Multi-Store Memory Model — Flashcards & Quiz

Key Points

• Sensory memory: very brief (<1 s), large capacity, stores raw sensory input. Iconic (visual) and echoic (auditory) are the main subtypes.
• Short-term memory (STM): 15–30 seconds duration, 7±2 items capacity (Miller), encoded mainly acoustically.
• Long-term memory (LTM): potentially unlimited duration and capacity, encoded semantically (meaning).
• Information flow: sensory → attention → STM → rehearsal → LTM. Rehearsal keeps info in STM and transfers it to LTM.
• Evidence: Peterson and Peterson (STM duration), Miller (capacity), case studies of amnesia patients (HM with damaged hippocampus).
• Limitations: the model oversimplifies rehearsal (working memory model adds more nuance) and doesn't capture the distinction between episodic, semantic and procedural LTM.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Confusing STM (capacity 7±2 items) with LTM (potentially unlimited).
2. Treating rehearsal as the only route from STM to LTM — meaningful encoding works better.
3. Claiming sensory memory is conscious — it's pre-attentive, lasting under a second.
4. Using "working memory" and "short-term memory" interchangeably — working memory is a more complex model.
5. Forgetting case study evidence (HM) when asked about model validity.

Exam Strategy

VCAA Unit 3 memory questions ask you to describe the model, compare it with alternatives, or evaluate empirical evidence. Method: (1) describe each store with capacity and duration, (2) explain information flow via rehearsal and attention, (3) cite supporting studies (Peterson, Miller, HM), (4) evaluate against the working memory model or LTM subdivisions. Diagrams of the flow help.

Revision Tip

Memory capacity and duration numbers are classic flashcard content — drill a Revizi deck with each store and its precise features for recall fluency.