Describe the multi store model of memory with reference to one relevant research.

The multi-store memory model was introduced by Atkinson and Shiffrin. This model states
that there are three memory stores – the sensory memory store, the short-term memory
store, and the long-term memory store – and that information is processed, encoded, and
stored using these three memory stores. The sensory memory store is unlimited in capacity
and can hold information for 2 to 3 seconds. The short-term memory store can hold 5 to 9
units of data for 5 to 18 seconds, and the long-term memory store is unlimited in time and
capacity. In this model, information is moved from the sensory store to the short-term store
when someone pays attention to the information. Information is transmitted from the
short-term to the long-term memory store when the information is rehearsed repeatedly.

One study that supports this model is the one done by Glanzer and Cunitz. In this study,
participants were given a list of 15 words and were asked to recall the words. They were
asked to recall the words based on one of three conditions: recall with no delay, recall with
a 10-second delay, and recall with a 30-second delay. Participants who were part of the no
delay condition were able to remember the first five and last three words. As the time of the
delay increased, it was found that while the recall of the first few items didn’t change, the
recall of the last few objects decreased.

The multi-store memory model explains two phenomena seen in this study, the primacy and
recency effects. These phenomena can be explained as the auditory information is paid
attention to (moving it to the short-term memory store), and it stored there for 5 to 18
seconds. While the participant recalls the information within this time limit, they can
recollect 5 to 9 units of information. This is known as the recency effect, where participants
can remember information that has been added to their short-term memory store most
recently. The study shows how as the delay increases, the recall of the most recent items
decreases, supporting the fact that there is information that is a part of the short-term
store.

The primacy effect occurs as people rehearse the primary pieces of information; they
receive to move it to their long-term memory stores. This rehearsal helps them remember
the information very well and explains why the first few words can be remembered well by
participants. It also explains why the middle pieces of information were not well-recollected.
The information has not been recently stored in the short-term memory store and hasn’t
been rehearsed to be stored in the long-term store. Thus, this study supports the multi-
store memory model.