The Multistore Memory Model

The Multi-store Memory Model

    The Multi-store Memory Model

Atkinson and Shiffrin where the two psychologists who explained how our memory works by ‘The Multi-store Memory Model ‘. This model suggest that our mind has 3 different storage system:
  1. Sensory memory
  2. Short term memory
  3. Long term memory
These three memories are different in term of 4 key features:
  1. Capacity
  2. Duration
  3. Encoding
  4. Reason for forgetting
Sensory memory is the shortest-term element of memory. It acts as a kind of buffer for stimuli received through the five senses of sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch, which are remembered accurately, but very briefly. For example, the ability to look at something and remember what it looked like with just a second of observation is an example of sensory memory. It has a very large capacity however, the visuals can only stay for 1/10 second and auditory or 2 seconds. It lasts for such a short time that it is often considered part of the process of perception, but it nevertheless represents an essential step for storing information in short-term memory. Sensory memory decays or damages very quickly, which is the reason why we forget.
Short term memory has three significant aspects: capacity, duration and encoding. Miller’s (1956) Magic number 7 provides evidence for the capacity of short term memory. Most adults can store between 5 and 9 items in their short-term memory.   This idea was put forward by Miller (1956) and he called it the magic number 7. He though that short term memory could hold 7 items because it only had a certain number of “slots” in which items could be stored.
However, Miller didn’t specify the amount of information that can be held in each slot. Indeed, if we can “chunk” information together we can store a lot more information in our short term memory.
Miller’s theory is supported by evidence from various studies by other psychologists such as Jacobs (1887). He used the digit span...