MEMORY: the mental process of encoding, storing and retrieving information. Memory undergoes a series of stages in order to store its information:
ENCODING PROCESS: incoming information is organized and transformed so it can be entered into memory STORAGE PROCESS: involves entering and maintaining information in memory for a period of time RETRIEVAL PROCESS: involves recovering stored information from memory so it can be used
There are three main types of models of memory that demonstrate how our memory processes work including the:
Multistore Model (MSM)
Working Memory Model (WM)
Levels of Processing Model (LOP)
Multi Store Model – Atkinson and Shriffin (1968)
Proposed by Atkinson & Shiffrin (1968) The multi-store model (MSM) consists of three memory stores:
Sensory memory (SM)
Short-term memory (STM)
Long term memory (LTM) ... that is used for different tasks.
SM is...
A storage system that holds information in a relatively unprocessed form for fractions of a second after the physical stimulus is no longer available – stores sensory characteristics of a stimulus.
Plays a vital role in filtering out useless information, enabling us to focus our attention on important details.
STM is...
A limited-capacity memory system for storing information for brief periods of time.
A & S (1968) see STM as a temporary storage depot for incoming information after it receives and encodes information from the sensory memory.
LTM is...:
Holds a vast quantity of information, which can be stored for long periods of time.
Information kept here is diverse and wide-ranging, including all our personal memories, general knowledge and beliefs about the world, plans for the future, and where our knowledge about skills and expertise is deposited.
These different memory stores differ from one another with regards to:
Duration: how long information can be stored
Capacity: how much information can be stored
Coding: in what form information can be stored
The Sensory Store
Duration: decays rapidly
Capacity: unlimited
Coding: information is picked up by our senses and stored in this form
Iconic: visual information enters the visual store
Echoic: auditory information is handled by the auditory sensory store