Describe Atkinson And Shiffrin 's Multi Store Model Of Memory

Memory is divided into three categories. These categories consist of: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory, out of these short term memory is the main focus in this essay. It has been widely researched due to interest of how much memory can be stored, how long this memory can be stored for and what information is memorised.

In the last half century several theories have emerged with regard to the best model for human memory. In each of these models there was a specific way to help people recall words and

In 1974 the researchers Baddeley and Hitch argued that the picture of short-term memory (STM) provided by the Multi-Store Model was far too simple. Following the Multi-Store Model, it is believed that STM holds limited amounts of information for short periods of time with relatively little processing, it is believed to be a unitary store. This means that due to its single store it has no subsystems, unlike the Working Memory Model which has many subsystems. This proves that the Working Memory is not a unitary store.

Atkinson’s and Shiffrin’s (1968) multi-store model was extremely successful in terms of the amount of research it generated. However, as a result of this research, it became apparent that there were a number of problems with their ideas concerning the characteristics of short-term memory. Building on this research, Baddeley and Hitch (1974) developed an alternative model of short-term memory which they called working memory. Baddeley and Hitch (1974) argued that the picture of short-term memory (STM) provided by the Multi-Store Model is far too simple. According to the Multi-Store Model, STM holds limited amounts of information for short periods of time with relatively little processing. It is

Memory in the human brain is a complex process which is easier understood by the use of theoretical constructs. Memories begin as sensory stimuli which become sensory memory which only last about one second, from there it moves into working memory which lasts for about twenty to thirty seconds and is used to process information. Within working memory there are a few separate processes, the central executive which directs attention, the episodic buffer which is a secondary storage lasting ten to twenty seconds, this area communicates with long term memory as well as the central executive. The visuospatial sketchpad which is used to visualise visual and spacial

Even though the working model of memory is better than the multi store model, it still has some weaknesses. For example the role of the central executive is vague and it needs more research. Also there were problems with

7). The Sensory memory could be compared to a sorting table of information. Everything collected by our senses from the environment around us is dumped onto a sorting table known as Sensory Memory. This information does not stay there long, only a few seconds before it is saved into our short-term memory if it is valuable or discarded if it is not. Once in the short-term memory the information needs to be repeated to be remembered and moved into the long-term memory. This process is known as memory consolidation, rehearsal or consciously repeating information is a requirement for long-term memory retention. Otherwise, the information is lost after twenty seconds in the short-term memory. The long-term memory is limitless in its capacity to store information, it holds memories from just a few minutes ago, to years and years ago. As an example, if I were studying for a mid-term exam, I would use a three-step process to retain the information. First, I would read the information start to finish, highlighting information I found interesting or pertinent to lessons objectives. Thus, I am taking the information in though my sensory memory and recognizing that I want to retain it. Second within the twenty seconds the information is in my short-term memory I repeat the information by highlighting it. Thus, through rehearsal the information is consolidated and moved into long term memory. Lastly, I would put the information on flash cards using my own words, for more repetition, to assist me in the recognition and recall of the information during the

Craik and Lockhart suggested that rather than concentrate on a structure view of memory, it might be more beneficial to concentrate on the processes that contribute to remembering. They suggest that what if they recalled, possibly not some item that has been loaded in a store, but rather that the after effect of processing remain.

Originally WM was introduced by Baddeley & Hitch (1974) as an improved version of STM. It has received much attention and is credited with solving many theoretical problems that existed with the original, simple MSM version of what lies between sensory stores and LTM. In fact, WM is the way we store information while we are working with it, or attending to it. According to Baddeley (2007) the term WM referred to provisional storage and handling of information that was supposed to be crucial for a wide range of complex cognitive actions. Some scholars even believed that WM capacity helped predict learning rate and ultimate levels of attainment in the L2 (e.g., Ortega, 2009). STM or WM holds the information that is in our immediate consciousness

This essay addresses the working memory model which was proposed by Baddeley and Hitch (1974 in Smith & Kosslyn, 2007) as a response to Atkinson and Shiffrins (1968 in Smith, 2007) multi-store model. According to Baddely and Hitch the multi-store model failed to explain most of the complexities of the human memory and viewed it as being too simplistic. They argued that the short term memory store must have more components rather it being a single inflexible store as suggested previously by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968). The working memory model is therefore an enhancement of the multi store model. According to Baddeley and Hitch working memory is a limited- capacity system that stores and processes information.

Prior to the early 1970s the prominent idea of how memories were formed and retrieved revolved around the idea of processing memory into specific stores (Francis & Neath, 2014). These memory stores were identified as sensory memory, short-term memory, and long-term memory. In contrast to this idea, two researchers named Fergus Craik and Robert Lockhart proposed an idea linking the type of encoding to retrieval (Goldstein, 2015). This idea is known as the levels of processing theory. According to this theory, memory depends on the depth of processing that a given item is received by an individual (Goldstein, 2015). Craik and Lockhart stressed four points in supporting their theory. First, they argued that memory was the result of a series of analyses, each level of the series forming a deeper level of processing than the preceding level (Francis & Neath, 2014). The shallow levels of processing were believed to hold less importance and are defined as giving little attention to meaning of an item. Examples of which include focusing on how a word sounds or memorizing a phone number by repeating it over and over again (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The deeper levels processing involve paying close attention to the meaning of an item and relating that meaning to something else, an example of which would be focusing on the meaning of a word rather than just how the word sounds (Francis & Neath, 2014) (Goldstein, 2015). The second point Craik and Lockhart

Atkinson and Shiffrin proposed that control processes determines which information (stimuli) would be retained and rehearsed. They identified rehearsal as the process by which sensory memory retains information for STM, which then encodes the stimuli for encoding by LTM. (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968). Atkinson and Shiffrin model of memory led Alan Badderly and Graham Hitch to research the interactions of memory and in 1974 introduce the concept of working memory. Badderly and Hitch theorizes that STM’s role is to temporarily store information; but, while working memory is where the information is organized and controlled. Experiments conducted by these researchers found that working memory contains a phonological loop that holds verbal and auditory

The Multistore Model of Memory (Atkinson and Shiffrin 1968) says that the memory is made up of three different stores. Information goes into the sensory memory, which then goes into the short term memory and then the long term memory is the information is rehearsed. Miller put forward the idea that the short term memory had a capacitor 5-9 pieces of information (Magic 7, which is 7 plus/minus 2). This is supported by evidence from studies, such as Jacobs (1887), where he found that on average people could remember 7.3 letters and 9.3 numbers out of all the letters in the alphabet and a list of numbers in a span test. TheSTM had a duration of approximately 18 seconds. This is shown in Peterson and Peterson’s study (1959) where 24 students were asked to recall trigrams, and so that they did not go into the LTM they were aked to count backwards in threes from a random number straightt after. They found that participants could recall 80% of the trigrams after 3 seconds, and after 18 seconds they could only recall 10%. This reinforces the idea that the STM can only hold information for unto 18 seconds.

Memory is defined as "the persistence of learning over time through the storage and retrieval of information." Our memory can be compared to a computer's information processing system. To remember an event we need to get information into our brain which is encoding, store the information and then be able to retrieve it. The three-stage processing model of Richard Atkinson and Richard Shiffrin suggests that we record information that we want to remember first as a fleeting sensory memory and then it is processed into a short term memory bin where we encode it ( pay attention to encode important or novel stimuli) for long-term memory and later retrieval. The premise for the three step process is that we are unable to focus on too much

Many wonder the process of memory storage. People during a day use a lot of space of the memory to storage which will be used weekly. Memory in the psychology terms means a process in which information is encoded, stored, and retrieved. When the information is encoded, it will allow the information from the outside world to reach the senses as chemical and physical stimuli forms. The first stage is when the change in information so the memory can be put into an encoding process. Second stage is a storage process. In this process we get to know the details of what information and how much we have over periods of time. The last process is the retrieval of the information that we have stored stage. Here we try to locate it and return it back to our consciousness but sometimes it is worthless because it varies on the information type we had stored. There are three types of information processing: first is Encoding and Registration where we receive, process and combine the received information, then is Storage where creation of permanent record of the encoded information, last is Retrieval, recall or recollection where we call back the stored information in response of cue so it can be used in a process or activity.