VCE Psychology — Unit 3
Multi-Store Memory Model — Flashcards & Quiz
The multi-store memory model (Atkinson and Shiffrin, 1968) describes memory as three separate stores: sensory, short-term and long-term. VCE Psychology Unit 3 asks you to define each store, describe capacity and duration, and evaluate the model against empirical evidence and alternative models such as the working memory model.
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
- Confusing STM (capacity 7±2 items) with LTM (potentially unlimited).
- Treating rehearsal as the only route from STM to LTM — meaningful encoding works better.
- Claiming sensory memory is conscious — it's pre-attentive, lasting under a second.
- Using "working memory" and "short-term memory" interchangeably — working memory is a more complex model.
- 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.
Sample Flashcards
Q1: Describe the Atkinson–Shiffrin multi-store model of memory.
The model proposes that memory consists of three separate stores — sensory memory, short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM) — and that information passes through them in sequence. Information from the environment enters sensory memory; information that is attended to is encoded into STM; information that is rehearsed (especially through elaborative rehearsal) is encoded into LTM for relatively permanent storage. Information is retrieved from LTM back into STM when needed.
Q2: Compare the capacity and duration of the three stores in the multi-store model.
Sensory memory: potentially unlimited capacity; very brief duration — iconic (visual) memory about 0.2–0.4 seconds and echoic (auditory) memory about 3–4 seconds. Short-term memory: limited capacity of about 5–9 items (7 ± 2); duration of about 18–30 seconds without rehearsal. Long-term memory: potentially unlimited capacity and potentially permanent duration.
Q3: Evaluate the explanatory power of the Atkinson–Shiffrin multi-store model.
Strengths: it explains memory in terms of distinct stores that differ in capacity and duration, it explains why attention and rehearsal are needed to remember information, and it is supported by evidence such as cases where STM and LTM are affected differently. Limitations: it is a simplified, linear model; it suggests rehearsal is the main route into LTM, when information can be encoded without deliberate rehearsal (e.g. emotionally significant events); and it treats each store as a single unit when LTM contains different types of memory.
Sample Quiz Questions
Q1: According to the multi-store model, information must be attended to in sensory memory before it can be transferred to short-term memory.
Answer: TRUE
Attention is the process that transfers information from sensory memory to STM; unattended information is lost.
Q2: Short-term memory has an unlimited capacity and holds information for several hours.
Answer: FALSE
STM holds about 5–9 items for about 18–30 seconds without rehearsal. Sensory memory and LTM have potentially unlimited capacity.
Q3: Iconic memory lasts longer than echoic memory.
Answer: FALSE
Iconic (visual) memory lasts about 0.2–0.4 seconds; echoic (auditory) memory lasts about 3–4 seconds.
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.
Related Concepts
Last updated: 9 October 2026 · 3 sample flashcards · 3 sample quiz questions