Glanzer and Cunitz (1966) came up with the theory of the “Serial Positioning experiment”. They gave participants in their experiment three lists of words to remember. It resulted in participants remembering the first list of words (known as Primacy effect), and the last list of words (known as Recency effect), completely forgetting the middle list. This experiment supports the idea of the Multi Store Model as it states that the LTM and the STM are unitary stores (they cannot subdivide into different components). Glanzer and Cunitz suggested that the first list of words
12 marks The multi store model of memory was created by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968. Their findings showed that information first enters into the sensory memory which is very short lived. The sensory memory can be produced in two ways Iconic (visual) or Echoic (auditory). When the information has caught the attention of the brain it enters the short term memory which lasts for up to 20 seconds this was discovered in an experiment by Psychologist Peterson in 1959. In addition information in the short term memory store is encoded acoustically; this theory is supported by Conrad’s 1964 case study where an experiment was conducted that confirmed Atkinson and Shiffrin’s theory that the STM encodes information acoustically.
With reference to relevant research discuss the extent to which models of memory and theories of forgetting explain human memory. This essay will analyse the effectiveness of the multi-store model of memory and the working memory model together with examination of Trace Decay and Displacement theories of forgetting, as effective methods for explaining human memory. Memory can be defined as the minds storage system for information or experience (Gross 1996). The multi-store model of memory developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968/1971 as cited in Gross, 1996; Cardwell, Clark and Meldrum, 2004) is a linier diagram with three stores; the sensory store, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) stores. Entailing of information flowing in a fixed sequence from one to the next.
Describe and evaluate the Working Memory Model of Memory (12 marks) The working memory model by Baddeley and Hitch in 1974 is an alternative to the multi- store model, which was limited in its description of the STM. It consists of three main components, the first one being the central executive, which has overall control. The central executive is directs attention to two slave systems, the phonological loop and the visual-spatial sketchpad. The central executive has limited capacity but is able to process information from all the sensory systems, e.g. vision, hearing, etc.
Information might be forgotten if it is not rehearsed to remain in our LTM or if we are distracted by new information which pushes out the information already in our STM. LEARNING ACTIVITY 6.11 1. Chunking is the grouping or packaging of separate bits of information into a larger single unit or ‘chunk’ of information. 2. Maintenance rehearsal involves repeating the information being remembered over and over again so that the information can be retained in STM.
To what extent does the Multi Store Model offer a reasonable account of human memory? The Multi Store Model was designed by Atkinson and Shiffrin in 1968. The model proposes there are three different memory stores: sensory memory, short term memory and long term memory. Information from the environment is constantly received by the sensory memory store; most of it being irrelevant information. However if the information receives attention, it will pass on to short term memory.
Describe and discuss the levels of processing model of memory. Explain how this model could be applied to the task of preparing for an examination (10 marks) The levels of processing model of memory suggests there are three different levels, each relating to a different depth of processing. The structural/shallow processing level says that we can understand something without paying much attention to it I.e was the word in capital letters? The phonetic level relates to a higher depth of processing where an individual has to judge whether a word relates to another I.e does this word rhyme with book? Lastly, an even deeper level of processing, known as the deep/semantic level, states that we check words for meaning.
Multi-Store Model of Memory The multi-store model is the explanation for how memories are processed. It explains why only a few things are remembered and why some things are remembered and others aren’t. Atkinson and Schiffrin were the first to describe the multi-store model. They designed a simple diagram to show the multi-store memory: Sensory memory Environmental Stimuli Attention Short-term Memory Maintenance Rehearsal Information Retrieval Elaborate Rehearsal Long-term Memory Retrieval Sensory memory Environmental Stimuli Attention Short-term Memory Maintenance Rehearsal Information Retrieval Elaborate Rehearsal Long-term Memory Retrieval The Multi-store Model has 3 different places for memory storage. Information passes from store to store in a linear way and there are different explanations for forgetting in each store The first store is where sensory memory is processed.
Findings from neuropsychological studies support the view that the capacities for retaining the two types of information are separable. These studies have demonstrated existence of normal phonological, but disrupted semantic effect on short-term memory tasks, and vice versa (Hanten & Martin, 2000; Martin & Saffran, 1997; Patterson, Graham & Hodges, 1994). Collette et al. (2001) carried out a positron emission tomography (PET) study contrasting brain regions activated during serial recall of word vs. non-word lists in which the lists were composed of either one or three items. Combining across the word and non-word lists, greater activation was seen for the three items compared to one item memory load condition in the left medial frontal area, the anterior cingulate gyrus, the left thalamus and the left insula.
However the hypothesis that the method of loci improves memory recall was supported. It was concluded that loci enhances memory recall but further studies should closely examine the limitations caused by the participants. Keywords: method of loci, memory recall The effect of the types of loci on memory recall The method of loci was first developed in the time of ancient Romans and Greeks (Roediger, 1980). It is one of the oldest mnemonic devices that introduced learning techniques that aided information retention (Moe & De Beni, 2005). The method of loci is a method of memory enhancement which uses visualisation of specific path at a familiar location, to organise and recall large amounts of information (Legge, Madan, Ng & Caplan, 2012).