it is possible. In this way, a person is able to listen to music and even sing along, while figuring out the route back home from the grocery store.

Similarities between the models	Differences across the models
Both models acknowledge that information comes in through the senses.	According to the MSM, there is a single short-term memory store while according to the WMM there are three short-term memory storage systems.
Both models acknowledge that short-term memory has a limiter capacity and duration.	The WMM includes the central executive which reflects how information comes together to build a bigger picture.
Both models acknowledge that the rehearsal of short-term memory leads to long-term memory.	The WMM can explain multi-tasking while the MSM cannot.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Multi-Store Memory Model

In this section, a critical evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the multi-store model of memory is presented.

In terms of weaknesses:

The fact that the MSM accounts for single memory storage of short and long-term memory allows the criticism of the model for its oversimplification. Other models like the WMW have provided evidence that these storage systems are not as simple as the MSM suggests.
The MSM explains the transfer between STM and LTM by means of rehearsal. Although rehearsal does play a role in this process, other factors such as motivation or strategic learning may be influencing the transfer of information from STM to LTM, and are not explained by the theory.

In what regards the strengths:

Despite the limitations, the MSM provided a good starting point for the explanation of the structure and process of the memory system.
The MSM was a pioneering model that inspired much research on memory.

Multi-store model of memory - Key takeaways

The MSM consists of 3 memory stores: sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
Through attention, information passes from the sensory register to short-term memory.
Through maintenance rehearsal, the information stays in short-term memory.
Through prolonged rehearsal, information passes from short-term memory to long-term memory.
The MSM was a pioneering model that inspired further research in the field of memory, but has been criticised for

Frequently Asked Questions about Multi-Store Model of Memory

The multi-store model is an explanation of memory presented by Atkinson and Shiffrin in which information is transmitted across three unitary (independent) memory stores in a linear sequence.

The multi-store model of memory was created by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968

The multi-store memory model starts with environmental stimuli. The sensory register (SR) is the first store component in the MSM, which includes information from your eyes, your ears, and the other senses.

The three-store components of the multi-store memory model include sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM), and long-term memory (LTM). Each store is a unitary structure. Memory is formed sequentially, and information passes from one store component in the model to the next in a fixed and linear order.

Final Multi-Store Model of Memory Quiz

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What are the 3 main store components in MSM?

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The three main stores are sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

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How is the information processed in MSM?

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Memory is formed sequentially, and information passes from one store component in the model to the next in a fixed and linear order.

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What are the 3 different characteristics of each store component?

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They are 1) encoding, 2) capacity, 3) duration.

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How does information transfer from SR to STM?

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When attention is paid to something in the environment, it is then converted to short-term memory (STM).

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How can information stay in STM?

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Maintenance rehearsal is repeated to keep information in STM.

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How does information transfer from STM to LTM?

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Prolonged rehearsal (a long period of rehearsal) will create long-term memory (LTM).

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What will happen if information in STM is not rehearsed?

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If rehearsal does not occur, information will be forgotten and lost from STM through the processes of displacement or decay.

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Describe the capacity, duration and manner in which information is encoded in the sensory register (SR) as proposed in MSM.

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The sensory register (SR) has a larger capacity, which includes all sensory experiences. The duration is short, typically within ¼ to ½ seconds. The encoding process is sensory-specific, which means there are different stores for each sense.

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Describe the capacity, duration, and manner in which information is encoded in short-term memory (STM) as proposed in MSM.

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Short-term memory (STM) capacity holds around 7 +/- 2 items. The duration lasts about 0-18 seconds. The encoding method is mainly acoustic.

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Describe the capacity, duration, and manner in which information is encoded in Long term memory (LTM), as proposed in MSM.

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Long-term memory (LTM) is proposed to have unlimited capacity. The duration lasts for a lifetime. The encoding method is mainly semantic.

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What are the 3 types of long-term memory?

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Endel Tulving suggested that there are three types of LTM: episodic memory, semantic memory, and procedural memory.

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Who further categorised LTM into explicit memory and implicit memory?

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Cohen and Squire (1980) added two further types of LTM: explicit memory and implicit memory.

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Explicit memory, also known as declarative memory, involves conscious effort to be stored and recalled. For example, knowledge about the world and personal events.

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Implicit memory, also known as procedural memory, does not involve conscious effort to be stored and recalled. For example, skills and action.

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How can explicit memory be subdivided?

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Explicit Memory can be subdivided into semantic memory and episodic memory.

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Semantic memory is the memory of facts and knowledge, stored in the form of meaning and concept and formed without time stamps.

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Episodic memory is the memory for specific events in a person’s life, stored with multiple elements and formed with time stamps.

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What is procedural memory?

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Procedural memory is the memory of skills and behaviours, stored in the form of motor actions and formed with time stamps.

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How does Baddeley (1996) support the idea of separate memory stores in MSM?

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Research evidence from Baddeley (1966) supports the idea of LTM and STM being different and separate stores. In his study on coding, he gave participants one of four lists of words to remember. He found that acoustically similar words were harder to recall immediately, and semantically similar words were harder to recall 20 minutes after the test. It was concluded that acoustic confusion occurred in STM and semantic confusion in LTM, suggesting STM codes acoustically and LTM semantically.

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How does research by Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) support the idea of separate memory stores in MSM?

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Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) supported the existence of separate LTM and STM stores because they observed a primacy and recency effect. This research provided evidence for the MSM: people tend to remember the first items because they have more time to rehearse the information, and they may have paid more attention to it. Therefore, these items have a higher probability of being transferred to the LTM. The participants also tended to remember the most recent information because those were still in their STS. Information in the middle might have been lost because of the limited capacity of the STM.

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How does the case of HM (Milner and Scoville, 1957) support the idea of separate memory stores in MSM?

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HM had significant long-term memory impairment as a result of brain surgery. He had little memory of personal (mother and father's deaths) or public events (Watergate, Vietnam War) that had occurred in the last 45 years. Yet, his short-term memory was unaffected. This resonated with the idea in MSM that HM fails to rehearse information from STM to LTM and further supported the idea of the separate stores for STM and LTM.

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Name one memory model which is based on the MSM.

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The Working Model of Memory proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974) is based on the MSM.

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How does the case of KF (Shallice and Warrington, 1970) oppose the idea that STM and LTM are unitary stores?

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The MSM argues that STM is a unitary store (i.e. there is only one type). However, evidence from patients suffering from amnesia suggests that this is not true. KF's STM for digits was very poor when others read the numbers to him. On the other hand, his recall was much better when he could read the digits to himself. This suggests that there is more than one STM store (one for sounds and one for images). This case challenges the MSM as it shows that there must be at least two types of STM, rather than just one unitary store as the model suggests.

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How does the Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) deny the role of rehearsal in transferring information from STM into LTM?

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The Working Memory Model (Baddeley and Hitch, 1974) suggested that we can recall information that we did not rehearse. However, in some cases, we cannot recall information that we have rehearsed. Therefore, the Working Memory Model denies the importance of rehearsal for transferring from STM to LTM proposed in MSM.

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How does research by Craik and Watkins (1973) deny the role of rehearsal in transferring information from STM into LTM?

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Craik and Watkins (1973) argued that the maintenance rehearsal (repetition to help us hold information in the STM) is not the only type. They proposed one more type of rehearsal, which is the elaborative rehearsal. Maintenance rehearsal is a shallow process that helps you retain information in the STM. Elaborative rehearsal is a deep process that links information to your existing knowledge. The deeper the processing, the more memorable the information becomes. In other words, a long period of maintenance rehearsal cannot move information from STM to LTM. LTM can be formed only if Elaborative rehearsal occurs. The findings of Craik and Watkins (1973) contradicted MSM, as evidence showed that forming LTM involves more than maintenance rehearsal.

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Why is the research supporting the MSM criticised for having flaws in ecological validity?

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Despite a few research that support the MSM, many studies used artificial tasks in their testing. This raises the concern of evidence lacking ecological validity. The testing is typically based on lab experiments involving tasks like the Brown-Peterson Technique. These are artificial, often involving meaningless trigrams. However, in everyday life, we form memories related to all sorts of useful information. Yet, many of the studies that support the MSM use none of these real-life materials. This means that the MSM may not be an accurate or valid model of how memory works in our daily lives.

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What is the definition of short-term memory?

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The short-term memory definition is information with limited capacity and available for a limited time.

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How is information encoded in the short-term memory store?

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Information is acoustically encoded in the short-term memory store.

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Which research supported the short-term memory store encoding memories acoustically?

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Peterson & Peterson (1956).

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What is the duration of the short-term memory?

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The duration of short-term memory is generally believed to be about 15-30 seconds.

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What did Peterson & Peterson (1959) find?

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Peterson & Peterson (1959) found 80% memory recall accuracy after 3 seconds, 50% after 6 seconds and 10% after 18 seconds. This finding suggests the duration of short.term memory store to be 18 seconds.

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What is the 7+/-2 theory?

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Miller (1956) proposed the 7+/-2 theory, suggesting the short-term memory store’s capacity to be between five and nine ‘blocks’ of information.

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Which researcher supported Miller's theory?

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What was the procedure and results of Jacobs’ (1887) research?

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In the study, participants recalled a series of digits/letters. The sequence of letters and numbers was gradually increased throughout the experiment. The results showed that participants could recall an average of 7.3 letters and 9.3 digits (suggesting participants were better at remembering numbers).

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What is the purpose of distraction tasks when researching the short term memory store?

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The purpose of distraction tasks is to prevent memories from being moved to the long-term memory store. If this occurs, then the research findings would have low validity.

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Why does short-term memory research require recall phases in research to be immediate?

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To ensure the memories measured are from the short-term memory store.

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Does recall accuracy vary in the short-term memory store?

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Recall accuracy declines the longer the information is stored in the short-term store. Once the store reaches its duration and capacity limitation, the information is displaced or decays.

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What method did Peterson & Peterson (1959) use to measure short-term memory?

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Peterson and Peterson (1959) presented participants with trigrams and gave them a distraction task to prevent rehearsal of the stimuli. The purpose of the distraction task was to prevent the information from being moved and processed in the long-term memory store.

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How do the short-term and long-term memory stores differ?

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The short-term and long-term memory stores differ in terms of encoding methods, duration, and capacity of holding information.

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Which of the following is the definition of encoding?

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How information is processed/coded and stored.

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How is information encoded acoustically in the short-term memory store?

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Information can be encoded acoustically by repeatedly saying the information out loud.

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Memory decay is when information is forgotten because the store has reached its limit for holding the memory. It occurs due to the memory not being rehearsed enough and moved to the long term memory store.

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What is memory displacement?

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Memory displacement refers to information being replaced with new information because the store has reached its capacity.

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What was the aim of Peterson and Peterson (1959)?

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Peterson and Peterson (1959) aimed to investigate the duration of short-term memory.

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Memory is the cognitive process through which information is ____.

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Acquired, stored, retained and retrieved.

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What type of stimuli did Peterson and Peterson (1959) use in their study?

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Peterson and Peterson (1959) used trigrams, these are combinations of three letters that are not real words.

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What are the three features of memory?

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Encoding, duration and capacity.

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Did Peterson and Peterson (1959) include a distraction task? If so, what was it?

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Yes, to avoid rehearsal Peterson and Peterson (1959) asked participants to do a mental math exercise.

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What did Peterson and Peterson (1965) find in their study?

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They found that the shorter the interval between learning and recall was, the better the performance. After 3 seconds, around 80% of the trigrams were recalled, while after 18 seconds, only 10% were recalled. This was taken as evidence that the duration of this type of memory is of around 18 seconds, which can be described as short.

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What are the two main types of memory?

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Long-term and short-term memory.

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What is the dual store model of memory?

the concept that memory is a two-stage process, comprising short-term memory, in which information is retained for a few seconds, and long-term memory, which permits the retention of information for hours to many years.

What are the models of memory in psychology?

A structural model that suggests three storage systems (places); Sensory Store, Short-Term Memory (STM), Long-Term Memory (LTM). Information moves through these systems under the control of various cognitive processes (attention, rehearsal, etc.).

What does the multi

Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) developed the Multi-Store Model of memory (MSM), which describes flow between three permanent storage systems of memory: the sensory register (SR), short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).

What stage is the Atkinson and Shiffrin model of memory?

There are three separate stages of memory in the Atkinson-Shiffrin modal model of memory. The first stage starts with the sensory register, followed by the short-term store, and ends with the long-term store.