The multi store model of memory was developed by Atkinson and Shiffrin and it is a linear model of

memory that proposes three distinct memory stores that have different characteristics: Sensory
Memory, Short Term Memory (STM) and Long Term Memory (LTM).

Memory is viewed as information which comes from our environment through the 5 senses (touch,
smell, sight, hearing, and taste). It is stored (briefly) in Sensory Memory, which encodes by modality
and has a duration of 0.5 seconds and a limited capacity of 1 sensation. If information is attended to,
it flows into short-term memory, which only lasts up to 15-30 seconds, meaning that it can decay
after 30 seconds if not rehearsed, STM also has a limited capacity up to 7+-2 chunks. If it is
rehearsed, it is encoded in long-term memory which has an unlimited capacity, potential unlimited
duration, due to potential decay and interference.

This is supported by Peterson and Peterson study where they discovered that short-term memory
can not last more than 30 seconds. This involves blocking rehearsal by getting participants to do an
interference task like counting backwards in threes. Participants might learn meaningless
information, then perform the interference task for different durations. Participants forget most
trigrams after 9 seconds of interference and almost all of them after 18 seconds. This tells us the
duration of short-term memory.

The multi store model holds credibility because the case study of H.M and Clive Wearing supports it.
Clive Wearing received brain damage to his hippocampus after a viral infection. His case study
proves that he could still use his STM to remember things for about 20 seconds but then he would
forget everything, meaning he could not “make new memories”. The Multi Store Model can be
applied to his case because it suggests an inability to rehearse information into LTM. Another case
study was H.M., a man who had a brain surgery to cure his epilepsy. When the hippocampus was
damaged, H.M. was left unable to make new memories. However, he still had a lot of memories
from before his surgery, which suggests he still possessed LTM, but could no longer add to it.

However, there are some objections to multi store model such as K.F. case study whose short-term
memory was damaged from a motorbike accident but could still add memories to long-term
memory, even though his STM was so damaged that he couldn't repeat back more than 2 digits.

Additionally, the multi store model can be compared to working model memory as it is a simpler
version of working memory model as it doesn’t split short term memory into acoustic and visual
systems. Working Memory replaces STM in the model and provides a more detailed explanation of
rehearsal and retrieval from LTM.

To conclude, the Multi Store Model tells us how to improve our memory in some situations. If you
are an eyewitness, then you need to pay attention to encode information in short-term memory.
You then need to rehearse it. Rehearsing the information over and over works, but Elaborative
Rehearsal is better because it encodes information semantically. The model can have application to
helping people with dementia or brain damage. If patients struggle to rehearse new information,
then writing things down and putting labels on things will help.